NEDs & MI

This isn't going to be popular with NEDs. It's something I've mentioned and it meets stiff resistance. The governance of banks and societies is heavily reliant on management information. This is normally produced monthly for the board meeting. The FSA has "suggested" that focus of this MI should shift from being backward looking to looking forward. This is not an easy thing to do but it certainly has merits. However there is one glaringly weakness in the MI that NEDs get. It is monthly. It should be daily. This is going to raise hackles. One I frequently encounter -"daily management is not my role that's for the exec". Time is continuous. In a world where events unravel in hours knowing what's what is part of governance. Daily access to a risk dashboard should be a prerequisite. It doesn't have to take long but just show the main credit, market and liquidity positions. It also makes it a lot easier to follow trends. The technology is there and it's secure so these's no excuse. After all you drive a car looking out of the windscreen not the rear view mirror.