The Rock Island-based Gas & Electric Credit Union recently awarded a $250,000 bonus dividend payout to its members, in what GECU said is a thank you for another great year. GECU has given back nearly $1.5 million in bonus dividends to credit union members since 2014.
The bonus is paid directly into members’ accounts and is split equally to reward both savers and borrowers.
“This again exemplifies what makes GECU different from banks and even from other credit unions,” GECU President Daryl Empen said in a news release Friday, April 3. “When we do well, we want to reward our members who are responsible for our success. After all, they are the owners of this institution.”
Mr. Empen added “I can think of no better way to cap off our 90th anniversary year.”
GECU has consistently ranked in the top 1 to 2% for all credit unions in the country in returning value to its members, according to Callahan & Associates Return to Member Index.
“Knowing that we already return extraordinary value to our members, as measured by the Return to Member Index, being able to give back even more to our members in the form of the bonus dividend gives us great satisfaction,” the credit union president said.
GECU was founded in 1935 and celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2025.
With $131 million in assets and 5,500 members, it serves the employees and their family members of numerous sponsor companies, including MidAmerican Energy, BITCO, and many other Rock Island-based employers including the Rock Island-Milan School District, the City of Rock Island, Illinois Casualty, and anyone working in downtown Rock Island.
