The average salary for chief executive officers at community banks rose 5.2% this year, to $213,000, according to the
The salaries varied widely depending on the bank's asset size, region, and type of ownership.
For banks with assets of $50 million to $100 million, the average CEO's base salary was $123,300, the survey found. For banks with more than $3 billion of assets, the average was $391,300.
Salaries were higher at stock-owned banks and mutual holding companies than at mutual savings institutions.
The base salaries for all community bank employees rose 4.4% this year, compared to a 4.2% increase last year.
"This increase reflects a measured sense of optimism about community banks' ability to weather conditions in the volatile financial markets and continue their paths to profitability in the coming year," Angelo Kostopoulos, the president of Akron Inc. of Washington, which helped produce the survey, said in a press release.
