Most years, the small banks and credit unions that turn to headhunters to fill their top roles are simply trying to fill a vacancy left by a retirement. This year, most of the C-suite roles being filled are entirely new.
At the recruitment firm Smith & Wilkinson, 75% of the nearly 90 placements it made in 2022 were "net new" roles, such as a dedicated chief information, chief risk or chief credit officer, according to Cameron Boyd, managing partner of the firm's financial services practice. Banks and credit unions below $1 billion of assets often don't have these roles already.
This level of activity is also slightly up from a typical year, when most of the firm's clients are looking to fill vacancies left by retirements, Boyd said. "The team that I lead is as busy as we've ever been," Boyd said.
That's when they're most receptive to a recruiter's call, Berrettini said.
"I can't tell you how many times I ended up placing a candidate that once said, 'I will probably retire here'," Berrettini said.
Matt Selke, CEO of the $91 million-asset Pinnacle Credit Union in Atlanta, said the credit union has not experienced much C-suite turnover recently, but the recruiters are making more calls trying to lure his employees — and him — than they were at the same time last year.
Pinnacle is in the process of finalizing a
Still, people still have career aspirations, and many employees who hunkered down during the pandemic are now taking recruiter calls and actively searching for new opportunities.
"I'm not surprised that there is movement now because there is a lot of demand for good talent, and people feel better about the economy post-COVID even with inflation and interest rate hikes," Selke said.
The biggest challenge that many financial institutions face is crafting a value proposition that resonates with the expectations of the top talent, according to Boyd. "The competition for truly exceptional banking talent is fierce," he said.
Carll Wilkinson, a managing partner at Smith & Wilkinson, said the industry is a long way from the
"Our clients are definitely talking about the rising rate environment creating both earnings and liquidity pressure, but on the other hand, credit quality seems to be holding strong," he said. "I think the idea of a soft landing for the economy seems more and more plausible this year, with inflation easing, employment remaining strong and corporate earnings dipping but not falling off a cliff."
However, those factors don't affect the psychology of executives considering a new role, Wilkinson said. The challenge for attracting candidates has a lot more to do with an organization's core value proposition and market position than it does the broader economy, at least this time around, he said.
Bruce Kershner, president of Kershner & Co., an executive search firm focused on financial institutions, said that in his 25-plus years of placing community bank executives, he can't recall a time when those who reside in C-Suites were not open to exploring new opportunities, regardless of the economy.
"If I'm conducting a search for a challenging or an exciting opportunity, astute bankers are always willing to listen. And, if the opportunity is a good fit and stars are in alignment, I've never had someone say they can't move because of the rate environment," he said.
