At the company level, incentive systems can foster practices that progressively sow the  seeds for failure unless there is consistent and diligent oversight by Boards, shareholders and depositors.
In 2002, S&P 500 firms contributed $ billion to their pension plans - three times more than in either of the previous two years - and total contributions are estimated to have been even higher in 2003. This drain on corporate sponsors' cash resources is likely to ease in the near term, but longer-term issues remain.