4.4.6 Size

Sometimes Dutch boards have been very large. ABN AMRO, in 2007, had 5 management board members and 12 supervisory directors. That was — in hindsight — regarded as too large.1 Basically the Dutch are well advised to pay attention to the recommendations given in the US and the UK that boards should not be too large. The Dutch generally are mindful of this point. They do consider size.2 The report of the Committee Maas, giving advice for better banks, has suggested that supervisory boards should be larger with access to more knowledge: at least 10 for big banks and at least 6 for small banks.3 The then Minister of Finance, Bos, advised against outsized supervisory boards. I would say that for larger companies 9 would be a maximum, i.e. 3 members for each of the 3 committees. In smaller companies the supervisory board can have a lower number to avoid unwieldy discussions or supervisory directors that stay silent.