Governance
09/07/2018

Traits That All Strong Bank Boards Share


governance-9-7-18.pngFor years, I’ve shared one of my favorite proverbs when talking about the value of high-performing teams: to go fast, go alone; to go far, go together. Now, as we prepare to welcome nearly 200 people to the Four Seasons Chicago for our annual Bank Board Training Forum, this mindset once again comes front and center.

In many ways, banks may appear to be on solid footing. Unfortunately, evolving cyber risks, the battle for deposits and pressures to effectively leverage technology make clear that banking leaders have challenges aplenty. Given the industry’s rapid pace of change, one would be forgiven to think the best course of action would be to go fast at certain challenges. However, at the board level, navigating an industry marked by both consolidation and emerging threats demands coordinated, strategic planning.

Our efforts in the days ahead aim to provide finely tailored insight to help a bank’s board go further, together.

This annual forum caters to an exclusive audience of bank CEOs, chairmen and members of the board. It is a delight to have Katherine Quinn, vice chairman and chief administrative officer, from U.S. Bancorp, as our keynote speaker. U.S. Bancorp has the highest debt rating among all banks and consistently leads its peer group in terms of profitability, efficiency and innovation. Bank Director Executive Editor John Maxfield will have a one-on-one conversation with Quinn and cover everything from the qualities of good leadership to diversity to the Super Bowl.

Following her remarks, we explore strategic issues like building franchise value, creating a vibrant culture and preparing for the unexpected. Against the backdrop of this year’s agenda, there are five elements that characterize the boards at many high-performing banks today. Some are specific to the individual director; others, to the team as a whole.

#1: The Board Sees Tomorrow’s Challenges as Today’s Opportunities
Despite offering similar products and services, a small number of banks consistently outperform others in the industry. One reason: their boards realize we’re in a period of significant change, where the basic premise of “what is a bank” is under considerable scrutiny. Rather than cower, they’ve set a clear vision for what they want to be and hold their team accountable to concepts such as efficiency, discipline and the smart allocation of capital.

#2: Each Board Member Embraces a Learner’s Mindset
Great leaders aren’t afraid to get up from their desks and explore the unknown. Brian Moynihan, the chairman and CEO of Bank of America, recently told Maxfield that “reading is a bit of a shorthand for a broader type of curiosity. The reason I attend conferences is to listen to other people, to pick up what they’re talking and thinking about… it’s about being willing to listen to people, think about what they say. It’s about being curious and trying to learn… The minute you quit being educated formally your brain power starts to shrink unless you educate yourself informally.”

You can read more from Bank Director’s exclusive conversation with Moynihan in the upcoming 4th quarter issue of Bank Director magazine.

#3: The Board Prizes Efficiency
In simplest terms, an efficiently run bank earns more money. This allows it to write better loans, to suffer less during downturns in a credit cycle, to position it to buy less-prudent peers at a discount all while gaining economies of scale.

#4: Each Board Member Stays Disciplined
While discipline applies to many issues, those with a laser focus on building franchise value truly understand what their bank is worth now — and might be in the future. Each independent director prizes a culture of prudence, one that applies to everything from underwriting loans to third-party relationships.

#5: The Board Adheres to a People-Products-Performance Approach
Smart boards don’t pay lip service to this mindset. Collectively, they understand their institution needs to (a) have the right people, (b) strategically set expectations around core concepts of how the bank makes money, approaches credit, structures loans, attracts deposits and prices its products in order to (c) perform on an appropriate and repeatable level.

Looking ahead, a sixth pillar could emerge for leading institutions; namely, diversity of talent. Now, I’m not talking diversity for the sake of diversity. I’m looking at getting the best people with different backgrounds, experiences and talents into the bank’s leadership ranks. Unfortunately, while many talk the talk on diversity, far fewer walk the walk. For instance, a recent New York Times piece that revealed female executives generally still lack the same opportunities to move up the ranks and there are still simply fewer women in the upper management pipeline at most companies.

At Bank Director, we believe ambitious bank boards see the call for greater diversity as a true opportunity to create a competitive advantage. This aligns with Bank Director’s 2018 Compensation Survey, where 87 percent of bank CEOs, executives and directors surveyed believe a diverse board has a positive impact on the performance of the bank. Yet, just 5 percent of CEOs above $1 billion in assets are female, 77 percent don’t have a single diverse member on their board and only 20 percent have a woman on the board.

So as we prepare to explore the strong board, strong bank concept in Chicago, keep in mind one last adage from Henry Ford: if all you ever do is all you’ve ever done, then all you’ll ever get is all you’ve ever got.

WRITTEN BY

Al Dominick

Board Member

Al Dominick serves on the board of DirectorCorps, Inc. The former CEO of Bank Director | FinXTech, he is a partner at Cornerstone Advisors.

Prior to Cornerstone and Bank Director | FinXTech, he ran the business development efforts for Computech, a Bethesda, Maryland-based information technology firm (now part of NCI — NASDAQ: NCIT). Before that, he worked for Board Member, Inc. in a variety of revenue-generating roles.

A 1999 graduate of Washington & Lee University, where he majored in Politics and was a four-year letterman on the varsity baseball team, he earned an MBA from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business in 2007.