Compensation in the equipment finance industry increased modestly in 2016, according to a survey from the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association and McLagan. Industry new business volume totals were on par with the prior year, contributing to a modest rise in compensation.

The 2017 Equipment Leasing and Finance Compensation Survey measured compensation rates for the 2016 fiscal year as reported by more than 70 equipment finance companies representing a cross section of the equipment finance sector, including independent, bank and captive leasing and finance companies. Firms provided data for more than 90 executive, front-office and support positions, including a breakdown of salary (for 2016 and 2017), incentives (including cash bonuses and commissions), long-term awards and total compensation by company type. The survey is a collaborative initiative between ELFA and McLagan, a performance/reward consulting and benchmarking firm for the financial services industry.

Highlights from the survey include:

• Total compensation was up on a year-over-year basis for most functions and levels. On a “same store” basis (constant incumbents in multiple survey years), total compensation was up modestly (~3%–7%) at median for key revenue generating functions from 2015 to 2016. Infrastructure functions received comparable, albeit slightly lower, increases at median (~3%).
• Salaries were up slightly on a year-over-year basis. On a “same store” basis, origination roles tended to have increases around 2% at the median. Firms differentiated salaries on a functional basis as fewer than 25% of incumbents did not receive increases in vendor and direct origination. Salaries tended to rise between 2% and 3% for infrastructure roles.
• Increases tended to be larger at the junior and intermediate levels across both the infrastructure and revenue generating functions.