Directorships no longer a cushy number on Wall St. .......

31/3/15

 Directorships no longer a cushy number on Wall St. .......

"Regulators Intensify Scrutiny of Bank Boards" , the Wall Street Journal online, Markets

Any lingering misconceptions about non-executive bank directors pitching up at board meetings to rubber-stamp whatever's on the agenda and pocket a cheque can be consigned to history once and for all. The Federal Reserve and other regulators are getting "hands-on" with bank boards. This may include attending board meetings, having regular one-on-one meetings with directors and even having input into the make-up of the board.

Regulators are striving to ensure that banks have the right culture in place and avoid excessive risk-taking, both things that they failed to do in 2008. The prevailing view is that board directors either didn't understand the risks being taken on or were too supine to do anything about it. Not all are happy with the regulators' new approach ("We're not management, after all"), but in the current climate their voices are unlikely to be heard.