Workforce planning is also becoming more strategic. Many financial institutions are maintaining relatively stable staffing levels while selectively adding talent in growth-oriented or risk-sensitive areas.
Based on our primary research, the following are the top 30 positions in financial institutions that have seen pay increases 150-500% faster than the average annual market rate. Interestingly, this includes some executive positions and jobs that require a high school diploma.
The 2025-2026 BalancedComp Salary & Incentive Survey underscores a pivotal moment for the financial sector. After years of minimal growth, the significant salary increases for both executive and non-executive roles signal a renewed focus on talent investment. For HR professionals, compensation committees, and leadership teams, this data offers actionable insights to navigate a complex labor market.
This includes the top 30 position salaries that have seen pay increases 150-500% faster than the average annual market rate within the financial industry. Interestingly, this includes some executive positions and jobs that require a high school diploma.
The labor market is starting to cool off after record-high pay raises in 2023 and 2024. Last year was the year of the outlier for the banking industry, with some jobs, like IT Business Analyst, seeming to have salary growth of up to 40% over the past two years in at least one national survey.
As AI reshapes the financial services industry, banks and credit unions must adapt to remain competitive. The transformation of compensable factors and job duties is inevitable.
The Great Resignation era was unofficially declared over in the Summer of 2023. This year shows dynamic shifts and settling to these recently turbulent labor market conditions.
Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, Head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice for America’s 33.2 million small businesses, opened a window of new applications for Small Business Lending Company (SBLC) licenses for the first time in over 40 years.
