Building a Better Nominating/Governance Committee

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Boards could be missing out on valuable opportunities to better leverage their nominating/governance committees. 

There’s broad agreement on the responsibilities that many nominating/governance committees are tasked with, according to the directors and CEOs responding to Bank Director’s 2022 Governance Best Practices Survey, sponsored by Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP. Half of the survey participants serve on this committee. But the results also suggest there are areas that these committees may be overlooking. 

As chair of the governance committee at $2.8 billion First Fidelity Bancorp in Oklahoma City, Samuel Combs III views the committee’s overarching duty as being responsible for the board’s broader framework and committee infrastructure. He says, “We try to determine if we are balanced in what we’re covering and in our allocation of resources, board members’ time [and] assignments to certain committees.” 

First Fidelity’s governance committee typically meets three to four weeks ahead of the board meeting to develop the agenda, often working closely with the CEO to do so, Combs says. Devoting this advanced time to craft the agenda means that the board can devote sufficient time later to discussing important strategic issues. 

The survey’s respondents report that their boards’ nominating/governance committees are generally responsible for identifying and evaluating possible board candidates (92%), recommending directors for nomination (89%), and developing qualifications and criteria for board membership (81%). 

Far fewer respondents say their governance committee is responsible for making recommendations to improve the board (57%) or reviewing the CEO’s performance (40%). 

While the suggestion is unlikely to come from the chief executive, a bank’s CEO could benefit from regular reviews by the nominating/governance committee, says Jim McAlpin, a partner at Bryan Cave and leader of the firm’s banking practice group. Reviewing the CEO’s performance gives the board a chance to talk about what’s working and what could be improved, separate from compensation discussions. 

“The only review he or she [typically] gets is whether the compensation remains the same,” says McAlpin, who also serves as chair of the nominating/governance committee at a $300 million bank located in the Northeast. “Beyond compensation, there’s very rarely feedback to the CEO.” 

Almost half (47%) of the survey respondents say their board goes through regular evaluations. Among those, 60% say the nominating/governance committee chair or the committee as a whole leads that process. That tracks with the roughly half (53%) who name reviewing directors’ performance as a responsibility of the nominating/governance committee. 

First Fidelity’s board alternates board evaluations with peer evaluations every other year, but Combs stresses a holistic approach to those. “Not only do you evaluate, but you spend time reviewing it with the group,” he says. “And then with each independent board member, if necessary. And we usually give them the option of having that conversation with myself and the CEO, post-evaluation.” 

McAlpin suggests another exercise that nominating/governance committees could consider: Make it a regular practice — say every 2 or 3 years — to locate and review every committee’s charter. It can be useful to regularly review each committee’s scope of responsibilities and also provides an opportunity to update those responsibilities when needed. 

“Does it list all of the things the committee does or should be doing? And secondly, does it list things that the committee is not doing?” McAlpin says. “It’s a fairly basic thing, but important in corporate hygiene.”

Forty-five percent task the governance/nominating committee with determining whether the board should add new committees. In the case of First Fidelity, the governance committee discussed how to handle oversight of cybersecurity issues and whether it would benefit from a designated cybersecurity committee. The governance committee ultimately assigned that responsibility largely to its audit committee, with some support from its technology committee. 

Nominating/governance committees should also stay apprised of emerging issues and trends, like intensifying competition for talent and increased focus on environmental, social and governance issues. Those may ultimately help governance committees better assess the skills and expertise needed on the board, which about three-quarters of respondents identify as a key duty of the governance committee. 

“It’s good for nominating and governance committees to be forward thinking, to be thinking about the composition of the board, to be thinking about the skill sets of the board, the diversity of the board,” says McAlpin. 

Many boards may assign primary responsibility for talent-related issues to their compensation committee, but Combs argues that it should also concern the governance committee, especially in the tough, post-Covid recruiting landscape. “Talent acquisition, talent retention, talent management should have always been at this level, in my opinion,” Combs says. “These emerging trends should lead you to how you position yourself with your board talent, as well as your staffing talent.” 

