LOS ANGELES – Credit union CEOs who were eligible for a raise saw base pay levels increase by a national average of 6.62%, up slightly from 6.54% last year, according to Executive Compensation Solutions’ 9th annual compensation salary for the credit union movement.
While credit unions continue to deal with the fallout from the mortgage meltdown and recession, they are seeing the importance of paying for good talent to lead them through challenging times, ECS said. “Key to maintaining an edge in a highly competitive market is having a talented executive team, and a major component in finding and retaining that team is a competitive compensation and benefits package,” the firm said.
Among the findings:
* The average tenure for CEOs in their present positions is 12 years.
* 49% of respondents reported the CEO’s highest level of education was a bachelor’s degree (down from 56% last year), while the percentage reporting the CEO’s highest level of education was a master’s degree increased from 27% to 33%.
* 71% of the respondent CUs’ CEOs are male, the same as last year. “However, women occupy the CEO post in 20% of the credit unions with assets in excess of $1 billion. This is believed to be higher in the credit union marketplace than in several other financial service sectors.”
* The average base salaries at CUs with assets of $50 million or less is $84,110 compared to $441,473 for credit unions with more than $2 billion in assets.
* More credit unions are emphasizing objective measurements for determining short-term incentives over board discretion, with loan growth being the leading performance factor for the third year in a row.
