Picture 1396.pngDavid Reilly says yes. The Bloomberg columnist crunched some numbers and estimates that “only about 15 percent of directors have banking experience at the 10 largest U.S. commercial banks by assets” (and just over a third if you include backgrounds in investing, accounting, insurance, real estate and slinging crack-rock, which helps Goldman’s rate considerably). Apparently having people on the board who knew what was up could’ve helped us avoid the current situation we’ve got on our hands (though the presence of people like Bobby Rubin at Citi taint that theory slightly). Moving forward, we need to stack these things with guys who will understand when to ask Ken Lewis “No, seriously, WTF?” (just after he hastily overpays for a chain of biker bars without telling anyone) and rough him up accordingly (Reilly: “if you’re in the business of making sausage, it pays to have some butchers on hand”).

Comments (20)

  1. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 9:53 AM

    Bobby Rubin worked at the USG before joining Citi. Does anyone else draw a line between success in government and failure in business? Of course, without the Oracle and L Summers Rubin likely would have botched Mexico, Russia, and LTCM. and he may not have inflated the awesome tech bubble either. How droll would the 90′s have been if he failed as badly there as he did at Citi?

  2. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 9:58 AM

    we should replace every bank board with dress makers.

  3. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 10:07 AM

    No, just need to be part of the tribe.
    David Duke

  4. Posted by Anal_yst | May 20, 2009 at 10:11 AM

    Or just, ya know, hold BoD’s accountable for a change. You don’t need 20 years of same/similar industry experience to be able to perform basic BoD duties – it wouldn’t hurt – but that article misses the major shortcoming of many large-firm BoD’s entirely.

  5. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 10:12 AM

    @ 4
    What that they don’t give a $h!t?

  6. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 10:13 AM

    I pounded a bank teller in her ass once and I had little to no experience in the field of bank telling.

  7. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 10:14 AM

    nice glasses

  8. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 10:15 AM

    Asking bank board personnel to be “bankers” is as hard to swallow as asking AIG traders to have common sense.

  9. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 10:16 AM

    @6 lol

  10. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 10:21 AM

    Maybe not…amateur night at the strip clubs are usually entertaining.

  11. Posted by Lowly Assistant | May 20, 2009 at 10:28 AM

    I know someone that knows someone that knows Bess, and they confirmed she used to hustle on NJ street corners in her red and black lumberjack, with the hat to match. Word on the street is she was wicked with the 3 card monty.

  12. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 10:35 AM

    @11 THAT WAS HER ? She owes me $50

  13. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 10:35 AM

    nice biggie lyrics. street cred.

  14. Posted by girl | May 20, 2009 at 10:49 AM

    Yes.
    Sincerely,
    Captain Obvious

  15. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 10:55 AM

    taint theory: it taint the balls and it taint the ass, but it’s somewhere in between.
    oh,wait. that says, “taint that theory”. nevermind.

  16. Posted by Anal_yst | May 20, 2009 at 11:31 AM

    @5
    Bingo.

  17. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 12:29 PM

    We couldn’t have that!! Then they would jeopardize their “independence,” and that would be “bad.”
    Besides, where else do washed up politicians go? Isn’t that the deal? They suffer through the gov’t crap and then get a nice juicy board seat or two? Vernon Jordan? Bob Rubin? etc, ad infinitum?

  18. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 12:33 PM

    We couldn’t have that!! Then they would jeopardize their “independence,” and that would be “bad.”
    Besides, where else do washed up politicians go? Isn’t that the deal? They suffer through the gov’t crap and then get a nice juicy board seat or two? Vernon Jordan? Bob Rubin? etc, ad infinitum?

  19. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 12:33 PM

    RE: 17 & 18 – oops, sorry.

  20. Posted by guest | May 20, 2009 at 3:53 PM

    See Bob’s resemblance to Brains from the Thunderbirds. Just a little older…
    http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410KJY05TJL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

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