The Promise and the Peril of Director Term Limits

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Bank boards seeking to refresh their membership may be tempted to consider term limits, but the blunt approach carries several downsides that they will need to address.

Term limit policies are one way that boards can navigate crucial, but sensitive, topics like board refreshment. They place a ceiling on a director’s tenure to force regular vacancies. Bringing on new members is essential for banks that have a skills or experience gap at the board level, or for banks that need to transform strategy in the future with the help of different directors. However, it can be awkward to implement such a policy. There are other tools that boards can use to deliver feedback and ascertain a director’s interest in continued service.

The average age of financial sector independent directors in the S&P 500 index was 64.1 years, according to the 2021 U.S. Spencer Stuart Board Index. The average tenure was 8.3 years. The longest tenured board in the financial sector was 16 years.

“I believe that any small bank under $1 billion in assets should adopt provisions to provide for term limits of perhaps 10 years for outside directors,” wrote one respondent in Bank Director’s 2022 Governance Best Practices Survey.

The idea has some fans in the banking industry. The board of directors at New York-based, $121 billion Signature Bank, which is known for its innovative business lines, adopted limits in 2018. The policy limits non-employee directors to 12 years cumulatively. The change came after discussions over several meetings about the need for refreshment as the board revisited its policies, says Scott Shay, chairman of the board and cofounder of the bank. Some directors were hesitant about the change — and what it might mean for their time on the board.

“In all candor, people had mixed views on it. But we kept talking about it,” he says. “And as the world is evolving and changing, [the question was: ‘How do] we get new insights and fresh blood onto the board over some period?’”

Ultimately, he says the directors were able to prioritize the bank’s needs and agree to the policy change. Since adopting the term limits, the board added three new independent directors who are all younger than directors serving before the change, according to the bank’s 2022 proxy statement. Two are women and one is Asian. Their skills and experience include international business, corporate governance, government and business heads, among others.

And the policy seems to complement the bank’s other corporate governance policies and practices: a classified board, a rigorous onboarding procedure, annual director performance assessments and thoughtful recruitment. Altogether, these policies ensure board continuity, offer a way to assess individual and board performance and create a pool of qualified prospects to fill regular vacancies.

Signature’s classified board staggers director turnover. Additionally, the board a few years ago extended the expiring term of its then-lead independent director by one year; that move means only two directors leave the board whenever they hit their term limits.

Shay says he didn’t want a completely new board that needed a new education every few years. “We wanted to keep it to a maximum of a turnover of two at a time,” he says.

To support the regularly occurring vacancies, Signature’s recruitment approach begins with identifying a class of potential directors well in advance of turnover and slowly whittling down the candidates based on interest, commitment and individual interviews with the nominating and governance committee members. And as a new outside director prepares to join the board, Signature puts them through “an almost exhausting onboarding process” to introduce them to various aspects of the bank and its business — which starts a month before the director’s first meeting.

But term limits, along with policies like mandatory retirement ages, can be a blunt corporate governance tool to manage refreshment. There are a number of other tools that boards could use to govern, improve and refresh their membership.

“I personally think term limits have no value at all,” says James J. McAlpin Jr., a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP.

He says that term limits may prematurely remove a productive director because they’re long tenured, and potentially replace them with someone who may be less engaged and constructive. He also dislikes when boards make exceptions for directors whose terms are expiring.

In lieu of term limits, he argues that banks should opt for board and peer evaluations that allow directors to reflect on their engagement and capacity to serve on the board. Regular evaluation can also help the nominating and governance committee create succession plans for committee chairs who are near the end of their board service.

Perhaps one reason why community banks are interested in term limits is because so few conduct assessments. Only 30% of respondents to Bank Director’s 2022 Governance Best Practices Survey, which published May 16, said they didn’t conduct performance assessments at any interval — many of those responses were at banks with less than $1 billion in assets. And 51% of respondents don’t perform peer evaluations and haven’t considered that exercise.

