ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Members of New Mexico Educators FCU last week learned the value of a deeper relationship with the CU when NMEFCU paid out a $5 million year-end dividend.
The bonus was only paid by the credit union to those who have relationships of $5,000 or greater. The CU is among the growing ranks of credit unions awarding year-end payouts only to members who reach a certain relationship level.
The $1.3 billion NMEFCU based the qualification on any combination of deposits and loans. There was also a return for members who have debit accounts. Business accounts received dividends, as well.
About 120,000 members collected dividends ranging from $25 to $2,000, said Anneliese Elrod, SVP of strategic marketing and development. Last year, NMEFCU returned $4 million to its members. This year members got $4.5 million of the dividends, with $500,000 going to various community organizations.
"Our members are our shareholders, so we return money to them," Elrod said. "At the end of the year we look at our financials and take the money that wasn't needed for expenses and return it to our members."
