Members of the $4.6 billion, Peoria, Ill.-based Citizens Equity First Credit Union received $7 million in dividends on Dec. 12, the credit union announced.
CEFCU paid $3.5 million to savers and $3.5 million to borrowers. The CU determined each individual dividend award based on the member's dividends paid and interest earned for the first 11 months of the year as of Nov. 30, 2011, the CU said.
The $7 million payout brings the credit union's total dividend payout sum to $57 million over the past 12 years.
“This year, thanks to the loyalty of CEFCU's members, the credit union once again delivered strong financial results,” said Bruce Dimler, CEFCU's board chairman. “And that loyalty is mutual. Since CEFCU's members are the credit union's owners, when business is good, the benefits are returned to the member/owners.”
Added Mark Spenny, president/CEO for CEFCU, “At CEFCU, we strongly believe we're better – together. That's the belief that started CEFCU back in 1937, as factory workers pooled their money to fund low-cost loans for one another. And it's the same business model that still works today.”
CEFCU serves more than 284,000 members and has 20 member centers in central Illinois and three member centers in Santa Clara County, California.
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
