Desert Financial Pays $16 Million Special Dividend

Desert Financial Credit Union will pay $16 million as a special dividend by Feb. 1 as part of its “mission to share success with the Arizona communities it serves.”

This year’s Giveback Bonus is the largest special dividend to date for Desert Financial ($8.3 billion in assets, 417,710 members), and it brings the total distributed bonuses to $70 million over the past six years. Last year’s dividend was $15 million.

The $16 million represents about $38 per member and 20 basis points of its 0.87% return on average assets for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

“We pride ourselves on giving back in many ways, including directly to our members through the Member Giveback Bonus,” President/CEO Jeff Meshey said. “We believe the more you do with the credit union, the more success we should share with the member.”

Two other credit unions also announced special dividends:

1. Gabriels Community Credit Union, Lansing, Mich. ($32.8 million in assets, 2,681 members) is paying members $45,000 in January as a Special Patronage Dividend. The amount represents about $17 per member and 15 bps of its ROA of 2.26% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

2. Polish-American Federal Credit Union, Troy, Mich. ($173 million, 6,912 members) paid members $32,871 in 2022 as an interest rebate. The amount represented about $5 per member and 2 bps of its ROA of 0.80% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

John Swidwinski, president/CEO of Polish-American, said the credit union’s net worth ratio dropped to just over 7% after the Great Recession. When it rose above 10% in 2018, the board decided to pay a special dividend. The credit union has rebated $187,682 in interest over the past four years to members with signature loans, car loans and home equity lines of credit.

“We decided that a good way to reward members was to give back to those who were partially responsible for our profitability — the members who took consumer loans,” Swidwinski said.

Gabriels Community’s website said its board of directors decides how much to set aside to cover “regular deposit account dividends, operating costs and other needs including investments in technology and new products and services so that Gabriels Community Credit Union stays relevant and has the growth needed to stay financially strong. Extra revenues are then returned to our member-owners in the form of Patronage Dividends.”

“It’s our way of saying THANK U for your loyalty,” the website stated.

So far this season, 29 credit unions ($91.8 billion, 4.9 million members) have announced $230.7 million in special dividends. The amount represented about $47 per member and 26 bps of their 12-month ROA of 1.06%.

Credit unions interested in sharing their special dividend announcements can email them to JDuPlessis@cutimes.com.