The board considered and decided. From David Pohl's letter: Letter from David Pohl, Chairman and CEO of Patriot Corporation September 20, 2006 Dear Shareholders, The Board of Directors carefully considered a number of different options, including discussions with our SEC attorneys about a possible stock buyback program, and finally concluded that the dividend payout was the most prudent thing to do at that time. We were delighted in finally having sufficient cash resources to give something back to our shareholders as dividends.