Best posts on Finlay ON Governance from Feb 2009

He was a man who knew the virtues of humility and the vices of partisanship. He was a president who understood that the greatest deeds spring from the most resonant words. And as president, he actually wrote his own speeches. One of these gave voice to some of the most cogently eloquent ideas about governance and democracy ever penned. It is the idea of government of the people, by the people and for the people.

What the regulars at this fabled Swiss resort did not appear to grasp is that the breezier than usual air this year was the cold wind of change brought on by the bitter storm of betrayal and personal devastation that millions around the world have felt as a result of Wall Street’s greed and the failures of those expected to regulate it.

The world’s most powerful securities regulator has long called itself the investor’s advocate. Given its stunning failure over the Madoff scam and the latest scandal, involving R. Allen Stanford, it may be on its way to becoming known as the investor’s nightmare.For years, the Securities and Exchange Commission was regarded as one of the toughest securities cops in the world.

We love what we do.  If you gave me no bonus in the best years, I would still be here.  John Mack,  CEO of Morgan Stanley, in testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, February 11, 2009When Mr. Mack rejoined Morgan Stanley in June 2005, he was awarded stock worth $26 million on day-one, and a further $13 million in compensation and benefits for his first five months of work.

When bank CEOs tried to fall into line before an outraged Congressional committee, they were a little disingenuous about the true extent of the sacrifice they are bearing. It is widely held that in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, an absence of meaningful transparency has been a major culprit. Too much in the financial sector was done in a less than open and clear fashion, and today uncertainty in respect of the true state of these institutions remains a chief cause of uneasiness in the market.

To say that one of the most storied banking names in the world has become a ward of the state is to diminish the extent of the reliance.  Citigroup has taken on the likeness of a crippled orphan in a Dickens classic, unable to stand on its own and unlikely to survive against the bitter winds of Darwinian, or in this case, free market, vicissitudes.

We said a while back that there would be more surprises coming out of Research In Motion’s options backdating scandal.  A big one came today.Two years ago, I raised a number of concerns about Research In Motion’s corporate governance, describing it as a relic of the past.  As its backdating scandal unfolded, I expressed serious reservations about RIM’s board practices, the role of its directors in the backdating review, and, ultimately, the outcome of that internal investigation.

In his first address to a joint session of Congress last night, President Barack Obama showed a craftsmanship with words that is possible only by political leaders who possess a unique appreciation for the promise of language and a rare gift for writing the ideas that have historically transformed civilizations.  America finally has an architect for its recovery, restoration and renewal.

We have talked occasionally on these pages about the game of baseball as a metaphor for life.  It has its rules, which are to be respected, otherwise nothing can be advanced.  (Wall Street please note.)  It has its ups and downs, which test the loyalty of fans. Some teams in New York and Chicago test it more than others.  And it has its heroes, who, at their best, quietly inspire in a way that transcends age and place in life and unites both tycoon and taxi driver in a common adulation.

The Rogues’ Gallery of the increasingly tarnished modern Gilded Age is getting crowded. The Securities and Exchange Commission today accused Robert Allen Stanford, CEO of the Stanford Financial Group, of running a “massive ongoing fraud.” The SEC said the bank division of the group could not account for $8 billion it was supposed to have on deposit in Antigua. Mr. Stanford apparently could not be reached to offer any clarification.