Crowe Horwath : Banks have established a new normal

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

As reported in Crowe Horwath LLP’s 2012 Comprehensive Financial Institutions Compensation Survey, average salary increases in 2012 for bank officers and non-officers have settled at about 2.5 percent for the second year in a row.

“During the downturn, poor bank performance caused compensation increases to be lower than what had been forecast,” said Tim Reimink, a senior consultant in Crowe’s Performance practice. “The return to salary increases meeting forecasts shows banks have a better grip on their performance expectations and have established a new normal for the post-recession era.”

The 2012 survey results also showed a widening of the salary increase gap between above average performers and average performers. For 66 percent of employees rated as average or meeting expectations, the average salary increase was 2.3 percent, less than the 2.7 percent increase in 2011. For the 27 percent of employees rated as above average or exceeding expectations, the average increase was 3.4 percent, which was slightly more than the 3.3 percent increase in 2011.

Commercial loan officers saw the biggest jump in total annual compensation, with a change of 17.3 percent over last year and a 38.5 percent increase over the past four years. Survey results for chief lending officers showed a 12.1 percent year-over-year growth in total compensation and a 25.5 percent increase since 2008. “Financial institutions are experiencing slow loan growth and competing for lending talent who can help grow their portfolios, which is why these positions are seeing a more rapid compensation growth than other positions,” said Reimink.