FSGBank CEO gets 3% raise for 2008

Chattanooga Times Free Press

The top executive at one of Chattanooga’s locally owned banks saw a slight increase in his total compensation last year, but an expert says in cases where the bank turned a profit, the raise was deserved.

First Security Group Inc., the parent company of FSGBank, managed to eke out net income of $1.4 million in 2008 — undeniably a bad year for banks.

First Security Chief Executive Officer Rodger B. Holley earned the increase in his compensation, said Paul Lapides, director of the Corporate Governance Center at Kennesaw State University near Atlanta.

Mr. Holley’s total compensation was valued at just under $840,000, representing a 3 percent increase, which according to Mr. Lapides is “certainly in the realm of reasonable compensation.”

 … The bank’s decision to freeze the salaries of all of the bank’s top executives in 2009 also signals the bank is doing the right thing, Mr. Lapides said.

“I applaud them for that,” he said. “If you want people to follow you, you have to give them a reason to follow you.”