WASHINGTON—Total CEO compensation at large federally insured state chartered credit unions in 2014 was on average 13.5 times higher than the average compensation of employees at these institutions, reports one analyst.
The median ratio of CEO compensation to average employee compensation was 10.6, reported Keith Leggett, the former senior vice president and senior economist at the ABA, on his Credit Union Watch blog.
Leggett defined large state chartered credit unions are as having at least $1 billion in assets, noting that he pulled total CEO compensation from Schedule J of a credit union's Form 990.
“To calculate average credit union employee compensation, the analysis divided the Call Report line item ‘Employee Compensation & Benefits’ by full-time equivalent employees,” Leggett explained.
Leggett added that full-time equivalent employees equals the number of full-time employees plus 0.5 times the number of part-time employees.
“The analysis shows that there is a positive relationship between CEO compensation and the ratio of CEO compensation and average employee compensation,” Leggett said. “Fourteen credit unions reported a ratio of CEO compensation to average employee compensation in excess of 20.”
According to Leggett’s analysis, Eastman Credit Union, Kingsport, Tenn., reported the largest multiple between CEO compensation and average employee compensation of 127.03. Utilities Employee Credit Union, Wyomissing, Penn., was second at 54.16. TruMark Financial CU, Trevose, Penn., was third at 45.14. Rounding out the top five were Vantage West CU, Tucson, Ariz., at 37.46, and Municipal Employees CU of Baltimore, at 37.28, respectively.
Leggett previously reported that the average total compensation for CEOs of state chartered credit unions with at least $1 billion in assets in 2014 was $1,017,720, noting that one CEO is making nearly $9.3 million.