Publications

August 2011
Teaching Note

Post-Crisis Compensation at Credit Suisse (TN) (A), (B), and (C)

By: Clayton Rose and Sally Canter Ganzfried

Teaching Note for 311-005, 311-006, and 311-007. View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Financial Crisis; Financial Services Industry

September 2008
Article

Does Innovation Cause Stock Market Runups? Evidence from the Great Crash

By: Tom Nicholas

This article examines the stock market's changing valuation of corporate patentable assets between 1910 and 1939. It shows that the value of knowledge capital increased significantly during the 1920s compared to the 1910s as investors responded to the quality of... View Details

Keywords: History; Technological Innovation; Patents; Stocks; Valuation; Financial Crisis; Financial Services Industry; United States

Read Now

20 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

How Small Businesses Can Survive the Coronavirus Outbreak

Small-business owners trying to weather the coronavirus pandemic will face a financial blow that’s likely to be worse than what they experienced during the Great Recession more than a decade ago, says Karen G. Mills, senior fellow at... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Service; Food & Beverage

13 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 13

expectations in opening a second office and execution of the plan was going well. And while the financial and economic crisis that began in 2008 had affected the View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2010 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Barclays Wealth: Reignite WAR or Launch AlphaStream?

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Elisa Farri

In late January 2009, Thomas Fekete, managing director at Barclays Wealth in London, redeemed the most illiquid positions in the so-called Wealth Absolute Return Fund (WAR), one of Barclays Wealth's most promising offshore funds of hedge funds, and halted the Fund's... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Financial Liquidity; International Finance; Investment Funds; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Strategy; Financial Services Industry; London

Educators

26 Jun 2009
Research Event

Business Summit: Business and the Environment

Editor's Note: This is a summary of an HBS Business Summit presentation. View a full summary and video of the event on the HBS Centennial Web site linked below. Date of Event: October 13, 2008 Moderator: Forest Reinhardt, HBS faculty... View Details

Keywords: Re: Forest L. Reinhardt; Energy; Utilities

2020
Guest Column

Learning from Lehman: Lessons for Today

By: Laura Comstock, Michael Holland and Peter Tufano

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Financial Crisis; Financial Markets; Financial Instruments

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14 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Keeping Credit Flowing to Consumers in Need

modern-day doomsayers, referred to the specter of another Great Depression. This was not total hyperbole. While different analysts weighted the "fundamental" causes of the crisis differently, most recognized that the increased... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services; Financial Services; Financial Services

May 2013
Teaching Plan

High Wire Act: Credit Suisse and Contingent Capital

By: Clayton Rose and David Lane

Late in 2010, Credit Suisse CEO Brady Dougan and his team considered whether or not to issue contingent capital, which Swiss regulators would require by 2019. They faced a number of substantial issues, including: Would contingent capital actually work as conceptualized... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Capital Markets; Financial Crisis; Decision Choices and Conditions; Leadership; International Finance; Financial Liquidity; Risk and Uncertainty; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Switzerland

October 2009
Teaching Note

Citigroup-Wachovia-Wells Fargo (TN)

By: Guhan Subramanian and Nithyasri Sharma

Teaching Note for [910006]. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Services Industry

2010
Article

M@n@gement in Times of Economic Crisis: Insights Into Organizational Ambidexterity

By: Achim Schmitt, Gilbert Probst and Michael Tushman

Keywords: Management; Financial Crisis; Organizations

December 2009 (Revised February 2010)
Case

The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF) in 2009

By: Luis M. Viceira and Brendon Christopher Parry

In late June 2009, management at The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF) was considering expanding the footprint of the TIFF Diversified Fund (TDF), the first truly comprehensive endowment management vehicle offered under the TIFF banner. The recent large capital... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Asset Management; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Risk Management; Product Marketing; Financial Services Industry; United States

Educators

12 Sep 2007
Op-Ed

Building Sandcastles: The Subprime Adventure

To construct a house, builders need a firm foundation. For a financial empire, Wall Street wizards need only greed, gullibility, and optimism. The subprime empire began with a tangible structure: a house. For the buyer, that house was a... View Details

Keywords: by Nicolas P. Retsinas; Banking; Construction; Real Estate

January 2009 (Revised April 2009)
Case

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is one of the largest and fastest-growing pools of investment capital in the world and follows an unusually active program of investment management. In the market turmoil of late 2008, Mark Wiseman, Senior Vice President of the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Asset Management; Capital; Financial Management; Investment; Financial Services Industry; Canada

January 2009 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Milliway Capital: Battening Down the Hatches

By: Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Facing the downturn in late 2008, the partners in a West-Coast venture capital firm are trying to decide how to manage their portfolio companies and whether to make new investments. Not only must they consider the particulars of each company individually, but they must... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Venture Capital; Financial Management; Investment Portfolio; Financial Services Industry; Western United States

Educators

02 Jul 2009
Research Event

Business Summit: The Role of Social Entrepreneurship in Transforming American Public Education

Editor's Note: This is a summary of an HBS Business Summit presentation. View a full summary and video of the event on the HBS Centennial Web site linked below. Date of Event: October 14, 2008 Moderator: Stacey Childress, HBS faculty... View Details

Keywords: Education

07 Oct 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

How Companies Can Make Up with (Very) Unhappy Customers

for competitors. Tesco’s Stumble into the US MarketUK retailer Tesco was very successful penetrating foreign markets—until it set its sights on the United States. What Mark Zuckerberg Can Learn About Crisis Leadership from StarbucksWhile... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail; Air Transportation

March 2015
Article

Vulnerable Banks

By: Robin Greenwood, Augustin Landier and David Thesmar

We present a model in which fire sales propagate shocks across bank balance sheets. When a bank experiences a negative shock to its equity, a natural way to return to target leverage is to sell assets. If potential buyers are limited, then asset sales depress prices,... View Details

Keywords: Financial Liquidity; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Europe