Six Credit Unions Pay $13 Million in Special Dividends

Six credit unions paid $13.4 million this season as special dividends to their more than half a million members from South Carolina to Oregon, with more than half the amount from Nusenda Credit Union of Albuquerque, N.M.

Nusenda announced Jan. 26 that it paid members $7.8 million in January as a bonus dividend. The amount represented about $31 per member and 20 bps of its ROA of 0.81% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

The amount included more than $7.7 million in Earn Your Return bonus dividends and Community Rewards to qualifying members, plus $192,000 in Business Debit Card rewards.

Nusenda President/CEO Joe Christian said more than $65.4 million in special dividends have now been approved by its board and paid since January 2009, including $6.6 million in January 2022.

“We are proud to be giving back more than $7.8 million to our members this year,” Christian said. “These rewards are a great example of the value we provide our more than 250,000 member-owners year after year as we focus on their financial well-being.”

Nusenda’s Earn Your Return is a program based on the credit union’s economic performance as well as member’s use of credit union savings, deposits and loans. Members can take advantage of higher savings rates and lower loan rates, and receive cash back each year.

The $13.4 million in special dividends from Nusenda and the five other credit unions represented about $26 per member and 20 bps of their ROA of 0.92% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30. The other five credit unions were:

1. OMNI Credit Union, Battle Creek, Mich. ($607.6 million in assets, 45,006 members), which paid members $1.8 million Jan. 20 as a Cashback Rebate. The amount represented about $40 per member and 30 bps of its ROA of 1.32% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

2. evolve Federal Credit Union, El Paso, Texas ($353.2 million, 17,036 members), which paid members $1.75 million Jan. 24 as a Patronage Dividend. The amount represented about $103 per member and 49 bps of its 12 month ROA of 0.26%.

3. SRP Federal Credit Union, North Augusta, S.C. ($1.7 billion, 186,813 members), which paid members $1.5 million in December as a Loyalty Dividend. The amount represented about $8 per member and 9 bps of its 12 month ROA of 1.21%.

4. Valley Credit Union, Salem, Ore. ($100.1 million, 5,714 members), which paid members $228,000 in January as an Ownership Dividend. The amount represented about $40 per member and 23 bps of its 12 month ROA of 0.67%.

5. Elko Federal Credit Union, Elko, Nev. ($270.5 million, 16,158 members), which paid members $350,000 in January as a bonus dividend. The amount represented about $22 per member and 14 bps of its 12 month ROA of 0.90%.

Elko’s special dividend consisted of a $250,000 loan interest refund to its borrowers, plus $100,000 through a $50-per-share dividend payment to its 2,000 Moola Moola and Student Share Accounts, regardless of account balance. Moola Moola is a savings account for children 12 and under that Elko designed to teach kids the value of saving. The Student Share Accounts are for ages 13-18, or a full time college student.

“Community is what we are all about,” Elko President/CEO Todd Sorenson said. “What a better way to start off 2023 than to thank our membership via a refund on loan interest and to be able to provide a meaningful impact to our youth and student members, many who have not yet experienced a strong earning power on share deposits.”

At evolve, President/CEO Ken Walters said this year’s special dividend brings its total to $15.5 million since 2015.

“As we all know 2022 was a turbulent year, particularly going into the fourth quarter, but evolve FCU’s business decisions early in the year paid off for all of us and we can once again pay the Patronage Dividend,” Walters said. “I would like to thank our members for their loyalty as that is the key to our success and our ability to pay the Patronage Dividend.”

OMNI President/CEO Ted Parsons said the credit union has chosen to pay a special dividend 15 years in a row, distributing about $19 million to members since 2008.

“We’re one of the very few financial institutions in Michigan that offers a rebate as a way of thanking our members for being a part of the OMNI family,” Parsons said. “It’s become a tradition and it’s one of our favorite things to do.”

So far this season, 39 credit unions ($113.1 billion, 6.2 million members) have announced $279.1 million in special dividends. The amount represented about $45 per member and 25 bps of their 12-month ROA of 0.94%.

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