FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Northwest Farm Credit Services Increases Patronage Dividends To Customer-Members

Spokane, Washington (Feb. 24, 2021) – The Northwest FCS Board of Directors approved a special, one-time increase in cash patronage dividends for 2020 from 1.25% of customer-members’ eligible average daily loan balance to 1.50%. Eligible customer-members received a portion of their patronage payment in mid-2020 and the remainder was paid mid-February 2021.
 
Phil DiPofi, President and CEO said, “The COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires and other adversities posed economic and management challenges for many of our customers in 2020. The increased patronage payments will help offset financial stress and economic burdens brought about by these events.”

Northwest FCS paid a record $177 million in 2020 patronage to more than 9,000 customer-members, compared to $145 million in 2019. Since the program began in 2000, more than $1.2 billion in patronage dividends has been paid to Northwest FCS customer-members.

DiPofi said the association’s strong financial foundation and diverse loan portfolio position it well to help customer-members deal with the inevitable ups and downs of agriculture. “Our purpose is to improve the lives of our customers, employees, communities and the industries we serve. Being a cooperative allows us to pay a portion of our earnings to our customer-members, which is especially important during these volatile times.”

Northwest FCS is a $14 billion financial cooperative providing financing and related services to farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, commercial fishing operations, timber producers, rural homeowners and crop insurance customers in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Northwest FCS is a member of the nationwide Farm Credit System that supports agriculture and rural communities with reliable, consistent credit and financial services. For more information, go to northwestfcs.com.  

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Contact

Kylee Andrews
Communications Specialist
Kylee.Andrews@northwestfcs.com
509.340.5443