Board composition in the ‘Big Four’ British clearing banks, 1970-2005: A prosopographic and theoretical analysis

Covering a period characterised by a series of dramatic changes for Britain’s ‘Big Four’ clearing banks – Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest, and Midland – this article is based on a database composed of the directors of these influential institutions. The first research question examined the nature of any changes that occurred at board level, employing a prosopographic approach that provided extensive insights into the principal characteristics of the group as it evolved over time. The second analysed these changes, using board capital theory to assess the extent to which the balance between ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ changed markedly over this period. The research showed that while the composition of boards did change, we find that the introduction of more ‘outsiders’ masks their occupations as bankers. This suggests that the transition from insider-dominated to outsider-dominated boards hardly changed the types of people who held these positions.