FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
WHY THE BANK’S PROBLEMS RESULTED IN A MATERIAL LOSS
Corporate Governance
The bank’s Board of Directors (or Board) and senior management exhibited a pattern of mismanagement of the bank and failed to provide an adequate system of corporate governance. (Note: The FDIC and state examination reports for 1996 through 2002 listed as few as five and as many as eight directors including the Chairman at CBC. The examinations also noted that the directors other than the Chairman were independent of the bank. The Institute of Internal Auditors identifies the board of directors, senior management, internal auditors, and external auditors as the cornerstones of the foundation on which effective corporate governance must be built (see Institute of Internal Auditors "Recommendations for Improving Corporate Governance." Position paper to the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of the New York Stock Exchange, March 28, 2002).) The Board of Directors’ lack of adequate oversight was a principal cause of the bank’s failure, and happened in large part because the Chairman dominated the bank’s Board. Mismanagement of the bank included failing to diversify the risk of the bank’s loan portfolio, engaging in high-risk activities without proper risk management processes, circumventing or disregarding various laws and banking regulations, and frequently ignoring examiner recommendations. Adding to these problems were a weak internal audit function and external audits that did not always follow up on certain questionable asset valuations that were material to CBC’s financial statements. To achieve an effective corporate governance environment, all four areas – the Board, senior management, internal audit, and external audit –must be in place and working cohesively. As discussed below, this did not occur at CBC.