At the end of this year my CU decided to hand out 3 million in bonus dividends. They paid a bonus dividend on top of your annual dividends.

That was a small amount of money that I wasn't expecting. And as another bonus I think it shows the good health that my institution is in.

A familiar experience after meeting with bank financial planners was arriving home with something that I didn't want.

In late 2007 and early 2008 I decided to sell all equities and invest in term deposits. At age 73, I was particularly concerned about a very inflated stock market. It took several visits but I finally and firmly ordered all mutual funds sold.

After closing the account and transferring the funds to a credit union, I then purchased staggered term deposits. The rep did suggest diversifying but did not try to change my mind.

Later when the bank called for an explanation I stated that I transferred the account so I could invest all in term deposits. When told that they have term deposits too, I stated that the credit union was offering 1% more on a 5-year GIC. "Well we could find something like that for you." But that's too late!

In over thirty-six years I have always found credit union staff to be friendly, knowledgeable, and never persuasive! I think if more business could be conducted with Credit Union concepts we would be much better off socially.

I love my credit union!

They have the highest rates on savings account, the lowest rates on loans, AND I got a bonus dividend this month, too.

They are the way to go if they are convenient in your area.

Credit unions exist solely to serve their members, not to pay high dividends to share holders. Credit union income is returned to members, offering higher deposit rates and lower rates on loans.

The World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) defines credit unions as "not-for-profit cooperative institutions." In practice however, legal arrangements vary by jurisdiction. For example in Canada credit unions are regulated as for-profit institutions, and view their mandate as earning a reasonable profit to enhance services to members and ensure stable growth. This difference in viewpoints reflects credit unions' unusual organizational structure, which attempts to solve the principal-agent problem by ensuring that the owners and the users of the institution are the same people. In any case, credit unions generally cannot accept donations and must be able to prosper in a competitive market economy.

More about Credit Unions at Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_union

Thank you so much for your informative posts

maison de credit

I love our Credit Union, too - Navy Federal - for anyone who is interested. It is open to members of the military and their families and DoD employees. They have favorable loan rates as well as competitive savings rates. And they don't try to gouge you with fees for every little thing.

OP, that's great about the dividend - a nice bonus for you!