CO-OP Financial Services provides the tools, counsel and leadership to help you and your members prosper. So, we define success by your credit union’s prosperity.
This means we must strike a balance between reinvesting in the access and convenience products and services your members expect from their primary financial institution, and distribute a healthy patronage payout to shareholders at the close of each fiscal year. It is because of our loyal membership and their active feedback that we can appropriately address both the service and financial needs of our shareholders.
It is my pleasure to inform our shareholders that CO-OP Financial Services is announcing a patronage pool of $22.2 million for 2009 with a cash disbursement to its member credit union shareholders of $12.2 million, increases of 12 percent each compared to the previous year. Net income for 2009 totaled $24.2 million, also a 12 percent increase.
CO-OP was founded by credit unions in 1981, which means we are nearing our 30th year of serving you. Today, CO-OP connects credit union members to their accounts through five main business lines – network services, payment processing, e-commerce solutions, CO-OP Shared Branching and call center services. Together with you, we remain a strong community connected to millions of people and places around the country – more than 3,000 member credit unions, 26 million cardholders, 28,000 surcharge-free ATMs (9,000 of which are deposit-taking), 4,000 shared branch locations, plus more than 160 million monthly transactions. Credit unions and CO-OP truly make a team that can compete with any national bank and win.
We’ve made a significant investment in CO-OP Network to provide ATM locations in recognizable retail stores like 7-Eleven, Costco and Walgreens. In November 2009, we announced a contract renewal with Cardtronics, Inc., the operator of the retail ATMs, that will keep ATMs in these stores as part of CO-OP Network for at least five more years. Approximately 5,500 ATMs in 7-Eleven stores are covered under the contract renewal, about 2,200 of which are deposit taking. In addition, about 340 ATMs in Costco membership warehouses and about 670 ATMs in Walgreens drug stores also are covered under the agreement with Cardtronics.
Because we cover credit union card fees and member surcharges, we’ve saved our members approximately $43 million in 2009.
It is an honor to be able to once again pay out a patronage dividend to our shareholders. Caring for credit unions the way they care for their members is what CO-OP is all about. We were created by the credit union movement and we will always be “Of You. For You.” Thank you again for the opportunity to serve you and we welcome your comments, questions and suggestions via the icon below.