This year, Ascend members are receiving $5 million in bonus dividends and loan interest refunds.

That brings the 13-year total member return to more than $71.5 million.

“We know people have a choice of financial service providers, and on behalf of our Board, I want to thank Ascend’s members for their continued business,” Ascend President and CEO Caren Gabriel said. “Ascend’s member return is the perfect example of what a financial cooperative should be doing – sharing the success of the business by returning money to the people who make it successful.”

The member return is never guaranteed, but Gabriel said it is something Ascend’s Board strives for each year. She said the member return is a key differentiator between Ascend and its competitors.

“Banks, payday lenders – and many credit unions – do not return money to their customers,” Gabriel said.

She said that as in previous years, this year’s return is based on a member’s relationship with Ascend. The more loans someone has with the credit union, the greater his loan interest refund, and the more savings he has, the greater his bonus dividend.

Gabriel said the 2017 return will appear on members’ December statements.

With more than $2 billion in assets, more than 170,000 members and more than 500 employees, Ascend is the largest credit union in Middle Tennessee and one of the largest federally chartered credit unions in the United States. The National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) selected Ascend as the 2015 Federal Credit Union of the Year. Ascend is federally insured by the NCUA.