First Defiance Halves Dividend To 8.5 Cents

DEFIANCE, Ohio (AP) — First Defiance Financial Corp. said Friday it cut its quarterly dividend in half to 8.5 cents because of the lagging economy.

The dividend is payable on July 24 to shareholders of record as of July 10.

The board reduced the dividend by 50 percent to be more conservative with cash in the current economic downturn. CEO William Small said in a statement that the reduction was not related to any specific issues with the company.

First Defiance Financial is a holding company for First Federal Bank of the Midwest and First Insurance and Investments. First Federal serves northwest Ohio, southeast Michigan and northeast Indiana.

Shares added a penny to $13.76 in afternoon trading.