Ontario, Calif., — CU Direct Corp. announced that its board approved the payment of a 3% cash dividend to its 104 credit union shareholders, making it the tenth straight year that the company has issued a cash dividend to shareholders.
CU Direct noted that last year it had signed new agreements with 68 credit unions to, among other things, grow their loan originations.
These new credit unions include: $2.8 billion State Employees Federal Credit Union of Albany, N.Y.; the $2.1 billion University of Iowa Community Credit Union of North Liberty, Iowa; and the $1.5-billion Eglin Federal Credit Union of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
At the end of 2014, CU Direct had relationships with more than 1,000 CUs serving 41 million members. During that year, these credit unions funded more than one million loans through CU Direct's CUDL lending platform, generating $22 billion in credit union auto loans, a 29% jump in loan growth.
As a result, the company said, CU Direct became, in the aggregate, the third largest auto lender in the country, up from sixth place in 2013.
"We are pleased to provide a strong return on investment to our shareholders for the tenth year in a row," said Tony Boutelle, president and CEO of CU Direct, in a statement. "We continue to deliver innovative lending solutions that help credit unions improve member auto buying and lending experiences, and grow their loan portfolios."
