Key takeaways

• On July 8, 2015, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision of the Bank for International Settlements (“Basel Committee”) issued revised guidelines on corporate governance principles for banks (“2015 Principles”). Among other changes, the revisions expand the responsibilities of boards of directors, particularly with respect to oversight of risk management systems and further define the elements of a robust risk governance framework.
• Although the 2015 Principles are largely consistent with the consultative version the Basel Committee published in October 2014, the final version appears responsive to certain industry comments, including, for example, with respect to the demarcation between the duties of the board of directors versus senior management.
• We believe it is a worthwhile exercise for banking organizations to benchmark their current practices against the 2015 Principles. U.S. banking agencies likely consider the 2015 Principles’ comprehensive and detailed recommendations to be best practices for meeting regulatory and supervisory expectations regarding risk management and governance practices.