Publications

Teaching Interest

Large-Scale Investment (LSI, MBA Elective Curriculum)

By: Benjamin C. Esty

Large-Scale Investment (LSI) is a case-based course about project finance that is designed for second-year MBA students. Project finance involves the creation of a legally independent project company financed with nonrecourse debt for the purpose of investing in a... View Details

Keywords: Project Finance; Corporate Finance; Corporate Governance; Valuation; Capital Budgeting

Web

Global Crises Data by Country - Behavioral Finance & Financial Stability

exchange rate crises, stock market crises, sovereign debt growth and default, and many other data series. To see Carmen’s related research, please visit her website here. The BFFS Project keeps this data updated and available for... View Details

September 2016 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Western Technology Investment

By: Ramana Nanda, William A. Sahlman and Nicole Keller

Based in Portola Valley, California, Western Technology Investment (WTI) specialized in a hybrid form of debt and equity financing for early-stage companies. Like traditional venture capital and private equity firms, WTI raised funds from institutional investors and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Equity; Finance; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; California

2010
Chapter

Property Rights for Foreign Capital: Sovereign Debt and Private Direct Investment in Times of Crisis

By: Louis T. Wells

Keywords: Property; Rights; International Finance; Capital; Sovereign Finance; Foreign Direct Investment; Financial Crisis

September 2012 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Can the Eurozone Survive?

By: Dante Roscini and Jonathan Schlefer

The sovereign debt crisis that took Greece by storm in 2010 began to spread to other European markets. Within a few months Ireland and Portugal had also lost access to the sovereign debt markets and had to rely on supranational loans for their financing. The risk of... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Debt Crisis; Currency Areas; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Currency Exchange Rate; International Relations; Banking Industry; European Union; Germany; France; Italy; Spain; Greece; Portugal

March 2003
Article

Creditor Rights, Enforcement, and Debt Ownership Structure: Evidence from the Global Syndicated Loan Market

By: Benjamin C. Esty and William L. Megginson

Keywords: Rights; Borrowing and Debt; Ownership; Markets; Global Range; Financing and Loans

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June 2007 (Revised February 2008)
Teaching Note

Aid, Debt Relief, and Trade: An Agenda for Fighting World Poverty (TN) (A) and (B)

By: Laura Alfaro, Eric D. Werker and Renee Kim

Keywords: Money; Borrowing and Debt; Trade; Poverty

February 2014
Background Note

Raising Startup Capital

By: Jeffrey Bussgang

Entrepreneurs typically focus their full energies on business-building. But raising capital is a core part of building a valuable business. Developing expertise in raising capital is more than a necessary evil, it is a competitive weapon. Master it and you will be in a... View Details

September 2022 (Revised June 2025)
Case

York Capital CLOs and WorldStrides International

By: Victoria Ivashina and William Vrattos

The case follows the debt restructuring of WorldStrides International, a travel program provider in the education market, after the onset of COVID-19. The pandemic severely impacted the travel industry, creating challenges for many companies like WorldStrides, which... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Debt Restructuring; CLO; Compliance; Debt Securities; Financing and Loans; Decision Making; Travel Industry; Education Industry

2009
Chapter

Property Rights for Foreign Capital: Sovereign Debt and Private Direct Investment in Times of Crisis

By: Louis T. Wells

Keywords: Property; Rights; International Finance; Capital; Sovereign Finance; Foreign Direct Investment; Financial Crisis

18 Apr 2023
News

Americans Go Deeper Into Debt as They Use Buy Now, Pay Later Apps for Groceries

October 2014 (Revised April 2018)
Supplement

Creditor Activism in Sovereign Debt: Argentina vs. Holdout Investors (B)

By: Laura Alfaro, Gaurav Toshniwal and Hilary White

January 2013 (Revised June 2017)
Case

The Perfect Storm: What Happens When the Market Moves Four Standard Deviations?

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz

Adam Carter was the portfolio manager for Tate Modern Finance III, L.P. (“Tate” or the “Fund”), the third in a series of U.S. commercial real estate debt funds sponsored by the London-based Tate Partners. The Fund was capitalized with $700 million of equity... View Details

Keywords: CMBS; CLO; Repo Financing; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Financing and Loans

Web

2018 Financial Risk and Regulation Survey - Behavioral Finance & Financial Stability

makers, HBS faculty members, and leading HBS alumni to examine and reflect on the events of the fall of 2008. In preparation for this event, the Behavioral Finance and Financial Stability Project (BFFS) at HBS conducted the 2018 Financial... View Details

October 22, 2012
Article

Interest Rate Pass-Through: Mortgage Rates, Household Consumption, and Voluntary Deleveraging

By: Marco Di Maggio, Amir Kermani, Benjamin Keys, Tomasz Piskorski, Rodney Ramcharan, Amit Seru and Vincent Yao

Exploiting variation in the timing of resets of adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), we find that a sizable decline in mortgage payments (up to 50%) induces a significant increase in car purchases (up to 35%). This effect is attenuated by voluntary deleveraging. Borrowers... View Details

Keywords: Monetary Policy; Household Finance; Refinancing; Contract Rigidities; Debt Rigidity; MPC; Deleveraging; Personal Finance; Household; Policy; Borrowing and Debt; Macroeconomics

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Article

Market Reactions to Sovereign Litigation

By: Faisal Z. Ahmed and Laura Alfaro

Recent rulings in the ongoing litigation over the pari passu clause in Argentinian sovereign debt instruments have generated considerable controversy. Some official-sector participants and academic articles have suggested that the rulings will disrupt or impede... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Debt; Litigation; Vulture Funds; Argentina; Sovereign Finance; Lawsuits and Litigation; Markets; Argentina

December 1989
Article

LDC Debt: Forgiveness, Indexation, and Investment Incentives

By: K. A. Froot, D. Scharfstein and J. Stein

Keywords: Debt Reduction; Chapter 7; Default; Debt Restructuring; Borrowing and Debt

Read Now

October 2020 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Francisco Partners Private Credit Opportunity Fund

By: Luis M. Viceira, John D. Dionne, Soracha Prathanrasnikorn and Ari Sunshine

In April 2020, Scott Einsenberg, the Head of Credit at the private equity firm Francisco Partners, is deciding whether to go ahead with extending a private lending agreement to Eventbrite, Inc. (NYSE: EB), a leading global event management and online ticketing... View Details

Keywords: Private Debt; Private Credit; Industry Evolution; Private Equity; Investment; Analysis