PITTSBURGH – The $115 million U$X FCU which was started in 1938 for general office employees of U.S. Steel Corp. has always operated with large amounts of capital and president David R. Ackerman says it's been a good strategy to be "thrifty." The CU has been operating with 1% ROA for the last year and while 20% capital "is more than what we need" the funds are given back to members in a loyalty rewards program. In fact $3 million has been returned since a program began in 2002. Last year it paid back $800,000. The Member Loyalty Reward is a good use of capital and much easier for a member to understand than a complicated member relationship pricing model, said Ackerman. "We make a disclaimer at the end of the year that there is no guarantee we will be doing it again the following year," said Ackerman noting the board would decide this year's amount at a board meeting "probably around Thanksgiving." Says Ackerman of the CU's capital approach, "Our members have accumulated this capital through prudent financial management since our inception in 1938 (United States Steel General Office Employees FCU)." Today, the CU has 19,300 members, five offices and over 300 SEGs.