Publications

October 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Blackstone and the Sale of Citigroup's Loan Portfolio

By: Victoria Ivashina and David Scharfstein

The credit boom that preceded the 2007-2009 financial crisis led to several lending practices that exposed banks to large risks. In particular, when the financial crisis unraveled, there were several billion dollars' worth of leveraged buyout (LBO) loans that were... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Private Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Financial Markets; Investment; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

Web

Loan Assistance Programs - Alumni

eligibility, email the Financial Aid office at loanassistance@hbs.edu and provide permission to share your eligibility calculation with the Selection Committee. Visit the Rock Center's Loan Reduction website for details on program... View Details

April 2015
Article

Incentivizing Calculated Risk-Taking: Evidence from an Experiment with Commercial Bank Loan Officers

By: Shawn Cole, Martin Kanz and Leora Klapper

This paper uses a series of experiments with commercial bank loan officers to test the effect of performance incentives on risk assessment and lending decisions. We first show that while high-powered incentives lead to greater screening effort and more profitable... View Details

Keywords: Banking; Management Processes; Credit Products; Experimental Economics; Risk Management; Motivation and Incentives; Management Practices and Processes; Financing and Loans; Banking Industry

Find at Harvard

Read Now

This paper uses a series of experiments with commercial bank loan officers to test the effect of performance incentives on risk-assessment and lending decisions. We first show that, while high-powered incentives lead to greater screening effort and more... View Details

22 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Forgiving Student Loan Debt Leads to Better Jobs, Stronger Consumers

broader effects on the economy, Di Maggio says. “These people get better jobs and spend more money, and this money goes back into the economy,” he says. “Those things should be taken into account when evaluating policy interventions aimed... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Research Summary

Bad-debts provisioning at banks

By: V.G. Narayanan

I am very interested in studying loan-loss reserves and the provisioning for bad-debts at banks. View Details

Keywords: Loan Evaluation; Bad Debt Expense; Banking Industry

30 Aug 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Incentivizing Calculated Risk-Taking: Evidence from an Experiment with Commercial Bank Loan Officers

Keywords: by Shawn Cole, Martin Kanz & Leora Klapper

July 2012
Case

New Century Financial Corporation (Abridged)

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Suraj Srinivasan and Ian Cornell

After years of rapid growth and stock price appreciation, New Century Financial Corporation, one of the largest subprime loan originators in the U.S., reported accounting problems in early 2007. The resulting liquidity crisis forced the company to file for Chapter 11... View Details

Keywords: Audit Committees; Financial Management; Control Systems; Securities; Loan Evaluation; Accounting; Value; Financial Services Industry; United States

Web

Evaluating a Sponsorship Offer? | MBA

Evaluating a Sponsorship Offer? Some organizations offer sponsorships to help employees fund their MBAs. It is important to carefully consider and fully understand the repayment terms required by your sponsor. When View Details

Working Paper

Covenant-Light Contracts and Creditor Coordination

By: Bo Becker and Victoria Ivashina

In 2015, 70% of newly issued leveraged loans had weaker enforcement features, called covenant-light or "cov-lite"; this is nearly a three-time increase in cov-lite issuance compared to a previous peak in 2007. We evaluate whether this development can be attributed to... View Details

Keywords: Credit Cycles; Loan Contracts; Debt Covenants; Contracts; Financing and Loans; Credit; Borrowing and Debt

SSRN

Read Now

April 2010
Case

Jones Electrical Distribution

By: Thomas R. Piper and Jeffrey DeVolder

Jones Electrical Distribution is faced with a need for increased bank financing due to its rapid sales growth. Students must determine the reasons for the rising bank borrowing, estimate the amount of borrowing needed and assess the attractiveness of the loan to the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Analysis; Forecasting; Financing; Bank Loans; Growth Management; Cash Flow; Financing and Loans; Forecasting and Prediction; Distribution Industry

August 2018 (Revised September 2018)
Case

LendingClub (A): Data Analytic Thinking (Abridged)

By: Srikant M. Datar and Caitlin N. Bowler

LendingClub was founded in 2006 as an alternative, peer-to-peer lending model to connect individual borrowers to individual investor-lenders through an online platform. Since 2014 the company has worked with institutional investors at scale. While the company assigns... View Details

Keywords: Data Science; Data Analytics; Investing; Loans; Investment; Financing and Loans; Analytics and Data Science; Analysis; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Model

March 2015
Case

Discover Capital

By: William Sahlman, Robert White and Stephanie Puzio

"Discover Capital" provides an in-depth look at a first time search fund run by the tenacious Kelly Quann Bianucci. It provides background information about search funds and follows Kelly as she successfully raises her over-subscribed fund and begins the search... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Buyout; Loans; Acquisitions

October 1986 (Revised August 2015)
Case

Advanced Medical Technology Corporation

By: Thomas R. Piper and Steven Rogers

A loan officer must decide whether to lend $8 million to a rapidly growing high technology company. The company has had a series of relationships with three other banks. Reports from loan officers at these banks are mixed and raise questions as to the ease with which a... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Commercial Banking; Financing and Loans; Financial Condition; Technology Industry

October 1991 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Butler Lumber Company

By: Thomas R. Piper

The Butler Lumber Co. is faced with a need for increased bank financing due to its rapid sales growth and low profitability. Students must determine the reasons for the rising bank borrowing, estimate the amount of borrowing needed, and assess the attractiveness of the... View Details

Keywords: Commercial Banking; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Capital Structure; Forecasting and Prediction

June 2015 (Revised July 2016)
Case

Gilbert Lumber Company

By: Steven Rogers and Kenneth Cooper

The Gilbert Lumber Co. is faced with a need for increased bank financing due to its rapid sales growth and low profitability. Students must determine the reasons for the rising bank borrowing, estimate the amount of borrowing needed, and assess the attractiveness of... View Details

Keywords: Commercial Banking; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Capital Structure; Forecasting and Prediction

October 1991 (Revised November 1993)
Case

Dynashears, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Piper

A senior loan officer is reviewing the recent performance of a company that has failed to repay its loan as scheduled. The failure results from a cyclical downturn in sales, coupled with a lag in cutting back production. Inventory risk is minimal. Teaching objective:... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Business Cycles; Financial Condition; Risk and Uncertainty; Failure

February 2006
Case

Fraikin SA

By: W. Carl Kester, Vincent Marie Dessain and Monika Stachowiak

Provides an example of a so-called "whole business" securitization. In early 2004, Fraikin, France's leading industrial vehicle rental company, compares several alternatives for refinancing a large bridge loan within a year. Presents three primary options: a classic... View Details

Keywords: Debt Securities; Transportation; Renting or Rental; Transportation Industry; Service Industry; France

September 2016 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Rose Electronics Distributing Company

By: Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Itamar Frankenthal was evaluating bank loan proposals to finance his acquisition of Rose Electronics Distributing Company (“Rose”). He contacted 40 small and large banks that lent in the region and that outreach and follow-up calls resulted in nine term sheets received... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Acquisition; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry