In the next few weeks, customers of AgCarolina Financial will receive patronage refund checks for 2007, it was announced this week by Gene Charville, President. The patronage refund for 2007 totaled $7.2 million resulting in an average interest rate discount to the cooperative’s customers of .92%. 

“As a cooperative, we can return the profits of AgCarolina Financial’s successful operations to its customers.  This distribution reflects the association’s continued commitment to share its financial success with our loyal customers,” said Dick Tunnell, Chairman of the AgCarolina Financial Board.  He continued, “The association’s financial strength and stability have enabled the association to issue patronage refunds for the past twenty years.” Since 1988, AgCarolina Financial has returned more than $141 million to its member-borrowers through patronage refunds and retirements of allocated surplus. 

“When we distribute our profits to our borrowers, it reduces their effective cost of borrowing,” Gene Charville stated, “and it proves that there are distinct financial benefits in doing business on a cooperative basis.”