Minimum pay at Frost rising to $20

33% jump in starting hourly wage affects nearly 40% of bank’s employees in Texas

Frost Bank is boosting starting pay as it seeks to recruit and retain employees amid a tight labor market and competition from other companies.

Frost said it’s increasing its minimum wage from $15 to $20 an hour effective Friday, a 33 percent bump that comes out to $41,600 annually based on a 40-hour workweek.

About 1,800 of Frost’s roughly 4,700 employees across Texas — around 38.3 percent of its workforce — will see a pay increase, including bankers, tellers, call center operators and support staff.

The higher wages work out to an annual investment of about $15 million for Frost, the largest regional bank based in San Antonio.

Chairman and CEO Phil Green said the bank is investing in employees via flexible work options and more vacation days, paid and community service time off and caregiver time. Frost also recently put $3.5 million into reducing medical plan premiums.

“We continuously study our markets to make sure that we provide a fair and competitive compensation package for our employees,” Green said in a statement. “Having that information gives us the flexibility to keep up with market conditions and make Frost an extraordinary place to work, unlike any other.”

Frost’s move comes on the heels of other local financial institutions also raising starting pay.

In September, Randolphbrooks Federal Credit Union bumped its minimum wage from $15 to $18 an hour and Security Service Federal Credit Union increased its starting pay from $15 to $20 an hour.

The next month, USAA raised its minimum wage from $16 to $21 an hour and sweetened its benefits. The insurance and financial services company added a child care reimbursement program for employees earning less than $100,000 in base pay.

The average wage for San Antonio employees was $23.81 an hour as of May 2020, below the nationwide average of $27.07 an hour, according to the most recent figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.