LAUREL, Md.—The $23-million WSSC FCU has given back $18,000 to its 3,000 members.
The CU placed the money in members’ accounts Dec. 31, basing the payout a 1% rebate of members’ loan interest paid and 20% of the total dividends earned in 2014.
“We had a very successful year,” said CEO Jeff Goff. “Our board wanted to ensure that our members were rewarded for supporting the cooperative. This member giveback helps to underscore that credit unions of all sizes can demonstrate one very important principle of being a financial cooperative.”
WSSCU, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014, last year grew loans by 11% and assets by 4%, taking the loan-to-share ratio above 71%.
In Dearborn, Mich., the $3.7-billion DFCU Financial handed back $24 million in “CASH BACK” rewards to members, surpassing its $23-million 2013 payout.
Last year DFCU set the record for the largest extraordinary dividend ever paid by a CU. This year the Peoria, Ill.-based CEFCU recorded the largest giveback at $40 million.
“At DFCU Financial, returning cash back to our members is our way of saying thank-you for their loyalty,” said Mark Shobe, president and CEO. “We believe it’s our responsibility to share our success with the members who help us achieve it, whether they are borrowers or savers.”
Shobe explained that DFCU’s streamlined structure and management approach have allowed it to pay a collective $181 million to its members since 2006, a sum larger than any financial institution in the United States.
The organization returns approximately half of its annual earnings to members, who receive 0.50 percent cash back on their portfolios — which may include checking, savings, auto and mortgage loans and credit cards — annually. In 2015, members received an average cash back direct deposit of $250, with the largest totaling $18,000.
“This record-breaking payday is supporting DFCU Financial’s mantra of ‘take care of our members first,’” said Shobe.
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