MADISON, Wis. – Executive compensation at credit unions has gone up with the improvement in credit union financial performance, as this year’s increases for executive comp were double last year’s, according to CU Executives Society.
The increase in pay comes as hundreds of credit unions are reporting strongre financials for 2011, with many moving out of the red and into the black.
The annual CUES Executive Compensation Survey shows the rate of increase for base salary plus bonus was 5.01% this year, compared with 2.54% in 2010, and the increase in total compensation averaged 5.07%, up from 2.39% the previous year.
The average base salary for credit union CEOs increased 4.37% in 2011, as opposed to 3.62% in 2010.
The survey also indicates that board evaluations were the most common factor in setting incentive pay, identified by 57.8 % of respondents, followed by earnings, 57.1%; loan growth, 35.5%; membership growth, 21.3%; and member satisfaction, 20.9%.
This survey, administered by enetrix of Middleton, Wis., was composed of 467 respondents, 77% of whom participated last year.
Among other executives, base salary increases ranged from 3.04% for business lending executives to 7.30% for business development managers. In terms of total compensation, the percentage change for all executive positions was significantly higher than the increases awarded in 2010—more than two percentage points in many categories.
