Great Southern executive compensation declines

Total compensation for five of Great Southern Bancorp Inc.’s (Nasdaq: GSBC) top executives declined in 2015, according to the company’s latest proxy statement.

While each of the executive’s base salary either rose or was flat, individual compensation was impacted by lower “nonqualified deferred compensation,” according to a March 22 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Under deferred compensation plans, employees choose to defer a portion of their compensation, which usually is not taxed until being released back to the employee on a fixed date, according to Investopedia.com.

The highest Great Southern earner, President and CEO Joe Turner, recorded compensation of $918,765 for the year ended Dec. 31, down 17 percent from $1.1 million in 2014. Turner did not receive any deferred compensation in 2015, following $275,000 reported in the category a year earlier.

Based on his 2014 compensation, Turner ranked fifth on Springfield Business Journal’s 2015 list of the highest-paid CEOs in southwest Missouri.

Turner’s base salary grew roughly 2 percent to $342,446 in 2015 from $336,439 a year earlier, according to the SEC filing.

Board Chairman Bill Turner, Joe’s father, earned total compensation of $456,734 in 2015, a 42 percent drop from $792,750 in 2014. His base salary was flat at $236,098.

The three other top-earning executives and their 2015 compensation amounts:
    •    Chief Financial Officer Rex Copeland, $380,065, down by 23 percent;
    •    Chief Lending Officer Steven Mitchem, $376,569, a 40.5 percent decrease; and
    •    Vice President of Operations Douglas Marrs, $215,746, down 32 percent.

In 2015, Great Southern Bank’s net income moved up 7 percent to $45.9 million. The company’s annual stockholder meeting is scheduled May 4 at its 218 S. Glenstone Ave. operations center, according to the SEC filing.

GSBC shares were trading at $35.74 as of 10:53 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $35.73 to $52.94.