CU Times has tallied special dividends from 52 credit unions that returned $306.9 million to at least some of their 6.6 million members over the past six months.
The tally is far from scientific. CU Times depends on either getting a news release from a credit union, or searching the web for bytes of news. We generally consider the season as starting about Oct. 1 and ending before April.
This season's $306.9 million payout from 52 credit unions works out to $46 per member and 0.24% of their average assets for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, a period in which their return on average assets (ROA) was 0.87%.
CU Times tallied $366.1 million in special dividends from 50 credit unions in 2024-2025, including a $76 million close-out dividend paid in May 2025 from a credit union shortly before its acquisition in a merger. The amount represented about $55 per member and 30 bps of their ROA of 0.94% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2024.
The tally for 2023-2024 was $322.2 million in special dividends from 51 credit unions. It represented about $44 per member and 25 bps of their 12-month ROA of 1.03%.
This year's tally included new dividends from four credit unions that paid $4.4 million in special dividends early this year. The amount represents about $18 per each of their 252,390 members and 12 basis points of their ROA of 0.58% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
The largest came from Centra Credit Union of Columbus, Ind. ($2.3 billion, 152,084 members), which paid members $1.5 million in February as a Member Loyalty Bonus. The amount represents about $10 per member and 7 bps of its ROA of 0.45% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
The credit union's board chose to pay the bonus because of "favorable financial conditions in 2025," its news release said. For calendar year 2025 Centra earned $16 million (0.72% ROA).
Centra has paid out more than $6.2 million in Member Loyalty Bonuses since starting the program in 2021.
NuMark Credit Union of Joliet, Ill., 40 miles southwest of Chicago ($879.8 million, 62,350 members) paid members $1.4 million Feb. 13 as a cash bonus. The amount represents about $23 per member and 18 bps of its ROA of 0.74% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30. For the calendar year 2025, NuMark earned $6 million (0.69% ROA).
NuMark has paid $3.4 million in special dividends since 2022.
"NuMark has been growing strong and it's our members who make that growth possible," Chair Cliff Struthers said. "Our members own the credit union, so we were delighted to be able to give back a member bonus this year."
San Antonio Citizens Federal Credit Union ($394.5 million, 18,938 members) paid members $545,000 in March as a one-time patronage dividend. The amount represents about $29 per member and 15 bps of its ROA of 0.98% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
The Texas credit union said the board chose to distribute the special dividend to celebrate its 70th anniversary and reflects its "strong financial performance." It earned $4.3 million (1.11% ROA) for the 2025 calendar year.
TruStar Federal Credit Union of International Falls, Minn., near the Canadian border ($363.6 million, 19,018 members) paid members $1 million Feb. 24 as a Patronage Dividend. The amount represents about $54 per member and 29 bps of its ROA of 0.88% for the 12 months ending Sept. 30.
Contact Jim DuPlessis at Jim.DuPlessis@arc-network.com.
© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.