For McAlpin, a board that regularly evaluates itself — staffed by directors who are honest about their service capacity and the needs of the bank — doesn’t need bright-line rules around tenure to manage refreshment.

“It’s hard to articulate a reason why you need term limits in this day and age,” he says, “as opposed to just self-policing self-governance by the board.”

2022 Governance Best Practices Survey: Culture & Composition

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Even the strongest corporate boards benefit from a regular infusion of fresh ideas.

Culture, composition and governance practices — all of these are critical elements for boards to fulfill their oversight role, support management, and maintain the bank’s vision, mission and values. The results of the 2022 Governance Best Practices Survey, sponsored by Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, suggest that while most directors and CEOs believe their board’s culture is generally solid, they also see room for improvement in certain areas.

Specifically, the majority (54%) say their boardroom culture would benefit from adding new directors who could broaden the board’s perspective. In comments, some expressed a desire to get more tech expertise, greater diversity and younger directors into the boardroom. Others cited a need to retire ineffective directors or cut out micromanagement.

Bringing new perspectives, skills and backgrounds to the table can help boards tackle a host of rapidly evolving challenges, from cybersecurity to environmental or social risks.

Culture can be hard to define, and the survey finds varying opinions about the attributes of a strong board culture. Forty-five percent point to alignment around common goals and 42% value engagement with management on the performance of the bank. Just 30% favor an independent mindset as an important attribute of board culture, something that can be derived through cultivating diverse perspectives in the boardroom.

A majority believe gender, racial and ethnic diversity can improve the board’s performance, similar to previous surveys. Yet, 58% claim it’s difficult to attract suitable board candidates representing diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

That’s not necessarily for lack of trying, however. When asked to explain why they find it hard to attract diverse board candidates, many respondents state that they have a limited pool of candidates in their markets or personal networks. But that’s changing as the U.S. population grows more diverse.

“We have a very non-diverse community, although it is changing,” writes one respondent. “I believe the difficulty will lessen with time.”

Key Findings

ESG Oversight
A vast majority – 82% – believe that measuring and understanding where banks stand on environmental, social and governance issues is important for at least some financial institutions, but there’s little uniformity when it comes to how boards address ESG. Nearly half – 45% – say their board does not discuss or oversee ESG at all. Forty-four percent say their board and management team has developed or has been working to develop an ESG strategy for their bank.

Training Mandates Vary
Forty-nine percent indicate that all directors must meet a minimum training requirement; 36% say training is encouraged but not required of members. Just over half of respondents say their board has an effective onboarding process in place for new directors. However, 27% say their board lacks an onboarding process and 13% say their current onboarding process is ineffective.

Knowledge Gaps
Respondents identify cybersecurity, digital banking and commerce, and technology as the top areas where their boards need more knowledge and training. Forty-three percent also believe they could use more education about ESG issues.

Board Evaluations
Almost half, or 47%, of respondents conduct board evaluations annually; another 23% assess their board’s performance, but not on a yearly basis. Of those that performed assessments, 58% say they then created an action plan to address gaps identified in those evaluations.

Assessing Peer Performance
Few boards take advantage of peer-to-peer evaluations, with 51% revealing that their board does not use this tool, nor have they discussed it. Of the 29% of respondents whose bank has conducted a peer evaluation, 83% use the exercise to inform conversations with individual directors about their performance.

Committee Structure
An overwhelming majority of respondents say their board had enough directors to staff all its committees, but 16% say that would no longer be the case if they added more committees. Nearly all respondents say their committees are provided adequate resources to carry out their jobs. The survey reveals continued variation in risk governance practices, with 54% managing audit and risk oversight within separate committees. In boardrooms where there isn’t a technology committee, half believe their organization would benefit from one.

To view the high-level findings, click here.

Bank Services members can access a deeper exploration of the survey results. Members can click here to view the complete results, broken out by asset category and other relevant attributes. If you want to find out how your bank can gain access to this exclusive report, contact [email protected].

