Western Independent Banker - November/December 2008 - (Page 40)

at the conference. The bank chairman met with the firm in the Expo and felt it would work for the bank. “We were fortunate that our new chairman was all for technology and told the board that this was what we were going to do,” said Boatright. “Some board members embraced the change more than others, but all are on board with it. It’s not perfect, but it is much, much better than the old way.” Instead of the board receiving information for meetings one week or less prior, they now receive things up to three weeks in advance, and time-sensitive information easily can be delivered to them up to the morning of the meeting. Their portal also includes a Resource Center where articles, contact and committee information, policies and newsletters are housed. “The board portal offers convenience and efficiency and lets us provide more information than we could before,” said Boatright. “Files are so easy to upload. We never even have to photocopy any more. One huge benefit for us is that we used to have to stay until 8:00 or 10:00 pm the night before a meeting and were at the mercy of the copy machine to create the board books for the morning meeting. Now we can go home at normal hours and can access the portal from home if any last minute things come up.” The bank has a laptop for each of their board members that they keep at the bank and have set up at each member’s seat the day of the meeting. No hard copies are passed out—all of the information is displayed on the laptops and on a large screen at the front of the room. In addition, board members who are out of town during meetings can access the portal remotely and participate as if they were there in person. The bank, which earned its Green Business Program certification from the County of Marin even before they implemented their board portal program, now estimates they save the equivalent of five trees a year by no longer producing the 150-page monthly board books. And since implementation, they have been awarded a Certificate of Recognition as a sustainable business by the California State Legislature. “Our board portal has exceeded my expectations. We use it for more than just traditional board materials. We even use it for voting and polling, including the signing of meeting minutes,” said Boatright. “Corporate secretaries would love it. The board may be resistant, but they should give it a shot!” T Bank: A Paperless Bank Thad Hutcheson, chief technology officer at T Bank, in Dallas, Tex., was an early adopter of paperless banking and board portal technology. T Bank was chartered as a completely paperless operation with no filing cabinets or filing rooms, but instead with paperless files and reporting and electronic signatures. T Bank partnered with Passageways LLC as their board portal vendor. “Our board portal has provided the means to electronically support and 40 Bankvue.indd 1 www.wib.org Western Independent Banker 9/15/08 11:55:11 AM http://www.wib.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Western Independent Banker - November/December 2008

Western Independent Banker - November/December 2008 Contents A Message from the President & CEO A Practical Approach to Director Evaluations Director Assessment: New Standards for a High Performing Director The Best of the West: Traits of High Performing Banks Best Practices Checklist for the Audit Committee The Real Performance Metric: It Takes a Balance of Profitability and Growth to Be Successful The Role of the Board in a Credit Crisis A Bank Director's Obligation to Be Aware of Regulatory Change Benefits Tied to Performance Receive Higher Approval Rating by�Board Members Increasing Shareholder Value: Key Profitability Drivers Board Portals Streamline Efficiency for 21st Century WIB Service Corporation Report WIB Calendar Welcome New Members Index to Advertisers advertiser.com

Western Independent Banker - November/December 2008

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