As executive compensation is made increasingly public, and credit union professionals become privy to what their colleagues earn, they're sharing the information with each other and the press.

John Andrews, executive vice president of compensation for the Houston-based D. Hilton Associates, cautioned against comparing compensation data available to the public, like figures available on IRS 990 tax forms. Tax forms and the information reported in them are open to interpretation by accountants, he said, and may not report compensation in the proper context.

In order to effectively evaluate a compensation plan, he said, three components must be considered: the CEO and the components of his or her compensation package; the credit union's financial performance during that time period; and the credit union's business strategy as determined by the board of directors.