2022 Governance Best Practices Survey: Complete Results

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Bank Director’s 2022 Governance Best Practices Survey, sponsored by Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, surveyed 234 independent directors, chairs and chief executives of U.S. banks below $100 billion in assets, with the majority of respondents representing regional and community banks. Members of the Bank Services program now have exclusive access to the full results of the survey, including breakouts by asset category.

The survey regularly explores the fundamentals of board performance, and this year examines board culture, committee structure, and how ESG is governed in the boardroom, along with practices such as evaluations and training that help boards improve their performance. The survey was conducted in February and March 2022.

Click here to view the complete results.

Key Findings

ESG Oversight
A vast majority – 82% – believe that measuring and understanding where banks stand on environmental, social and governance issues is important for at least some financial institutions, but there’s little uniformity when it comes to how boards address ESG. Nearly half – 45% – say their board does not discuss or oversee ESG at all. Forty-three percent say their board and management team has been working to develop an ESG strategy and defined goals for their bank.

Training Mandates Vary
Forty-nine percent indicate that all directors must meet a minimum training requirement; 36% say training is encouraged but not required of members. Just over half of respondents say their board has an effective onboarding process in place for new directors. However, 27% say their board lacks an onboarding process and 13% say their current onboarding process is ineffective.

Knowledge Gaps
Respondents identify cybersecurity, digital banking and commerce, and technology as the top areas where their boards need more knowledge and training. Forty-three percent also believe they could use more education about ESG issues.

Board Evaluations
Almost half, or 47%, of respondents conduct board evaluations annually; another 23% assess their board’s performance, but not on a yearly basis. Of those that performed assessments, 58% say they then created an action plan to address gaps identified in those evaluations.

Assessing Peer Performance
Few boards take advantage of peer-to-peer evaluations, with 51% revealing that their board does not use this tool, nor have they discussed it. Of the 29% of respondents whose bank has conducted a peer evaluation, 83% use the exercise to inform conversations with individual directors about their performance.

Committee Structure
An overwhelming majority of respondents said their board had enough directors to staff all its committees, but 16% say that would no longer be the case if they added more committees. Nearly all respondents said their committees are provided adequate resources to carry out their jobs. The survey reveals continued variation in risk governance practices, with 54% managing audit and risk oversight within separate committees. In boardrooms where there isn’t a technology committee, half believe their organization would benefit from one.

Opportunities For Transformative Growth

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The bank space has fundamentally changed, and that has financial institutions working with more and more third-party providers to generate efficiencies and craft a better digital experience — all while seeking new sources of revenue. In this conversation, Microsoft Corp.’s Roman Chwyl describes the rapid changes occurring today and how software-as-a-service solutions help banks quickly respond to these shifts. He also provides advice for banks seeking to better engage their technology providers.

Topics addressed include:

  • Focusing Technology Strategies
  • Partnership Considerations
  • Leveraging Digital for Growth
  • Planning for 2022 and Beyond

The Next Wave of Digital Transformation

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There is no question that digital transformation has been a long-term trend in banking.

However, innovation is not instantaneous. When faced with the obstacles the recent pandemic presented, bankers initially accelerated innovation and digital transformation on the consumer side, thanks to a broad scope of impact and the technology available at the time to streamline human-to-human interactions.

Now, as easy-to-use technology that automates complex interactions between human and machine and machine-to-machine (M2M) interactions becomes more readily available, the banking industry should consider how it can transform their own business and the banking experience for their business clients.

The First Wave
Why were consumers first served in the early days of the pandemic? Because there are often a lot of consumers to serve, with similar use cases and needs. When many account holders share the same finite problems, it can be easier for banks to commit personnel and financial resources to software that addresses those needs. The result is the capability to solve a few big problems while allowing the bank to effectively serve a large base of consumers with a mutual need, generating a quick and viable return on investment.

