Boardroom Drift: When Directors Get Distracted

Cosmetic conversations can crowd out strategic thinking—here's what to do about it. We also take a look at how Chime is quickly shedding its neobank status.

Hi Bank Slaters!

Hope you had a great weekend and are rolling into the week with a bounce in your step (even if that requires that second cup of coffee ☕).

Bank Slate was well represented in financial services media last week. Our piece on buying loan portfolios went live with the Forbes Financial Council, while our article in the ABA Banking Journal examined the other side of the balance sheet by looking at how to stem deposit runoff when you announce an acquisition.

Our latest LinkedIn post on Chime’s IPO was picked up by LinkedIn News. The post dives into what this moment means for fintech founders and bank execs alike. It’s the conversation many people in our world should be having. We also did an interview with American Banker on the topic—we’ll let you know when that articles goes live

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Let’s talk about boardroom distractions.

I recently met with a bank CEO who voiced a frustration I’ve heard several times: “I can’t get my board to focus on what really matters.” Rather than engage deeply on strategy, risk, and performance, his directors kept drifting into small-ball debates with little bearing on the bank’s long-term success.

In a time of heightened volatility and rising stakeholder expectations, the board’s job has never been more consequential. Too often, board meetings are consumed with issues that are cosmetic, aesthetic, or peripheral—what I call "furniture" problems, while foundational issues that determine a bank’s trajectory are shortchanged or postponed.