Houston's JSC Federal Credit Union, which now does business as Wellby Financial, paid members a $9 million special dividend Friday.

The Special Member Dividend represents about $69 per member and is 0.34% of the average assets for the 12 months ending Sept. 30 for Wellby ($2.7 billion in assets, 124,883 members).

For the fourth quarter, the special dividend resulted in a $7 million loss, but the credit union still earned $642,719 (0.10% ROA) for the year.
"This is intentional," President/CEO Marty Pell told members in a YouTube video posted Wednesday. "We are taking the earnings we made last year and returning them to you, our owners."

"Organizations must have strength to do this: Strong capital, strong liquidity, good asset quality – things that matter to us in the financial services business, but hopefully speak to you in terms of our strength, our stability and why you win in doing business with us," Pell said.

Pell said one reason for the payout was to honor the credit union's 65th anniversary, which was founded in 1961 to serve what was then known as NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center. The center was renamed the Johnson Space Center in 1973 after the death of President Lyndon Johnson of Texas. Hence the "JSC" of the credit union's charter name.

Wellby was one of six more credit unions to announce special dividends in the last two months. The six paid their 254,651 members $15.3 million, which represents about $60 per member and 31 basis points of their ROA of 0.78% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

Another of the six was DoverPhila Federal Credit Union of Dover, Ohio, 45 miles south of Akron ($762.8 million, 34,131 members), which paid members $2.6 million Dec. 31 as a member bonus dividend. The amount represents about $77 per member and 39 bps of its ROA of 0.62% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

This year marked the 31st in a row that the Tuscarawas County credit union has paid a special dividend, and it is the largest so far.

"We measure success by the impact we create – not just on our balance sheet, but in the lives of our members and neighbors," President/CEO Jason Garner said.

"Returning $2.6 million to our membership and more than $200,000 to Tuscarawas County this year is a testament to the strength of our cooperative model and the trust our community places in us," Garner said. "When our members thrive, the entire region thrives, and we are proud to play a meaningful role in building a stronger, financially empowered community."

The other four credit unions were:

  • Elko Federal Credit Union of Elko, in northeast Nevada ($319.8 million in assets, 18,391 members), which paid members $1 million in January as a member dividend. The amount represents about $57 per member and 36 bps of its ROA of 1.90% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
  • Minnesota Valley Federal Credit Union of Mankato, Minn., 80 miles southwest of Minneapolis ($312.1 million in assets, 18,407 members), which paid members $100,000 Dec. 31 as a Patronage Dividend. The amount represents about $6 per member and 4 bps of its ROA of 0.73% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
  • OMNI Community Credit Union of Battle Creek, Mich. ($607 million in assets, 46,468 members), which paid members $1.8 million Jan. 17 as a Cashback Rebate. The amount represents about $39 per member and 31 bps of its ROA of 1.49% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
  • OTIS Federal Credit Union of Jay, Maine, 65 miles north of Portland ($283.2 million in assets, 12,371 members), which paid members $788,735 Jan. 1 as a Bonus Dividend and Interest Refund. The amount represents about $69 per member and 31 bps of its ROA of 1.52% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.

So far this season, CU Times has tallied 48 credit unions ($128.4 billion, 6.4 million members), which have announced $302.5 million in special dividends. The amount represents about $47 per member and 24 bps of their 12-month ROA of 0.88%.

Credit unions interested in sharing their special dividend announcements can email them to Jim.DuPlessis@arc-network.com.

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