Mark Shobe, CEO of the $3 billion DFCU Financial, praised the credit union's efficiency for being able to share $19 million with its 85,000 members through a patronage dividend.
"The reason the credit union is able to give members $19 million is because it runs so efficiently,"said DFCU Financial CEO Mark Shobe. "When I first arrived at DFCU Financial in 2000, it cost the credit union 78.5 cents to produce a dollar of revenue. Today the cost is 50 cents. That efficiency savings is significant and generates about $20 million in annual incremental income, which pays for the yearly dividend."
This is the fifth year the CU has shared year end excess with its members, totaling $90 million over the five years, the CU said.
"To become extremely efficient--and help drive ROA to 1.23% and bring capital to 13%--takes time," Shobe said. "It took us six years and requires two things: You have to have a focused business strategy so you are not trying to be all things to all people. Then you have to benchmark your organization to achieve operational excellence so you can deliver products and services at a low cost," he added.
