ESL Federal Credit Union Pays $20 Million to Members
The Rochester, N.Y., credit union marks its 100th anniversary with its largest special dividend.
An Upstate New York credit union paid $20 million to its more than 366,000 members Friday as special dividends as it marks its founding by Kodak camera inventor George Eastman 100 years ago.
ESL Federal Credit Union, Rochester, N.Y. ($6.8 billion, 366,962 members) paid Owners’ Dividends that average $55 per member. The amount represents 0.31% of its average assets, compared with its ROA of 1.46% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
“As we enter our 100th year of serving the Greater Rochester community, we are thrilled to share our financial success directly with our members through our most significant Owners’ Dividend payout to date,” ESL President/CEO Faheem Masood said.
“We are committed to living our purpose of ‘helping our community thrive and prosper,’ and we couldn’t do that without the support of our loyal members and community, and the hard work and dedication of our employees,” Masood said.
With the latest distribution, ESL has shared more than $150 million with its members over the program’s 24 years.
George Eastman (1854-1932) started his fortune through the Kodak camera and the roll film inside it, which made photography a household activity and film a mass-market product. In later years, he became known for philanthropy.
In 1920 he created the Eastman Savings & Loan Association in 1920 to help his Eastman Kodak Co. employees manage their finances. About 3,000 employees joined in its first week.
“One of the prime objectives of the Eastman Savings & Loan Association is to encourage and aid as many as possible of our employees in purchasing and owning a home,” he said in a February 1921 article in Kodak magazine.
The savings and loan association became ESL Federal Credit Union in 1996. ESL’s 830 employees now serve members online and through 22 branches in the Rochester area.
ESL becomes the 40th credit union to join CU Times’ tally of credit unions that have announced special, year-end dividends. Together they have paid $283.4 million to 5.8 million members, or about $49 per member. The total equals 0.35% of their $81.3 billion in average assets, compared with ROA of 1.10% for the 12 months ending in September.