The tough times on Wall Street apparently haven’t yet hit corporate boardrooms. An analysis by Mercer of recent proxy filings at 350 companies shows corporate director pay continued to increase in 2007.

As other studies on the subject have also noted, Mercer points out that director pay has climbed as the responsibilities and risks of personal liability among directors have increased in recent years.

The study found that in Mercer’s Top 50 companies (with revenue of $40 billion or more) median total direct compensation for board members (pay for board and committee service, and equity grants) rose 4.2 percent in 2007 to $236,147, compared to 6 percent the prior year. For Mercer’s Large 150 companies ($7.4 billion or more in revenue), median board pay climbed 8.7 percent to $202,110, essentially the same increase as a year earlier. In Mercer’s Mid-150 companies (revenue of $1.2 billion or more), total board pay increased 8.4 percent to $159,240 for 2007, compared to 11.4 percent the previous year.

Mercer notes that the result contrasts with those of a May study it conducted on the effect of the downturn on CEO compensation, which showed total direct compensation of CEOs in Mercer’s Top 50 companies off nearly 16 percent from the prior year.

Notably, the elements of director compensation have shifted to reflect a governance shift “from paying to ensure attendance to paying for the role,” Mercer says.

In the last two years, annual retainers for board and committee service have in many cases replaced the use of board and committee meeting fees. Among Mercer’s Top 50 companies, board meeting fees fell from 42 percent in 2005 to 36 percent in 2007. At the committee level, the prevalence of per-meeting fees declined from the 44 to 46 percent range in 2005 to the 40 to 42 percent range in 2007 (exact percentages vary by committee).

Mercer says audit and compensation committee chairs are most affected by increased demands on directors—and they’ve got the pay to prove it. Among companies that reported pay levels for the position, 83 percent pay the audit committee chair a premium over what they pay other committee chairs, while roughly 70 percent of compensation committee chairs receive a premium.

The shift from stock options to other equity vehicles (usually restricted stock) continued in 2007. For Top 50 companies, stock options accounted for only 9 percent of the annual equity compensation mix, down from 13 percent in 2006. A similar decline occurred among Large 150 companies, where stock option use fell from 25 percent in 2006 to 20 percent in 2007. For Mid-150 companies, option use dropped from 37 percent in 2006 to 32 percent in 2007.

The study also found some sharp industry differences. Within the three research groups, the industries with the highest paid directors also had the highest percentage of total direct compensation in equity. For example, Top 50 companies averaged a 58/42 mix of equity to cash; however, Mercer notes that the top-paying industries—financials, energy, and health care—had 68/32, 62/38, and 60/40 ratios, respectively.