As news continues to roll in from credit unions across the country on distribution of year-end dividends and bonus payouts it shows that this is one of the most meaningful ways to distinguish credit unions from banks and other for-profit businesses.
There's something about taking an institution's leftover funds at the end of every year, as credit unions and other cooperatives do, and apportioning them out to the member/owners, that is very special, no matter what the size of the payout.
Every year at this time when we get news of year-end patronage or bonus dividends it gives meaning to the concept of a cooperative that all the posturing and lobbying fail to do. Credit unions ought to send this news to their state lawmakers and members of Congress to illustrate the true nature of a cooperative.
