Report: Banks lack diversity

Bank executives and directors, in addition to the standard challenges, from finding customers to handling regulations, face two other key hurdles, according to a new report from Bank Director magazine: succession planning for the CEO and adding more women and diversity to the bank's board.

The report, Bank Director's 2017 Compensation Survey, found that 48% of bank executives and directors have yet to identify a successor to replace the CEO when he or she retires or leaves. It's an acute situation. The median age for a bank CEO is 57 years old, and 29% of the survey respondents expect the CEO of their bank to retire within the next five years. Yet banks below $5 billion in assets are less likely to have designated a successor or identified potential successors, the report found.