As we start the third year of this popular newsletter, I am pleased to announce that you will receive editions monthly, as opposed to quarterly. We have lined up almost two dozen authors to keep you informed on important directors issues throughout the year. We soon will be sending you a Reader Survey so that you may let us know what you think of this members-only resource and what we can do to serve you better. The regulators continue to insist upon well-informed directors, and we want to help. I invite you to take a look at the wide variety of directors workshops and webinars we have planned for you in the coming months. A partial list appears on the sidebar to the left, and you can view all programs scheduled to date on our Education Calendar. I urge you to take advantage of at least a few of them.

Nancy E. Sheppard
WIB President & CEO

Corporate Governance

How Many Stockholders Should We Have?
By Philip Smith, Gerrish McCreary Smith, PC

Does your bank have a stockholder strategy? Chances are you may never have addressed it in that fashion. Most organizations now conduct some element of strategic planning, but many fail to focus on the idea of strategically deciding how many stockholders to have. That greatly impacts whether the institution is public or private. Both strategies can work well if appropriate planning is done.  <read more>

Whether through the adoption of a Non-Executive Chair or Lead Independent Director, shareholders increasingly expect and demand independent board leadership. As these positions become more central to the practices of good corporate governance, have Western banks kept up with intensifying independence standards?  <read more>

Regulatory & Compliance 

Today’s bank director is faced with an increasingly tough job. Not only have the standards of responsibility and liability been raised, but there’s also a seemingly endless flow of information on shifting regulatory requirements and nuance to wade through. What bank directors need is a way to zero in on what really matters, and the place where the regulatory rubber meets the road is the examination report.  <read more>

Strategic Issues

Strategy 102: Part I 
By Cass Bettinger, Cass Bettinger & Associates

One of the most compelling realities facing today’s bankers – and one which many prefer to ignore – is that banking is a mature industry with new competitive realities requiring new strategies. This column will discuss eight of these new realities as an introduction to future columns focusing on Strategic Marketing.  <read more> 

Risk Management 

As we search for ways to stop the steady decline in net interest margin, many community bankers are adopting more aggressive policies as it relates to their liquidity management practice. The very largest banks manage with very high loan/deposit ratios and do so for good reason. And, many community bankers are wondering how they might manage in the same way to enhance their profits. Of course, running with less asset-based liquidity does entail increased risk and we should all be aware of this fact.  <read more>

General Interest 

Community bank capital is no longer only straight equity and trust preferred securities. Banks will be increasingly looking to diversify their equity stacks, including straight preferred, convertible preferred, and convertible debt securities. This will allow community banks to access more capital, get better execution, and optimize their overall cost of capital.  <read more>