Executives, employees, directors: bank stock ownership bonds bank 'family' with stockholders

Stock accumulation programs can help banking executives, employees and directors bond with stockholders. The benefits of such programs include the linkage of individual financial returns to organizational performance, the establishment of common interests among the major internal stakeholders in the bank, the recruitment and retention of key officers and the achievement of various performance objectives. The most common programs in use are stock option plans and employee stock ownership plans, the success of which depend upon workforce characteristics, type and design of the plan and the communication of the plan to potential participants. Issues to be considered in designing stock accumulation plans include coverage, ownership mechanism, targets, shareholder dilution and right of repurchase.