Blog
2011 Commercial Lender Salary Survey
2011 marks the third consecutive year we have conducted a regional Commercial Lender Salary Survey. We presented the opportunity to participate to over 3500 commercial lenders across NE and NY, and this year 602 took us up on the offer, bringing total participation up slightly from last year. This survey reflects the responses of individual contributors, defined as commercial lenders that are not managing a team of other lenders.
We have made an effort to simplify and clarify the survey this year. As you’ll see, we have focused on three key areas:
1) Base Salary. We have calculated the average base salary by a) State, b) Bank Ownership, c) Years Experience, and d) Personal Loan Production.
2) Cash Bonus. This year, we have noted the percentage of lenders who receive a cash bonus (overall 83% did), and also correlated the cash bonus to a) State, b) Bank Ownership, c) Years Experience, and d) Personal Loan Production.
3) Long Term Compensation. As with the cash bonus, we have also noted the percentage of lenders who receive long term compensation (defined as stock options, restricted stock units, profit sharing, or a pension, NOT a 401k) and also correlated long term compensation to a) State, b) Bank Ownership, c) Years Experience, and d) Personal Loan Production.
In a new twist, we asked all participants their “general sentiment” towards the overall health of the market, defined as credit quality and loan demand. On a scale from 1-10, with 10 being the best and 1 the worst, the average sentiment across the region was a 5.9. While not exactly scientific, we believe this question provides an interesting perspective of the overall health of the economy.
Interestingly, only 77% of participants reported receiving a raise in 2011, as opposed to the 86% who received a raise in 2010, and the 61% of lenders who received a raise in 2009. The average raise in 2011 was 3%.
Finally, over 9% of lenders responded they will be planning on retirement at some point in the next five years. Based on this, we anticipate strong employment demand for established lenders into the foreseeable future.
Please feel free to contact me to interpret, analyze or discuss these compensation trends in your market, and how you can utilize this information to develop a competitive advantage for your organization.
Sincerely,
Carll Wilkinson
Managing Partner