Dividends Flow From West to East Tennessee
Three credit unions to pay $30 million to $593,877 members.
Credit unions in Georgia, Tennessee and Utah are paying $30 million to 593,877 members as special dividends.
The rebates represent about $51 per member and 34 basis points of their returns of 1.50% on $8.9 billion in average assets for the 12 months ending Sept. 30. They are:
- Robins Financial Credit Union of Warner Robins, Ga. ($2.7 billion, 212,689 members) paid members $14 million on Dec. 17 as Member Rebates. The amount represents about $66 per member and 54 bps of its 12-month ROA of 1.6%.
- Eastman Credit Union in Kingsport, Tenn. ($4.9 billion, 237,330 members) will pay members $14 million in January as an Extraordinary Dividend. The amount represents about $59 per member and 30 bps of its 12-month ROA of 1.42%.
- Goldenwest Credit Union of Ogden, Utah ($1.7 billion, 143,858 members) paid members $2 million on Dec. 31 as a Bonus Dividend. The amount represents about $14 per member and 12 bps of its 12-month ROA of 1.57%.
Robins Financial in central Georgia and Eastman in Tennessee’s northeast corner both increased their special dividends from $13 million a year ago.
Olan Jones, who is retiring at year’s end as Eastman’s president/CEO, started its Extraordinary Dividend program when he took over management of the credit union about 20 years ago when it had only 40,000 members. January’s payments will bring Eastman’s total to more than $132 million since the payouts began in 1998.
“I appreciate the board of directors for their continued support of the Extraordinary Dividend,” Jones said. “The fact that we’ve done this for over 20 years is a testament to ECU’s loyal members and the credit union’s unwavering member focus.”
Eastman EVP Kelly Price, who will become president/CEO on Jan. 1, said the year-end bonus is directly related to the amount members earn on deposits and pay on loans throughout the year. The board decides on the amount annually.
“Once we have achieved a level of net worth that exceeds our need to meet our current and future requirements, our board chooses to return the money that is left over at the end of the year to our members,” Price said.
So far this season, 13 credit unions have announced $144.6 million in special dividends for their 3.1 million members. The amount represents about $47 per member and 34 bps of their 12-month returns of 1.10% on average assets of $42.5 billion.