Shaun Bisman
Principal
Kelly Malafis
Founding Partner
Michael Bonner
Principal

Banks need to get CEO transitions right to provide continuity in leadership and successful execution of key priorities.

As the world evolves, so do the factors that banks must consider when turnover occurs in the CEO role. Here are some key items we’ve come across that bank boards should consider in the event of a CEO transition today.

Identifying a Successor

Banks should prepare for CEO transitions well in advance through ongoing succession planning. Capable successors can come from within or outside of the organization. Whether looking for a new CEO internally or externally, banks need to identify leaders that have the skills to lead the bank now and into the future.

Diversity in leadership:
Considering a diverse slate of candidates is crucial, so that the bank can benefit from different perspectives that come with diversity. This may be challenging in the banking industry, given the current composition of executive teams. The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services published a diversity and inclusion report in 2020 that found that executive teams at large U.S. banks are mostly white and male. CAP found that women only represent 30% of the executive team, on average, at 18 large U.S. banks.

Building a diverse talent pipeline takes time; however, it is critical to effective long-term succession planning. Citigroup recently announced that Jane Fraser, who currently serves as the head of Citi’s consumer bank, would serve as its next CEO, making her the first female CEO of a top 10 U.S. bank. As banks focus more on diversity and inclusion initiatives, we expect this to be a key tenet of succession plans.

Digital expertise:
The banking industry continues to evolve to focus more on digital channels and technology. The Covid-19 pandemic has placed greater emphasis on remote services, which furthered this evolution. As technology becomes more deeply integrated in the banking industry, banks will need to evaluate their strategies and determine how they fit into this new landscape. With increased focus on technology, banks must also keep up with leading cybersecurity practices to provide consumers with the best protection. Succession plans will need to prioritize the skills and foresight required to lead the organization through this digital transformation.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy:
Investors are increasingly focused on the ESG priorities and the potential impact on long-term value creation at banks. One area of focus is human capital management, and the ability to attract and retain the key talent that will help banks be leaders in their markets. CEO succession should consider candidates’ views on these evolving priorities.

Paying the Incoming and Outgoing CEOs

Incoming CEO:
The incoming CEO’s pay is driven by level of experience, whether the CEO was an internal or external hire, the former CEO’s compensation, market compensation and the bank’s compensation philosophy. In many cases, it is more expensive to hire a CEO externally. Companies often pay external hires at or above the market median, and may have to negotiate sign-on awards to recruit them. Companies generally pay internally promoted CEOs below market at first and move them to market median over two or three years based on their performance.

Outgoing CEO:
In some situations, the outgoing CEO may stay on as executive chair or senior advisor to help provide continuity during the transition. In this scenario, pay practices vary based on the expected length of time that the chair or senior advisor role will exist. It’s often lower than the amount the individual received as CEO, but likely includes salary and annual bonus opportunity and, in some cases, may include long-term incentives.

Retaining Key Executives

CEO transitions may have ripple effects throughout the bank’s executive team. Executives who were passed over for the top job may pose a retention risk. These executives may have deep institutional knowledge that will help the new CEO and are critical to the future success of the company. Boards may recognize these executives by expanding their roles or granting retention awards. These approaches can enhance engagement, mitigate retention risk and promote a smooth leadership transition.

As competition remains strong in the banking industry, it is more important than ever to have a seamless CEO transition. Unsuccessful CEO transitions are a distraction from a bank’s strategic objectives and harm performance. Boards will be better positioned if they have a strong succession plan to help them identify CEO candidates with the skills needed to grow and transform the bank, and if they effectively use compensation programs to attract and retain these candidates and the teams that support them.

WRITTEN BY

Shaun Bisman

Principal

Shaun Bisman is a principal at Compensation Advisory Partners in New York. He has over 10 years of experience consulting to management and compensation committees. He provides compensation consulting services to both public and privately-held companies, assisting with incentive plan design, performance measurement, pay-for-performance validation, regulatory/compliance and director compensation. Mr. Bisman is a regular speaker for Bank Director, Global Equity Organization, New Jersey Compensation Association, The Knowledge Group and WorldatWork. He also contributes to CAP, Bank Director and Bloomberg BNA publications.

WRITTEN BY

Kelly Malafis

Founding Partner

Kelly Malafis is a founding partner of Compensation Advisory Partners in New York. She has over 20 years of executive compensation consulting experience working with compensation committees and senior management teams. Ms. Malafis has advised large and small publicly traded companies in a variety of industries, including financial services, insurance, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and retail. She has also provided advice on compensation issues for privately-held companies and companies with special circumstances such as IPOs and spin-offs.

WRITTEN BY

Michael Bonner

Principal

Mike Bonner is a principal at Compensation Advisory Partners. He has nearly 10 years of experience working with clients to address a wide array of executive and non-employee director compensation issues, including incentive plan design, compensation benchmarking and performance measurement. Mr. Bonner has experience working with public and private companies across industries and with companies in special situations, including mergers and acquisitions and IPOs. Mr. Bonner writes frequently on executive compensation and has contributed to Corporate Board Member and the Harvard Law School Forum on corporate governance.