Dive Brief:

• A new study from Accenture found only 6% of directors that oversee the world's biggest banks have any substantial tech experience.

• Banks in the U.S. and UK had the most directors with prior tech experience, while banks in Brazil, Greece, Italy and Russia had none.

• Many banks have been trying to add people with tech experience to their boards as they deal with a growing number of tech issues such as cyber security.

Dive Insight:

Another recent study, by Russell Reynolds, confirmed the Accenture findings. That study found financial groups had less than a third of the digital experience on their boards than other sectors.

"Very few banks have technologists on their boards and yet when you look at the big strategic challenges facing their business, particularly from financial technology companies, a lot of banks' revenue is under threat from this area" said Richard Lumb, head of financial services at Accenture.

Some banks say they have tried to attract tech people to their boards, but have found little success.

Lumb recommends those banks address this by setting up technology committees on their boards first.

"If your main competition now comes from financial technology companies and not banks and the biggest threat you face is cyber security, then technology has become so ingrained in your business that you really need to know something about it," he said.