J. Michael Shepherd
An American banking lawyer and executive who led Bank of the West as President and CEO from 2008 to 2016, chaired BNP Paribas USA through 2023, and later joined the boards of CoreLogic and Discover Financial Services.
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- Country
- United States
- Career
- General Counsel at Shawmut National Corp. and The Bank of New York Company, Inc.; joined Bank of the West in 2004 as EVP, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer; President and COO from 2006; President and CEO of Bank of the West from January 2008 to June 2016; President and CEO of BancWest Corporation from April 2009; Chairman of BNP Paribas USA, June 2016 - February 2023
- Government service
- Senior Deputy Comptroller of the Currency; Associate Counsel to the President of the United States; Deputy Assistant Attorney General
- Education
- Stanford University (undergraduate); University of Michigan Law School (law degree)
- Board roles
- Federal Reserve Board's Federal Advisory Council, Twelfth District representative (2011-2014, later its president); FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion; CoreLogic board (from June 2019); First Hawaiian, Inc. board; Discover Financial Services board, Risk Oversight Committee (from August 2023); Pacific Mutual Holding Company board
Overview
J. Michael Shepherd is an American banking lawyer and executive who spent nearly two decades in leadership roles at Bank of the West and its parent organizations before moving into a series of corporate board positions. Before joining the bank, he was general counsel at Shawmut National Corp. and later at The Bank of New York Company, Inc., and earlier held U.S. government legal posts including Senior Deputy Comptroller of the Currency, Associate Counsel to the President of the United States, and Deputy Assistant Attorney General (citybiz). He holds an undergraduate degree from Stanford University and a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco).
Bank of the West and BancWest Corporation
Before joining Bank of the West, Shepherd served as general counsel of Shawmut National Corporation, a Hartford-based bank holding company that merged into Fleet Financial Group in 1995 (Family Wealth Report). Shepherd joined Bank of the West in 2004 as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer (SEC EDGAR), and was promoted to Senior Executive Vice President in May 2005 with expanded oversight of the bank’s risk management and credit administration functions in addition to its legal and compliance activities (SEC EDGAR). He became President and Chief Operating Officer in 2006, then President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of the West in January 2008 (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; citybiz). In April 2009 he additionally became President and CEO of BancWest Corporation, the Hawaii-based holding company that also oversees First Hawaiian Bank (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco).
While leading Bank of the West, Shepherd represented the Federal Reserve’s Twelfth District on the Federal Reserve Board’s Federal Advisory Council, a body of one commercial-banking representative from each of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts that meets with the Board of Governors several times a year to discuss economic and banking conditions. He was appointed to the council in October 2011, succeeding Russell Goldsmith of City National Bank, and was reappointed in 2013 to a third one-year term beginning in January 2014 (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco); he later served as the council’s president (Family Wealth Report). He also served on the FDIC’s Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion during this period (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco).
Transition to BNP Paribas USA and later board roles
In June 2016, Shepherd stepped down as CEO of Bank of the West and became chairman of BNP Paribas USA, a new holding company BNP Paribas created for its U.S. subsidiaries, while remaining chairman of Bank of the West and BancWest Corporation; he was succeeded as Bank of the West’s president and CEO by Nandita Bakhshi (Family Wealth Report). He held the BNP Paribas USA chairmanship until February 2023, when BMO completed its acquisition of Bank of the West from BNP Paribas (citybiz).
Alongside his banking role, Shepherd was elected to the board of directors of CoreLogic on June 21, 2019, expanding that company’s board from 11 to 12 directors (SEC EDGAR); he also served as a director of First Hawaiian, Inc., the BancWest subsidiary and Hawaii’s oldest bank (citybiz). On August 14, 2023, he joined the board of directors of Discover Financial Services, serving on its Risk Oversight Committee; Discover’s board chair Tom Maheras cited his “significant expertise in financial services” and “valuable background in public affairs and regulatory matters” (citybiz). He has also served as a director of Pacific Mutual Holding Company (citybiz).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not resolve the precise sequence of Shepherd’s Bank of the West and BancWest Corporation titles between 2010 and 2016 beyond what is stated in the Timeline and Open items above, since the two Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco releases and the trade-press account describe them slightly differently. It does not independently verify his membership in the Council on Foreign Relations, the Bay Area Council, Operation HOPE, the Presidio Trust, or other affiliations mentioned only in first-party company announcements, since those could not be corroborated through an independent source and are therefore omitted from the facts above. It also does not evaluate his performance or conduct in any of these roles, and does not attempt a complete list of every board or advisory position he has held.
Timeline
- 2004
- Joins Bank of the West as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer, after earlier General Counsel roles at Shawmut National Corp. and The Bank of New York Company.
