Most of the studies in corporate governance in banks and other types of¯rms investigate board diversity and quality separately, without considering the possible relationship between these two. To¯ll this gap, this study investigates through a new methodological approach the level of quality and diversity of the boards of a sample of Italian banks using a proprietary handcollected database; in addition, it examines the relationship between diversity and quality of boards to verify whether more diversity consistently relates to higher quality, in accordance with the regulatory approach. Evidence shows that especially small and mutual banks need to improve quality and diversity, as they probably su®er from their limited attractiveness to top pro¯le directors. Moreover, on analyzing interrelations we¯nd evidence of a positive association between board diversity and quality. In particular,¯nancial skills and experience of directors improve the qualitative level of banking boards.

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During the last decade, the increase in computational capacity, the consolidation of new methodologies to elaborate data, and the availability of and access to new information related to individuals and organizations, aided by the widespread usage of internet, set the stage for the development and application of Artificial Intelligence (hereinafter AI) techniques in enterprises in general and financial institutions in particular.