Banks have boards; hold them accountable

AIG, Citibank, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, etc. -- one would think that the only people responsible for actions of these financial institutions, and many more now infused with bailout money, were executives running amok without any supervision until they hit a brick wall. Hogwash. Each and every one of them has a board of directors, and they too need to be pulled out from under their rocks and held accountable.

Why have boards? Aren't they supposed to oversee the direction of these institutions? Or is their function solely to vote on bonus packages, corporate salaries and esoteric niceties? How much are they being paid? Who are these people and why haven't they been hauled before banking committees and regulators asking what they were doing while this mess was building?

I am all in favor of correcting the current situation and putting in place safeguards for the future. Some key players should not be shielded from responsibility. If you take on the honor of sitting on a board, it shouldn't convey an automatic pass when things unravel.

If guys like Chairman Edward Liddy are working at AIG for one dollar, how much are board members of this institution and others getting this year? It's time we found out.

 

FRANK SCHIFFMAN
Upper St. Clair