Merit issue: Just one guy on the failed Silicon Valley Bank's board knew anything about investment banking

American Thinker ^ | 03/15/2023 | Monica Showalter

[SeekAndFind]

But he is the only one on the board with a career in the financial industry, while others are a former Obama administration employee, a prolific contributor to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and even a Hillary Clinton mega-donor who prayed at a Shinto shrine when Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election.

Now it's pretty obvious what the results of that was. Just one of them knew about banking and risk management. No wonder they couldn't manage the bank. They had a merit problem in their top management, with characters hired for their political connections. One of them, Mary J. Miller, was an actual Obama administration official.

[Menehune56]

Ping for later

[eyeamok]

Only one person on their team wasn’t fully trained in DEI, ESG and LGBTQ Politics...

[rightwingcrazy]

Membership in boards of directors, it seems to me, has long been a perk of social status, rather than of proven accomplishment in the relevant business area.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Membership in boards of directors

Are members of the board of directors SALARIED employees?

[Eleutheria5]

Oh, good. Single that feller out and blame everything on him.

[rightwingcrazy]

They get paid, but they’re not employees.

[Chewbarkah]

Under ordinary circumstances they could probably get away with bumbling. The Biden hyperinflation and the inevitable interest rate hikes required active and skillful adjustments. The Board as described would have thought the Biden spending spree, woke energy policies, etc. were wonderful.

I do have to wonder whether SVB had expertise in the hired employee category. Board Members can add valuable oversight, or they can be political connectors, or rainmakers, or worthless bagmen.

[Jolla]

Had a boss on the board of Robert Half Employment. He said it was a very interesting board, the members were actual experts in their fields, insurance, finance, legal. All were top people in their industry and helped with the questions and guidance the executives needed to help make their decisions. He said it was an unusual arrangement and one of the best boards he had served on.

[ridesthemiles]

QUESTION:

IF all those board members & employees got bonuses————

IF all those board members sold so many millions of $$$$$$$$ of bank stock-—

WHAT BANK DID THEY DEPOSIT THOSE FUNDS INTO???

[Bonemaker]

Here’s wishing the same fate on all the other filthy woke boards and companies.

[Roccus]

Once was an hourly worker for a mega-corp. Found out I had more shares in the company than FOUR members of the board.....combined!!
Had a hard time believing these Alpha Hotels had the best interests of the company at heart when decisions were made.

[chuckee]

The 2 idiot banks that failed had zero to do with the national economy. SVC and Signature were loaded down with politically connected Dem Wokies in management and on the board that knew nothing about banking that catered to one trick industries, crypto that has fallen out of favor and SV tech. Barney Frank’s bank is next to go. We need banking legislation that requires that the majority of bank board of directors must be from the banking industry.

[Captain Rhino]

The articles and comments here remind me of an essay on the functioning of corporation boards published in 1957 by the famous British economic humorist, C. Northcote Parkinson (of “Parkinson’s Law” fame).

Below is a link to a pdf file containing the famous Parkinson’s Law essay and other essays on administration. The essay I am referring to is the third in the book. It is called “HIGH FINANCE, OR THE POINT OF VANISHING INTEREST“ and starts on page 11 of the pdf. It’s short; being just a few pages in length.

http://sas2.elte.hu/tg/ptorv/Parkinson-s-Law.pdf

Although somewhat dated (to say the least), the essays are still humorous and worth reading because their subject, human behavior is business/administrative settings is predictably and stubbornly consistent, regardless of the specific setting details.

[GOPJ]

True - but banks usually went for status with people who knew something about finance or had large city reputations (former mayors etc) Not just fools who reflected a political fashion statement.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

Even if the board knew that they were ruling the Tower of Babel, why would they care?

[SunkenCiv]

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[Jane Austen]

btt

[Jane Austen]

btt

[rightwingcrazy]

Thanks. Both amusing and dismaying, for the reasons that you stated.