- 2005-05-23
- Promoted to Senior Executive Vice President at Bank of the West's annual shareholder meeting, with expanded oversight of risk management and credit administration alongside his legal duties.
- 2006
- Becomes President and Chief Operating Officer of Bank of the West.
- 2008-01
- Becomes President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of the West.
- 2009-04
- Becomes President and Chief Executive Officer of BancWest Corporation, Bank of the West's Hawaii-based holding company, which also oversees First Hawaiian Bank.
- 2011-10
- Appointed to the Federal Reserve Board's Federal Advisory Council as the Twelfth District's representative, succeeding Russell Goldsmith of City National Bank.
- 2013-10
- Reappointed to the Federal Advisory Council for a third one-year term beginning January 2014.
- 2016-06
- Steps down as CEO of Bank of the West, succeeded by Nandita Bakhshi, and becomes chairman of the newly formed BNP Paribas USA holding company while remaining chairman of Bank of the West and BancWest Corporation.
- 2019-06-21
- Elected to the board of directors of CoreLogic, expanding its board from 11 to 12 members.
- 2023-02
- His chairmanship of BNP Paribas USA ends as BMO completes its acquisition of Bank of the West from BNP Paribas.
- 2023-08-14
- Joins the board of directors of Discover Financial Services, serving on its Risk Oversight Committee.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- A 2013 Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco press release describes Shepherd's Bank of the West title separately as "President and CEO of Bank of the West (2008-2010)," which read alone could suggest his Bank of the West CEO title changed in 2010. Independent trade press (Family Wealth Report) and Discover's own announcement instead describe a single continuous CEO tenure "from January 2008 to June 2016." This profile follows the continuous-tenure account, on the view that the 2013 release's phrasing likely reflects a title distinction between his Bank of the West role and his separate April 2009 appointment as President and CEO of the BancWest holding company, but the exact title history between 2010 and 2016 is not fully resolved by the sources checked here.
Sources
7 sources (4 tier 1, 2 tier 2, 1 first-party), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Statements the subject makes about itself are marked as such and are not treated as independent evidence. See the source policy.
Two San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank press releases (a government regulatory record independent of Shepherd and his employers) were fetched and read in full to verify his Federal Advisory Council service and his Bank of the West/BancWest titles at the time. Two SEC filings — a 2005 Bank of the West exhibit and a 2019 CoreLogic board-appointment exhibit — were independently fetched to verify his career history and CoreLogic directorship. citybiz and Family Wealth Report, independent trade-press outlets unaffiliated with Shepherd or his employers, were fetched to verify his Discover Financial Services appointment and his succession by Nandita Bakhshi at Bank of the West. Discover's own August 2023 announcement of his board appointment was also read but is treated here as a first-party company statement, not independent corroboration. Wikipedia was not used at any stage of this profile's research.
- Michael Shepherd Reappointed to the Federal Advisory Council Supports: His reappointment to a third term on the Federal Advisory Council, his Bank of the West and BancWest Corporation titles as of 2013, and his other board and committee affiliations.
- Michael Shepherd Appointed to the Federal Advisory Council Supports: His October 2011 appointment to the Federal Advisory Council succeeding Russell Goldsmith, his 2008-2010 and 2006-2008 Bank of the West titles, his April 2009 BancWest Corporation appointment, his education, and his other board memberships at the time.
- CoreLogic Names New Independent Director (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.16) Supports: His June 21, 2019 election to CoreLogic's board, his career history at Bank of the West and in government, his education, and his other affiliations at the time (including that he was, at that point, still chairman of Bank of the West).
- Bank of the West Form 8-K, Exhibit 99 (EX-99 2 f09343exv99.htm) Supports: His May 23, 2005 promotion to Senior Executive Vice President, his 2004 hire date, and his role overseeing legal, compliance, risk management and credit administration functions.
- Discover Financial Services Appoints J. Michael Shepherd To Its Board Supports: Independent trade-press confirmation of his August 2023 Discover board appointment and his prior Bank of the West, BNP Paribas USA, First Hawaiian and CoreLogic roles.
- Change At The Top Of Bank Of The West Supports: Independent confirmation that Shepherd transitioned to chairman of the newly formed BNP Paribas USA holding company in June 2016 and was succeeded as Bank of the West CEO by Nandita Bakhshi, and of his prior roles as president of the Federal Reserve's Federal Advisory Council and general counsel at Bank of New York.
- Discover Financial Services Names J. Michael Shepherd to Its Board of Directors Supports: His full career summary as Discover itself describes it, including his January 2008-June 2016 CEO tenure at Bank of the West and his education (used only for uncontested biographical facts, alongside independent corroboration above).
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