This was in Banker and Tradesman today. You can only view if you have a subscription so I will post the whole article.

Dodd-Frank Puts Bank Compliance Officers In Spotlight Demand – And Pay For Compliance Pros Set To Grow In 2011
By Laura Schreier
Banker & Tradesman Staff Writer

Trying to navigate all the twists and turns of the Dodd-Frank Act is enough to bewilder most bankers, but it sends at least one clear message: Compliance experts are increasingly necessary to keep banks running smoothly – or at all.

Dodd-Frank is going to require plenty of regulatory compliance training to get banks up to speed, adding yet more momentum to a years-long trend that has seen compliance experts become hugely important, and increasingly better paid, members of the industry.

But there’s one problem: “There are not a whole lot of them,” said Dennis Kelly, CEO of Taunton-based Bristol County Savings Bank, echoing some of his banking peers.

That gives compliance experts a great deal of leverage, he said, provided they have the right experience. Job recruiters say compliance analysts’ salary increases are outpacing finance industry peers. New York-based ICS Compliance, which provides compliance help on a contract basis and has an office in Newton, said it expects new business to explode in 2011.

A Temporary Task?

Bill Driscoll, district president for job recruiter Robert Half New England, noted that in his company’s 2011 Salary Guide, financial institutions’ compliance employee salaries are up a full percentage point over most other jobs in accounting and finance.

The average salary is expected to rise 3.1 percent for new hires in 2011 over their 2010 counterparts, he said, but compliance workers can expect a healthier 4 percent to 4.5 percent bump. Most compliance officers got their education in finance or accounting, and have worked their way into compliance positions over time, Driscoll said.

As it stands now, many large banks have extensive in-house compliance staff, while community banks have a few dedicated compliance employees or go to contract help as needed.

Despite the promise of lots of Dodd-Frank related work, bankers can’t just go out and start hiring more compliance staff, said ICS President John Soffronoff.

Big though Dodd-Frank is, deciphering and applying those new regulations is still a temporary task, he noted, and likely doesn’t warrant creating a permanent position. And although the scarcity and importance of in-house compliance experts might indicate they’d be able to command bigger salaries, Soffronoff said many banks are dealing with budget issues that are keeping their expenses – including salaries – in check.

As a third-party company that helps banks with compliance and auditing, ICS consistently works with 30 community banks nationwide with up to $5 billion in assets, and has helped dozens more institutions, large and small, that hire the company on a temporary project basis. For 2011, ICS is allocating a 50 percent increase in its new business budget, in the expectation that more banks will turn to the company for help.

Bankers themselves aren’t entirely sure what to expect from Dodd-Frank, but acknowledge that compliance hires aren’t easy to make. Most can’t afford recruiters like Robert Half, and have to look around on their own.

Budget Constraints

For small banks, including the $92.5 million Canton Co-operative Bank, the question is somewhat moot because compliance duties are spread out among multiple employees, according to President and CEO Deborah Kreusch. Smaller banks have less-complicated operations, she said, so it may be easier to apply the new rules. And although it would be preferable to have a full-time compliance officer, it’s not really sensible for a bank of Canton Co-op’s size.

The larger Bristol County Savings Bank, at $1.2 billion, invested in compliance personnel five or six years ago when it had the opportunity to take on a former FDIC examiner, Kelly said. That examiner has, in turn, trained other bank employees in her system.

Kelly said that was a fortunate find. While former regulators are the most obvious source of compliance help, banks cannot hire regulators who used to do examinations on their bank, which creates some barriers to finding talent.

Hudson-based Avidia Bank found its compliance officer from within, said CEO Mark O’Connell. The bank’s officer is a 35-year veteran of the banking industry, and only took over the compliance title about five years ago. If the employee has extensive knowledge of banking operations, taking on compliance isn’t an impossible task, O’Connell said.

But Avidia’s compliance officer may decide to retire in the next few years, and O’Connell admitted the bank doesn’t have any immediate replacements ready to step up.

“It gets tricky,” he said. “It’s not easy to find.”

Kelly and O’Connell both put compliance officers as one of the top-earning positions in the bank. O’Connell said although he didn’t see salaries immediately rising on account of Dodd-Frank, he wouldn’t be surprised if compliance experts could gradually expect more benefits as their services increase in value.

Although banks don’t have a large pipeline to draw from when they look for compliance experts, Soffronoff said he’s seen more interest as the positions grow in demand.

“It’s certainly not a sexy career choice …but I think more and more people are getting involved in it,” he said.

Hey, I resent that!

I don't know what the incentive for an examiner or other regulatory agency employee is any longer to leave for a private job.

40 years ago, regulatory employees had to make a choice to go into the private sector to make more money at around the 5 years of seniority point in time. After that the retirement and other benefit hooks sunk in so deep it was difficult to leave the security of a quasi-government job.

Now examiners make more than their peers out in the industry, and still have all the superior benefits.

I think it's hot!

Compliance Officers are bringing Sexy Back. I'll be humming that song all day long.

pocket protecters and tucking your shirt into your underwear is no longer sexy? when did that happen?

Thanks for posting jenabq