The first wave of digital transformation in banking concentrated on consumers by focusing on digitizing human-to-human interactions. They created an efficient process for both the bank employee along with the customer end-user, and then quickly moved to enable human-to-machine interactions with the same outcome. This transformation can be seen in previous interactions between consumers and bankers, like account opening, check deposits, personal financial management, credit and debit card disputes and initiating payments — all of which can now be done by a consumer interacting directly through a digital interface. This is also known as human-to-machine interactions.

In contrast, business interactions with banks tend to be more nuanced due to regulations, organizational needs and differences based on varying industries. For instance, banks that manage commercial escrow accounts for property managers and landlords, municipalities, government agencies, law firms or other companies with sub-accounting needs frequently navigate various security protocols and regional and local compliance. Unfortunately, these complexities can slow innovation, like business online account opening that is only now coming to market decades after consumer online account opening.

The Next Wave
Automating these business interactions was once thought to be too large of an undertaking for many banks — as well as software companies. But now, more are looking to digitally transform these interactions; software development is easier, further advanced and less costly, making tackling complex problems achievable for banks.

This will mark the next wave of digital transformation in banking, as the potential benefits have a greater effect for businesses than consumers. Because profits for each business client are much higher than consumer accounts, banks can expect strong returns on investment by investing in value-add services that strengthen the banking experience for business clients. And with so many niche business verticals, there is opportunity for institutions to build a strong commercial portfolio with technology that addresses vertical-specific needs.

While the ongoing, first wave of digital transformation is marked by moving human-to-human interactions to human-to-machine, the next wave will lead to more machine-to-machine interactions. This is not a new concept: Most bankers have connected two separate software systems, and have heard of M2M interactions through discussions about application programming interfaces, or APIs. But what may not be clear to executives is how these M2M interactions can be extremely helpful when solving for frustrating business banking processes.

For example, a law firm may regularly open trust and escrow accounts on behalf of their clients. Through human-to-human interaction, their processes are twofold: recording client information in an internal software system and then providing the necessary documentation to their bank, via branch visit or phone, to open the account. They need to engage in additional communication to learn the balance, move money or close the account.

Transforming this to a human-to-machine interaction could look like the bank providing a portal through which the firm could open, move funds and close the account on their own. While this is an excellent improvement for the law firm and bank, it still requires double data entry into internal software and banking software.

Here, banks can introduce machine-to-machine automation to improve efficiency and accuracy, while avoiding extraneous back and forth. If the bank creates a direct integration with the internal software, the law firm would only need to input the information once into their software to automatically manage their bank accounts.

The digital transformation of business banking has arrived; in the coming years, machine-to-machine automation will become the gold standard in the financial services industry. These changes provide a unique opportunity for banks to help attract and satisfy existing and prospective business clients through distinctive offerings.

Focusing on ESG

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In this episode of Looking Ahead, Crowe LLP Partner Mandi Simpson talks with Al Dominick about what’s driving greater focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, and explores some of the fundamentals that boards should understand. She also sheds light on how boards can consider shareholder return and balance long-term ESG strategy with a short-term view on profitability, and provides tips on how boards can better focus on this important issue.

Information Overload

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One of the biggest challenges facing all bank directors is the voluminous amount of information they need to read and comprehend before every board and committee meeting. More than a third of the board members responding to Bank Director’s 2021 Governance Best Practices Survey reported that not all directors review materials before board meetings — reducing the effectiveness of their boards.

Board and committee meeting packets — most of which are distributed electronically through secure board portals — can easily reach several hundred pages, particularly at large banks with complex operations. The packets are typically distributed several days in advance of board and committee meetings, often on a Thursday or a Friday, so directors have the weekend to read through them.

It is difficult to subscribe a best practice to board packets because they often reflect what board and committee members want to see. But there are certain standards that should apply. At a minimum, the board packet should provide a comprehensive overview of the bank’s performance, while highlighting any issues of concern that require the board’s attention. At the committee level, the packet should provide an overview of relevant areas that a particular committee is working on.

