Citizens Equity First Credit Union of Peoria, Ill. announced Monday it deposited $55 million into members’ accounts as special dividends.

CEFCU ($7.8 billion in assets, 402,409 members as of Sept. 30) paid members $55 million Monday as an Extraordinary Dividend. The amount represents about $137 per member and 72 basis points of its 1.20% return on average assets for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

This years’ special dividend is higher than the one it paid in December 2023: $40 million, or $102 per member and 53 bps of its 0.80% ROA for the 12 months through September 2023.

CEFCU Chair Joe Needham said the board has chosen to return about $500 million in Extraordinary Dividends over the past 24 years.

“The credit union’s volunteer board of directors is pleased to be able to approve this year’s Extraordinary Dividend — it is just one of the many ways that CEFCU consistently delivers better to member/owners each and every day,” Needham said.

CEFCU President/CEO Matt Mamer said credit unions exist for members, not for profit.

“So, when business is good, those benefits are returned to the member/owners,” Mamer said. “We are pleased now to be able add in that a portion of the Extraordinary Dividend be returned to members that use their Debit Card for everyday transactions. “

The six credit unions in CU Times’ first tally of the 2024-2025 season encompassed $15.7 billion in assets and 696,484 members as of Sept. 30. They paid members $58.9 million since March as special dividends. The amount represents about $85 per member and 39 bps of their ROA of 0.96% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

The other five are:

  • Summit Credit Union of Madison, Wis. ($7.5 billion, 264,754 members), which paid members $2.5 million early this month as a Cash Boomerang. The amount represents about $9 per member and 4 bps of its ROA of 0.73% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
  • Western Division Federal Credit Union of Williamsville, N.Y. ($207.7 million, 10,754 members), which paid members $716,000 the week of Thanksgiving as Patronage Dividends. The amount represents about $67 per member and 36 bps of its ROA of 0.47% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
  • Bessemer System Federal Credit Union of Greenville, Pa. ($43.6 million in assets, 3,383 members), which paid members about $300,000 June 28 as a special dividend. The amount represents about $89 per member and 69 bps of its ROA of 0.75% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
  • Richland Federal Credit Union of Sidney, Mont. ($105.7 million, 4,952 members), which paid members $300,000 March 2024 as a special dividend. The amount represents about $61 per member and 28 bps of its ROA of 0.63% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
  • United Community Credit Union of Quincy, Ill. ($118.5 million, 10,232 members), which paid members $125,000 March 15 as interest rebates and bonus dividends. The amount represents about $12 per member and 11 bps of its ROA of 0.90% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
Last season, CU Times tallied 51 credit unions ($134.1 billion, 7.3 million members) that announced $322.2 million in special dividends through the end of February. The amount represented about $44 per member and 25 bps of their 12-month ROA of 1.03% through September 2023.

Credit unions interested in sharing their special dividend announcements can email them to [email protected].

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Jim DuPlessis

A journalist for decades.