Shareholder confidence in Chesapeake Energy Corp. sank to its lowest point since the 2008 global economic meltdown as company directors reversed course on the need to examine Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon's personal financial transactions.

Chesapeake's board, propelled by a plunging stock price and potential conflicts between McClendon's personal finances and corporate duties, said yesterday it would end a program allowing its chairman and CEO to buy stakes in the company's wells and review loans McClendon obtained by using those investments as collateral.

“Simply letting the Founders Well Participation Program expire is too little, too late,” said New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, who oversees 3.1 million Chesapeake shares held by the $140 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund. “Much more needs to be done to restore investor confidence.”