WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.-Credit unions across the country have been announcing special year-end bonuses and dividends and using these announcements as a way to demonstrate their financial strength even in the midst of a financial crisis. Among them:
* Dayton Firefighters FCU, Dayton, Ohio, said it paid members a 25% bonus dividend to members totaling over $159,000. One member stopped in asking about his almost $700 increase in his savings. Another received more than $6,500 in bonus dividends.
* Delta Community CU, Atlanta, announced it paid its members a $5 million patronage dividend as a reward for their loyalty. The $2.8 billion credit union, chartered to serve employees of Delta Airlines, had a successful 2008 with almost $26 million in net income for the first three quarters.
* Members of SAFE FCU, Sumter, S.C., received a bonus of $4 million as part of the $540 million credit union's 12th annual bonus dividend and interest rebate.
The credit union, chartered in 1955 at Shaw Air Force Base, had a successful 2008, with almost $7 million in net income through the first three quarters of the year.
* Members of NBACU, Bristol, Penn., received more than $350,000 in rebates and bonuses on top of the regularly scheduled $125,000 in 4th quarter dividends.
* American Airlines FCU, Fort Worth, will distribute about $11 million in bonus dividends to its members, a new record for the credit union. This year, an additional $80 bonus was give to members who maintained three or more account categories, as well.
* Communicating Arts CU, Cincinnati, has declared a 2008 bonus dividend for members of $140,000.
MORE@CUJOURNAL.COM
Read more about the ways credit unions are using dividends as a marketing opportunity during the ongoing financial crisis at cujournal.com and searching the following bolded terms in the archive:
CUs Announce Dividends To Demonstrate Difference
Christmas Comes Early For Some CUs
Bonus Time Is Proof Of Strength
Annual Dividends Become Key Marketing Piece
Annual Dividend Helps CUs Differentiate
Credit Unions Begin Paying Out Year-End Dividends
