Add the $3.7 billion DFCU Financial to the list of cooperatives that have reported extraordinary dividend payouts to their members.
The Dearborn, Mich.-based credit union announced a payment of $24 million to 100,000 of its members.
"At DFCU Financial, returning cash back to our members is our way of saying 'thank you' for their loyalty," Mark Shobe, president/CEO of DFCU Financial, said. "We believe it's our responsibility to share our success with the members who help us achieve it, whether they are borrowers or savers."
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DFCU Financial said it has paid a collective $181 million to its members since 2006, a sum larger than any financial institution in the United States.
This year's reward surpasses last year's record-breaking $23 million payout, according to the credit union.
DFCU Financial said it returns approximately half of its annual earnings to members, who receive 0.50% cash back on their portfolios, which may include checking, savings, auto and mortgage loans and credit cards, annually.
In 2015, members received an average direct deposit of $250 and the largest reward totaled $18,000, according to DFCU Financial.
In many cases, members' CASH BACK rewards were significant enough to pay a mortgage or car payment, the credit union said.
"This record-breaking payday is supporting DFCU Financial's mantra of 'take care of our members first,'" Shobe said.
As of Sep. 31, 2014, DFCU Financial had net worth ratio of 11.90%, almost a full point above its peer group and a return on assets ratio of 1.47%, almost double the peer group average, according to the credit union's NCUA financial records.
Prior to its eight year run of payments to its members, DFCU Financial tried and failed to convert a mutual bank charter. The fight spilled over into litigation between the credit union and the Michigan Credit Union League.
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