It’s good to be at the top – and for as much regulation and uncertainty as the banking industry faces, a healthy economy and the mass migration of Baby Boomers into retirement could set up some attractive career opportunities for younger bankers in the not-too-distant future.

The overall unemployment level in Massachusetts is 2.9 percent, but in the C-suite, it’s effectively zero, said Chip Goode, managing partner at the Wellesley-based executive search firm Kiradjieff & Goode. The firm is as busy as it has ever been, Goode said, engaged in searches for C-level bankers and talent across all sectors of the banking world.

He attributes the increasing demand to a confluence of factors, including the healthy economy and the Baby Boomer generation’s mass migration toward retirement. In addition, bankers squeezed by low interest rates for close to a decade have been looking to diversify their revenue streams and enhance profitability, and that means bringing on new talent to drive growth in areas like retail and consumer lending, wealth management, residential lending and of course, commercial lending.

“We are also seeing a continued focus on more cross-selling and seeking to increase market penetration for share of wallet with customers,” he said. “They are all striving to boost profits, efficiencies, [return on assets] and enhance enterprise value.”

Compensation schemes are evolving, too. Arthur Warren, a compensation adviser with the bank consulting firm Arthur Warren Assoc., said that he’s been seeing the industry shift from a preference for big bonus opportunities to higher base salaries. He attributes that at least partly to a generation of bankers whose attitudes were shaped by the crisis of 2008 and ensuing recession.

“Because there can be volatility in the marketplace, because no one’s certain of the economy, because of political change, no one’s certain that bonuses are going to be robust, so there’s more demand for higher base salaries,” he said.

Sometimes that takes the form of front-end hiring bonuses or retention bonuses paid out after a banker has stayed with an organization for a predetermined period of time, Warren said. He also noted that he’s seen community banks, mutual banks in particular, getting creative with their compensation schemes, offering so-called phantom stock plans and performance-based supplemental executive retirement plans to entice talent.

Beyond those revenue-generating businesses, like commercial lending and wealth management, compliance staff are still in high demand, said Bruce Spitzer, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bankers Association.

Secrets To Success 

Younger bankers thinking about their future career prospects would do well to diversify their career experience now, Goode said. Boards of directors like to see a diverse pool of proven executives and they also like to see a wide breadth of experience, he said.

“We continually have demand from boards that want well-rounded bankers, particularly if they’re at the management levels,” he said. “What I mean by well-rounded is not just in one area of expertise or silo. They may have spent time in commercial lending, and subsequently moved over to run another [profit and loss] business unit such as retail, consumer or wealth management. At the senior level, boards really like that varied background.”

Cheryl Haynes, senior vice president of human resources at Blue Hills Bank, echoed those sentiments separately, telling Banker & Tradesman that while the particulars may vary for different functions in the bank, there are a few strengths that can shine through on any candidate’s resume.

“One that I think is really key is project management skills. Those are really critical in a banking environment. You have people who are so deep in their specialty, and those folks haven’t always had the opportunity to get some real project management skills behind them,” she said.

Another strength for bankers of all stripes is a working knowledge of what a bank does and how a bank makes money, Haynes said. It might sound like a no-brainer, but some larger institutions actually teach this as an internal course, she said.

“Oftentimes people will grow up in one segment of a bank, but they don’t fully understand how the bank operates end to end,” Haynes said.

The Massachusetts Bankers Association has also promoted its educational programs to better prepare the next generation of bankers for everything from compliance to commercial lending to executive leadership programs, Spitzer said. A diversity of experience, and particularly in technology, can only benefit the industry’s future leaders.

“Try to move around in your respective organizations. Get different assignments. Understand everything from the numerate parts of a bank to the literate parts of the bank,” he said. “If you have that experience, you’ll be a better leader when you’re elected to higher positions.”