Packets should be well organized and include a complete agenda for each board and committee meeting, along with any supplemental information that is provided. There is a general tendency to provide more information than less, but it should be easily accessible to the directors.

It’s also important that the information be contextualized. The quality and utility of the information from a governance oversight perspective is generally more important than the sheer quantity of what’s being provided.

James A. McAlpin Jr., a partner and global leader of the banking practice group at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, says that board packets often include too much irrelevant information. McAlpin also sits on the board of Hyperion Bank, a $300 million asset community bank in Philadelphia. “I don’t need a listing of every new loan, because I don’t know these borrowers,” he says. “I need a listing of what the trends are. What is the net interest margin? What are the concentrations?” Concentration risk was a big problem for many banks during the financial crisis, McAlpin adds. “It didn’t happen over a period of one or two months, it happened over a period of time, and no one got it because no one was focused on that as a trip wire,” he says.

And the packets themselves shouldn’t be viewed as stone tablets that came down from Mount Sinai. Boards should periodically review whether the packets’ structure and organization, as well as the information being provided, still meets directors’ needs. “You may be comfortable with the board package, but when was the last time everybody, including your committee chairs, said, ‘Do we like the format? Do we like the information presented?’” says McAlpin. “‘What’s missing?’ Very few boards have that conversation.”

The board at Community Bank System, a $15 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in DeWitt, New York, meets 10 times a year. There is also a separate board for Community Bank, N.A., the holding company’s banking subsidiary. Holding company directors also serve on the bank board; the meetings occur back to back. Meetings of the board’s three standing committees — audit, compensation and governance — usually occur before the two board meetings.  Lead Director Sally A. Steele, who joined the board in 2003 and served as chair from 2017 to 2021, says the holding company and bank boards, as well as each committee, receive their own packet with a separate agenda and supplemental information.

There’s a lot to read before meetings, according to Steele. The audit committee packet in particular can be expansive, running to as many as 300 pages. The packets for the compensation and governance committees, as well as the holding company and bank boards, are generally smaller. But taken all together, Steele says, the information “can be really voluminous.”

Should a director attempt to read every single page if the board packet runs several hundred pages? That may be impractical — and perhaps unnecessary. Steele practices something that might be described as selective reading. “It depends on which [packet] you’re talking about,” she says. Steele is not a member of the audit committee and thus does not attempt to dig through that particular pile of information, even though she and all other non-audit committee members receive it. “Do the folks on [the audit] committee read all of it? I honestly believe they do. You can tell by the questions they ask,” she says.

As the board’s lead director, and previously as its chair, Steele reads both board packets in their entirety, as well as the packets of the committees she does serve on. “I would guess most directors focus on the committees they’re on, and the material that’s there, and then probably the bank board and holding company material,” she says. “It’s a lot of information.”

Steele believes it is the responsibility of every director to come to board and committee meetings well prepared. That includes having sufficiently reviewed the information that has been sent out in advance, even if members haven’t read every word. In fact, the Community Bank System board goes through an annual assessment process that is administered by its governance committee, and preparedness is a key part of the evaluation. “In our boardroom, it would not go over very well if people were not prepared,” she says. “I think it’s part of your fiduciary obligation to be prepared for meetings. Goes without saying.”

Plowing through an expansive board packet can be a challenging exercise for new directors who don’t have enough experience to prioritize what they must read word for word over what they can more lightly review. McAlpin believes it would be helpful if one of the more experienced directors “would offer to talk to them over lunch, or meet privately and go through the packet with them to get some sense of what has happened historically and what the packet is,” he says. “I think most boards do not do a very good job of new director orientation.

When Community Bank System recruits a new director, the board tries to lighten the new member’s load by assigning the individual to only one committee. But Steele sees no way around the fact that most new directors will have a steep learning curve, and that includes plowing through the board packet and knowing how to prioritize what’s in it.

