The Weyburn Credit Union will rebate a total of $850,000 to its membership this year.

The distribution will be the largest patronage allocation ever paid out in cash and to the members' ownership accounts, said chief executive officer Allan Messer on Monday.

"I'm very proud of this," he said.

This year will be the 29th year in 31 years of operation that rebates and dividends will have been paid out, he said.

Cheques will be distributed Thursday and Friday, Dec. 18 and 19, from 9:30-5 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 20 from 9:30-3 p.m. in the community room of the Credit Union.

Messer said members can receive three different types of rebate.

The first will be a 7.5 per cent rebate of interest on loans and lines of credit. The second will provide a 7.5 per cent bonus for term deposits, maximizer and savings accounts, and the third will pay $5 to junior members and put $25 in their ownership accounts.

Messer said Weyburn Credit Union has the ability to pay a large dividend because it's a diversified organization.

A large portion of its business comes from residential and consumer loans for houses, cars and other durable goods, while it also has a large agricultural and commercial side, he said.

The credit union has seen great progress in the commercial side of business in recent years, he said.

"It's really the strength for Weyburn Credit Union," he said.

The diversity means if one business sector suffers, the others may do well, he said. "We had a good year and we have a policy of returning profits to our members who deal with us," he said.