Board Oversight of Risk
Our Board of Directors believes that effective risk management and control processes are critical to our safety and soundness, our ability to predict and manage the challenges that we face and, ultimately, our long-term corporate success. Our Board of Directors, both directly and through its committees, is responsible for overseeing our risk management processes, with each of the committees of our Board of Directors assuming a different and important role in overseeing the management of the risks the Company faces. The Risk Committee, which is comprised of the entire Board of Directors, oversees the identification and management of the various risks we face including, among other things, financial, credit, collateral, consumer compliance, operational, Bank Secrecy Act, fraud, cyber-security, vendor, and insurable risks.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing risks associated with financial matters (particularly financial reporting, accounting practices and policies, disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting). The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors has primary responsibility for risks and exposures associated with our compensation policies, plans and practices, regarding both executive compensation and the Company’s compensation structure. In particular, our Compensation Committee, in conjunction with our President and Chief Executive Officer and other members of our management, as appropriate, reviews our incentive compensation arrangements to ensure these programs are consistent with applicable laws and regulations, including safety and soundness requirements, and do not encourage imprudent or excessive risk-taking by our employees. The Compensation Committee is also responsible for oversight of our policies and strategies relating to human capital management. The Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors oversees risks associated with the independence of our Board of Directors and potential conflicts of interest and also is responsible for review and oversight of our environmental, social and governance policies and activities.
Our senior management is responsible for implementing our risk management processes by assessing and managing the risks we face, including strategic, operational, regulatory, investment and execution risks, on a day-to-day basis, and reporting to our Board of Directors regarding our risk management processes. Our senior management is also responsible for creating and recommending to our Board of Directors for approval appropriate risk appetite metrics reflecting the aggregate levels and types of risk we are willing to accept in connection with the operation of our business and pursuit of our business objectives.
The role of our Board of Directors in our risk oversight is consistent with our leadership structure, with our President and Chief Executive Officer and the other members of senior management having responsibility for assessing and managing our risk exposure, and our Board of Directors and its committees providing oversight in connection with those efforts. We believe this division of risk management responsibilities presents a consistent, systemic, and effective approach for identifying, managing and mitigating risks throughout our operations.
Meetings and Committees of the Board of Directors
The Company conducts business through meetings of its Board of Directors and its committees. All members of the Company’s Board of Directors also serve on the Bank’s Board of Directors. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, the Boards of Directors of the Company and the Bank each held 8 regular meetings in 2022 and the Boards of Directors of the Company and the Bank held 3 joint regular board meetings. In 2022, the Boards of Directors of the Company and the Bank held 6 joint special meetings and the Board of Directors of the Bank held 3 special meetings. No director attended fewer than 75% of the total meetings of the Company’s Board of Directors and committees on which such director served.
The Board of Directors of the Company maintains an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee, a Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee, and a Risk Committee. The Board of Directors has adopted a written charter for each committee, other than the Risk Committee, that, among other things, specifies the scope of each committee’s rights and responsibilities. A copy of each committee charter is available in the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at http://ir.columbiabankonline.com.
The following table identifies our standing committees and their members as of the Record Date. All members of each committee listed below are independent in accordance with the listing standards of the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., except for Thomas J. Kemly.