“I’ve never found that you can have too much information,” Steele says. “There comes a point in time where you understand what’s important and what’s not. Then you get to choose if you feel it’s important enough for you to spend time on. … I just think there’s a price you pay for being a new director, and it’s figuring out and understanding what’s important and what’s not important.”

Laying Down a Foundation for Bank Boards Through Assessment, Alignment

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There are few things in life that remain unchanged for their entirety, and that is certainly true of corporate boards of directors. A board’s ability to plan ahead for retirements, unexpected departures and shifts in business scale is imperative in maintaining a successful franchise.

As the cornerstone of leadership, the board’s composition plays a critical role in a corporation’s performance. In the banking sector, the board’s commitment encompasses the shareholders, to whom it has a fiduciary obligation, and to its management team, for which it has oversight responsibility. The board’s collective experience and knowledge of its members provides tremendous value, empowering the trajectory of the bank’s strategy.

But without the proper strategies in place, even the most robust board rooms are vulnerable to unexpected changes in the industry. An estimated 50% of all boards are operating without a strong succession plan. The absence of sufficient forethought poses incredible risk to a bank’s present and future stability. In contrast, establishing a foundation for preparedness through a board assessment process can help ensure the board is aligned to the strategic direction of the bank, and is prepared to address an ever-evolving business landscape.

The ideal board assessment approach allows for a standardized, yet customizable process. With careful attention to the uniqueness of every institution, the right steps will allow directors to examine their board’s strategic alignment to the functional and industry expertise needed to support the bank’s growth. A thorough assessment generates a “road map” of future director needs, along with updated governance framework. The assessment process can be led by the governance committee, the lead independent director, the chairman or a third-party firm. Here is the process we recommend:

Intake Session
Having conversations with board stakeholders that are focused on the bank’s long-term vision and short-term objectives will shape the strategy of the organization. This should also take into account the unique culture of the bank’s management team, coupled with any shareholder dynamics that can help guide the framework output and objectives.

Board Assessment
Develop a list of director questions and conduct one-on-one interviews with each director. Some categories of questions to ask include director professional background, contributions and engagement, director aspiration and a deep dive on director profile and skills. We also recommend developing a skills matrix as an effective tool to assess directors.

Future Board Framework
A healthy director composition analysis requires that the board compile a thorough report that includes the findings of the board interviews and member assessments. Directors should have candid discussions about the skills and expertise the board needs to fill identified gaps and needed changes. Directors should revisit all governance elements such as terms and limits, size of board, committee structures, election process and succession issues, among others. We recommend that bank directors develop a final three-year board framework plan to implement the identified changes.

Refreshment
Boards should follow this plan to refresh overall board governance, implementing new processes over time as to not dispute important social and cultural matters. Boards should also use a director refreshment plan to bring on new directors that fill experience and skills gaps identified as part of the board assessment process.

Often, a third-party firm is brought in to lead the overall assessment and refreshment process, working closely with the chairman or the board’s governance and nominating committee. Given the complexities of crafting and gauging a board’s optimal composition, a firm can be helpful with managing that assessment process from beginning to end. Additionally, a third party can help recruit a strategic director with the needed industry and functional expertise, with the added benefit of bringing forward a more diverse candidate pool to consider.

Strong bank boards continue to adapt to strategic objectives and maximize shareholder returns. Time and time again, companies that thrive consistently focus on going deeper with corporate board best practices. For emerging institutions, going through the assessment process for the first time is typically challenging; this process inherently implies impending change. Boards that regularly engage in director assessment and revisit their overall governance framework tend to produce better shareholder returns. Is your board focused on how to elevate the oversight function for the organization?

Honing Your Strategic Vision

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The financial institutions examined in Bank Director’s 2021 RankingBanking study, sponsored by Crowe LLP, demonstrate the fundamentals of successful, long-term performance. What can we learn from these top performers — and how should bank leaders navigate today’s challenging environment? Crowe Partner Kara Baldwin explores these issues, based on the lessons learned in the RankingBanking study, and shares her own expertise. To view the complete results of the 2021 RankingBanking study, click HERE.

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