How Cooperatives Work
As a proud member of the Farm Credit System, ArborOne is a financial cooperative created for the benefit of its agricultural member-owners. We return our profits to our member-borrowers through patronage refunds.
For that reason, we work by the Cooperative Principle, which means we’re all here for one reason—helping South Carolina farmers, families and individuals succeed with the best financial tools available.
ArborOne has returned over $143 million in profits to our member-borrowers through patronage refunds since 1989.
Profits Returned to Members
Unlike commercial banks, our cooperative structure means that a portion of the profits generated from our lending activity is returned to our member-borrowers in the form of patronage refunds. These patronage refunds are based on the proportion of interest earned on an individual loan which significantly reduces the cost of borrowing for our member-owners. Crop Insurance customers are also members of our cooperative and receive benefits of membership. Patronage dividends are subject to eligibility.
The Board of Directors determines the number of patronage refunds to be distributed based on the association’s earnings and capital position. The distribution of these profits to our members effectively reduces their cost of borrowing money.
How do patronage refunds affect my loan?
Because we’re an agricultural credit cooperative, ArborOne--part of Farm Credit--is owned by the member-borrowers who purchase stock and participation certificates in the cooperative. At the end of every fiscal year, our Board of Directors may choose to retain the net income of the Association to strengthen the company’s capital, or distribute some or all of the net income to members by declaring a dividend on stock or a patronage refund.
That means at the end of the fiscal year, you may qualify for money back on the interest paid on your loan. This not only reduces the costs for the company itself, but lowers your overall costs as well. This effectively lowers the overall impact of your South Carolina mortgage rate.
While ArborOne cannot promise to distribute patronage refunds, we are proud of our patronage history to date:
| Fiscal Year End | Total Patronage Paid |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $6,465,162 |
| 2022 | $6,735,406 |
| 2021 | $8,040,563 |
| 2020 | $7,798,534 |
| 2019 | $6,770,924 |
| 1989-2018 | $107,221,861 |
| TOTAL | $143,032,450 |
Total patronage pad includes cash patronage, allocated surplus revolved, and crop insurance patronage.