SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — Central Corporate Credit Union is repeating last year's popular patronage dividend payout by waiving all service fees incurred by members during the months of July and November 2008, for an estimated $1 million in savings.
The payout applies to all fee-based services offered by the $3.5 billion corporate, including item processing, wire transfer, ACH and asset-liability management.
"Up until November of last year, we would distribute those profits by kicking up the dividend on our capital account, which is currently 6%, already a pretty good rate," said Bill Walby, CenCorp CEO. "So, we wanted to find a way to have more impact on credit unions and our membership, which is how we struck upon this idea."
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Walby said his dividend distribution method serves two purposes: it's unique and it offers the most savings to members with the highest monthly bills, thus supporting the cooperative philosophy of rewarding those who participate the most.
CenCorp will also use the promise of a fee-free November to lure current members into giving the corporate more business, Walby said.
"We're all about doing more with the membership base we have," Walby said. "It's always been our focus and that's the focus here. We have members you use us for a number of things, and we want a greater share of their wallet, so to speak."
Currently, waiving fees has the most tangible effect on member credit unions' bottom lines, and the positive feedback CenCorp received when it first waived fees last November spurred this year's repeat performance. However, the corporate is already anticipating future market changes and consequently planning new ways to return profits to members, he said.
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