SAFE Federal Credit union members receive $1.2M in payout

SAFE Federal Credit Union paid out more than $1.2 million in annual bonus dividends and interest rebates to its membership.

The $1.1 billion-asset institution said on Friday that each individual payment to members was based on their account usage for the year. For example, members holding deposit accounts, including certificates, were paid a 10 percent bonus based on dividends received in 2018. The dividends and interest rebates were distributed on Dec. 31.

The Sumter, S.C.-based credit union said it has distributed in excess of $31 million in bonus dividends and interest rebates during the past 22 years. Last year, SAFE FCU paid out more than $1 million in bonus dividends and rebates.

“That’s part of what makes credit unions different and it’s what helps SAFE stand out from other choices you have when it comes to banking,” Darrell Merkel, SAFE’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

SAFE posted net income of about $8.9 million through the first nine months of 2018, more than double what it earned for the same period in 2017.