MIDLAND, Mich. – Dow Chemical Employees CU announced a $9 million special payment to its members, just as the $1.2 billion credit union was reporting one of its best years.
The credit union grew assets by 9% last year and reported net income of $6.2 million, more than twice the $2.6 million net in 2007. "We don’t do subprime mortgages and we stay close to our membership," Barb Ostroski-Enos, spokesman for the DCECU, told The Credit Union Journal yesterday.
Dow Chemical Employees is basically a single sponsor credit union serving employees and retirees of Dow Chemical and Dow Corning, as well as 25 select groups affiliated with one of the two, out of a single office.
This year’s member payout consisted of a loan interest rebate and member saver reward. The rebate entitled borrowers to receive a refund of 15% of the total interest paid in 2008 on all eligible loans. Members also received an additional 15% member saver reward to the dividends/interest earned on all shares/deposits.
Members who used a DCECU VISA Check Card also received an additional 0.125% for signature-based transactions and $0.01 for PIN-based transactions.
This year’s payout is down from last year’s $12 million, when the credit union celebrated its 70th anniversary with an additional 5% bonus rebate, according to Ostroski-Enos.
