When it comes to wooing commercial lending talent in the country's major cities, some CUSOs are getting creative to make it attractive enough for senior-level candidates to make it worth their while.

The average base salary in 2013 in the credit union industry for commercial lenders not leading a team of lenders was $116,846, according to the 5th Annual Commercial Lender Salary from Smith & Wilkinson, an executive search firm in Scarborough, Maine, which culled 846 responses. For public banks, it was $135,841 followed by $128,370 for mutuals and other cooperatives and $118,393 for privately or closely held banks.

As expected, the average salaries were higher for those commercial lenders leading a team of lenders with credit unions, again, at the bottom of the ranking at $123,241 and public banks topping the list at $159,935. The average base salaries for mutuals and other cooperatives was $151,745 and $135,704 for privately or closely-held banks.