Shelby Beil, the credit union's EVP/CFO, said special dividends were 7% higher than the previous year.

"The primary contributor to the increase in member rewards payments in 2022 was the 14% increase in loan balances during the year," Beil said. In addition, he said TTCU member deposits continued to increase in 2022, reaching $2.6 billion.

Another large payout was by Clark County Credit Union of Las Vegas ($1.1 billion in assets, 51,413 members). It paid members $2.6 million Jan. 27 as a bonus dividend. The amount represented about $51 per member and 23 bps of its ROA of 1.04% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

"CCCU ended the year on a high note and our team is thrilled to be able to give back $2.6 million to the members," President/CEO Matt Kershaw said. "We focus on providing great rates all year, and the Bonus Dividend is just another way that we give back to our owners, the 52,000 members of Clark County Credit Union."

Clark County CU has distributed $73.4 million since it launched its special dividends in 2001. After a break during the Great Recession, it has now been able to pay them nine years in a row, including $2.4 million last year.

The Bonus Dividend calculation has changed over the years "to reflect the equitable treatment of both loan holders and depositors" and it is given to both consumer and commercial members, a news release from the credit union said. The dividend payment is calculated based on the average annual daily balances and how long the account is open, for both deposits and loans of any type including auto loans, credit cards, new home construction loans or commercial loans.

The highest single dividend paid was $11,964 to a commercial or business account, while the highest payout to an individual member was $7,807. The average amount distributed to members was $47 with commercial accounts receiving an average of $295.

The other six credit unions were:

• Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union, Washington, D.C. ($6.4 billion in assets, 93,242 members) which paid members $3 million Jan. 19 as a supplemental dividend. The amount represented about $32 per member and 5 bps of its ROA of 0.79% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
• Charter Oak Federal Credit Union, Waterford, Conn. ($1.5 billion in assets, 87,401 members) which paid members $815,000 in January as a Gold Rewards bonus. The amount represented about $9 per member and 5 bps of its ROA of 0.92% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
• Ideal Credit Union, Woodbury, Minn. ($985.7 million in assets, 51,993 members) which paid members $479,000 throughout 2022 as VIP+ dividends. The amount represented about $9 per member and 5 bps of its ROA of 0.74% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
• American United Federal Credit Union, Salt Lake City ($376.7 million in assets, 25,419 members) which paid members $380,000 in December as reward dividends. The amount represented about $15 per member and 10 bps of its ROA of 0.97% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
• Fort Community Credit Union, Fort Atkinson, Wis. ($345.7 million in assets, 21,860 members) which paid members $300,000 Dec. 31 as a patronage dividend. The amount represented about $14 per member and 9 bps of its ROA of 0.23% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
• Rome Kraft Employees Credit Union, Rome, Ga. ($19.7 million, 1,609 members) which paid members $80,000 in January as bonus dividends. The amount represented about $50 per member and 42 bps of its ROA of 1.2% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

So far this season, 53 credit unions ($139.5 billion, 7.2 million members) have announced $307.7 million in special dividends. The amount represented about $43 per member and 23 bps of their 12-month ROA of 0.9%.

Last season, CU Times tallied $300 million in special dividends from 51 credit unions for 7.7 million members, or about 6% of members nationwide. The season generally runs from October to Feb. 14, the traditional date for Loyalty Bonus payouts by Coastal Credit Union of Raleigh ($4.6 billion in assets, 323,493 members as of Dec. 31).

The list is never complete. CU Times gathers special dividends from news releases, sending emails to credit unions and scouring the internet. Credit unions can make the task easier by emailing the total amount paid, the date of payment and other information to [email protected].