Publications

October 1991 (Revised October 1996)
Case

Hawkeye Bancorporation

By: Krishna G. Palepu

Hawkeye, a small bank holding company in Iowa, faces difficulties in the mid 1980s as the local Iowa farm economy is in recession. This case provides an opportunity for students to become familiar with bank financial statements, and introduces some issues in market... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Financial Reporting; Financial Crisis; Economic Growth; Market Participation; Banks and Banking; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Private Ownership; Banking Industry

Shlok Goyal is a doctoral student in the Business Economics program. Prior to coming to HBS, he studied economics and statistics-machine learning at Carnegie Mellon University and worked as a research analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. His main... View Details

February 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Equity Bank: Challenging a Giant

By: Lauren H. Cohen, Michael Chitavi and Spencer C. N. Hagist

Equity Bank and CEO Dr. James Mwangi must find a way to advance from their hard-fought ascension to second largest bank in Kenya by toppling financial giant Safaricom. Doing so means developing a new strategy and tackling technological frontiers no institution in the... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Finance; Strategy; Information Technology; Banks and Banking; Kenya

August 2012
Article

A Darker Side to Decentralized Banks: Market Power and Credit Rationing in SME Lending

By: Rodrigo Canales and Ramana Nanda

We use loan-level data to study how the organizational structure of banks impacts small business lending. We find that decentralized banks-where branch managers have greater autonomy over lending decisions-give larger loans to small firms and those with "soft... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Customers; Financing and Loans; Credit; Organizational Structure; Banks and Banking; Governance Compliance; Competitive Strategy

Read Now

16 Sep 2009
News

Stop Pining for Glass-Steagall

September 1996 (Revised October 1996)
Case

Clarkson Lumber Company

By: Thomas R. Piper

The owner of a rapidly growing retail lumber company is considering the financial implications of continued rapid growth. The magnitude of the company's future financing requirements must be assessed in the context of the company's access to bank finance and/or equity... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Financial Reporting; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Strategy; Financial Strategy; Commercial Banking; Borrowing and Debt; Equity; Corporate Finance

February 2011 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Deferred Tax Assets in Basel III: Lessons from Japan

By: David F. Hawkins, Karthik Ramanna, Nobuo Sato and Mayuka Yamazaki

In a controversial decision, the Bank for International Settlements includes deferred tax assets as part of a bank's core capital. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Assets; Capital; Central Banking; Taxation; Banking Industry; Japan

March 2013
Case

First Green Bank: Bringing Bloom to Desert Landscapes

By: Christopher Marquis and Juan Almandoz

First Green Bank is a bank start-up in the midst of the financial crisis which aims to promote sustainability while making money as a bank. The case presents an ethical dilemma as it considers a loan to an arms manufacturer. View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Financial Crisis; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business and Community Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Ethics; Banking Industry; United States; Florida

April 2013
Teaching Note

New Resource Bank: In Pursuit of Green (TN)

By: Christopher Marquis and Juan Almandoz

This case involves the founding and early life of a new bank enterprise in San Francisco with a commitment to the cause of sustainability. It illustrates the opportunities and challenges of banking on values and of specifying and making explicit the practical... View Details

Keywords: Business And Society; Entrepreneurial Management; Growth Strategy; Social Enterprise; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Entrepreneurship; Business and Community Relations; Growth and Development Strategy; Banking Industry; San Francisco

June 2005 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Equator Principles, The: An Industry Approach to Managing Environmental and Social Risks

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Aldo Sesia

In June 2003, 10 leading international banks adopted new voluntary guidelines, called the Equator Principles, to promote sustainable development in project finance. In recent years, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) had raised issues about the lenders'... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Competition; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Policy; Project Finance; Standards; Projects; Commercial Banking; Non-Governmental Organizations

March 1997 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Morgan Stanley in China

The Asian economy, particularly China's, is experiencing explosive growth. China needs capital to fund the growth, and this presents a tremendous opportunity for an investment bank that can penetrate the market. Morgan Stanley establishes a joint venture with the China... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Investment Banking; Emerging Markets; Developing Countries and Economies; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; China

January 2003 (Revised February 2004)
Case

The Credit Suisse Group

By: Ashish Nanda and Kelley Elizabeth Morrell

On September 19, 2002, Lukas Muhlemann announced that he would step down as chairman and CEO of the Credit Suisse Group, effective January 1, 2003. The bank had progressed from a small Swiss start-up 150 years ago to a global banking powerhouse. Over the past 5 years,... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Management Succession; Problems and Challenges; Business Startups; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Switzerland

Keywords: Diversified

January 2017 (Revised January 2019)
Case

The Rise and Fall of Lehman Brothers

By: Stuart C. Gilson, Kristin Mugford and Sarah L. Abbott

With nearly $700 billion in assets, Lehman was the largest U.S. bankruptcy in history. In 2007, Lehman achieved record earnings of over $4 billion on revenues of $60 billion. By September 2008 the fourth largest investment bank in the world was bankrupt. How had a... View Details

January 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Kinyuseisaku: Monetary Policy in Japan (A)

By: Laura Alfaro and Akiko Kanno

Toshihiko Fukui, Governor of the Bank of Japan, faced a complex situation in the fall of 2007. An economic recovery had allowed the central bank to abandon its zero interest rate policy, which had been in place for years, and raise rates to 0.5%. The Bank of Japan was... View Details

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Money; Central Banking; Interest Rates; Policy; Japan

21 Jan 2021
Video

Hemendra Kothari

Hemendra Kothari, chairman of DSP Investment Managers in India, discusses how his bank forged relationships with western institutions such as Dresdner Bank and Merrill Lynch during the 1970s and 1980s. View Details

21 Jan 2021
Video

Y. V. Reddy

Y.V. Reddy, Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, discusses the decision of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to nationalize 14 of India’s largest banks in 1969 and how the process unfolded. View Details

Helene Hall

Helene Hall is a doctoral student in the Business Economics program at Harvard University. Prior to coming to Harvard, she worked as a research analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and studied economics and mathematics at Williams College. Her main research... View Details

February 6, 2021
Editorial

The Chinese Debt Trap Is a Myth: The Narrative Wrongfully Portrays Both Beijing and the Developing Countries It Deals With.

By: Deborah Brautigam and Meg Rithmire

Our research shows that Chinese banks are willing to restructure the terms of existing loans and have never actually seized an asset from any country, much less the port of Hambantota. A Chinese company’s acquisition of a majority stake in the port was a cautionary... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Developing Countries and Economies; International Relations; China