Frost Bank CEO takes 20% pay cut amid pandemic economy

Frost Bank’s CEO, Phil Green, took a 20% cut to his compensation last year amid low interest rates, depressed oil prices, and a tightened pandemic economy.

Green, officially the chairman and CEO of Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc., Frost Bank’s parent, took home $3.82 million in 2020, down from the $4.76 million he was compensated in 2019, according to a filing submitted Tuesday to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The bank’s 11 top executives under Green all volunteered to take a 10% cut to their base salaries, as well as smaller bonuses and reduced long-term incentives.

The filing said the cuts were necessary “in order for the executive team to show leadership consistent with our culture, as the entire company undertook broad-based cost-reductions needed in the operating environment.”

The cuts were announced last year during an earnings call, when Green told analysts that the actions were a matter of leadership.

“All of us at Frost and all our lines of business will face these challenges together, and our company, as always, will emerge stronger than ever,” he said.

Frost cut 68 positions in January, marking the San Antonio-based company’s first layoffs since 2002. Frost Bank employs a total of roughly 4,700 workers across Texas.

The company fell roughly $65 million short of its 2020 revenue target, as it aimed for $389 million but only reached $324 million. In the filing, the company said this was “due in large part to the unprecedented effects of the global pandemic coupled with the low interest rate environment and energy price declines.”