# Mr. Lee, in his 40s, who runs a clothing store in Jung-gu, Seoul, left the store with an employee on the 6th and headed to the nearby Saemaul Geumgo. It was because she heard from a merchant near her that a special sale was going on that would give her a preferential rate of 5% on the one-year regular gold rate when she opened a savings account. She might only sign up by visiting the branch in person, so she had to wait in line for regarding two hours. He said, “I saw that Saemaul Geumgo’s dividend rate was high this year, and while I was researching the investment account, a special sale product linked to a savings account came out at a nearby branch, so I went straight to sign up for it. “He said. The special sale product linked to the investment bankbook conducted at the branch was sold out on the 6th, two days following the sale started on the 4th with a limit of 50 billion won.
Investment accounts of mutual finance companies that pay a relatively higher dividend rate than bank deposits are gaining popularity. According to the mutual finance industry on the 8th, as of the end of last year, the average investment dividend rate of 1,297 Saemaul Geumgo nationwide was 3.34%. Seoul Mok-dong Saemaul Geumgo head office, Gyeonggi Goyang Nuri Saemaul Geumgo head office, and Paju Jungang Saemaul Geumgo also confirmed the dividend rate of 4%. The average dividend ratio of 873 credit unions across the country was 2.89%. Compared to the average interest rate of savings deposits (term deposits, etc.) of deposit banks in February of last year, the investment dividend rate is very high.
Last year, as the mutual financial sector recorded the highest net profit ever, union members also received more dividends than the previous year. According to the Korea Federation of Saemaul Geumgo, net profit last year was regarding 1.11 trillion won, up 43.1% from 779.5 billion won in 2020. The average dividend payout ratio also increased from 2.91% in 2020 to 3.34% last year. The credit union’s net profit last year was 512.7 billion won, up 33.8% from 383.1 billion won in 2020. The average dividend yield also increased from 2.67% to 2.89% during the same period.
The investment bankbook is a bankbook where customers put capital invested by joining as a member of a mutual financial company such as Saemaul Geumgo and credit unions. Signing up for this account is similar to the concept of buying stock in a corporation and becoming a shareholder. Each mutual finance company manages the paid-in capital and determines the dividend rate every year according to the results of business performance, and pays dividends to customers who have paid the investment in January or February of the following year.
According to the Saemaul Geumgo Federation, there were regarding 10 million customers who signed up for an investment account as of the end of February. This means that regarding half of the 21.5 million simple transaction customers have paid their investment. In the case of investment bankbooks, seniors who manage retirement funds or middle-aged people who prefer safe assets from a long-term perspective mainly join. The subscription amount varies by safe and cooperative, but usually starts from 10,000 to 100,000 won. Dividend income is tax-free up to an investment of up to 10 million won. If you put 10 million won as your investment and receive an investment dividend of 3.5%, you can receive a dividend of 350,000 won.
However, due to the nature of the capital, the ‘protection of depositors with a limit of 50 million won’, which is applied to general deposits, does not apply. If the cooperative you invested in goes bankrupt, you will not be able to get your money back. There is also a disadvantage that withdrawals are not free. If the investment bankbook is canceled in the middle, the funds can be recovered only following the next general meeting is held, and it may take up to one year to recover.
You can sign up for a savings account only at the branch of a mutual finance company in your actual residence or workplace. Investment accounts are sold by credit unions and Saemaul Geumgo, agricultural cooperatives (Nonghyup), fisheries cooperatives (fisheries cooperatives), and forestry cooperatives.
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