Publications

Read Now

September 2024
Case

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

By: Meg Rithmire, Hong Zhang and Salaar A. Shaikh

Since the launch of CPEC, two of Pakistan’s Prime Ministers had been removed from office, one by the Supreme Court and the other in a no confidence vote. Historic floods had underscored the country’s vulnerability to climate change, and the country had agreed to two... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Macroeconomics; Climate Change; Financing and Loans; Government Administration; International Relations; Political Elections; Projects; China; Pakistan

23 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 23

comparative historical analysis of consumer lending in the United States and France, I argue that national differences in the regulation of consumer credit had their roots in the historical conditions by which the small loan sector came... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2011
Article

Ownership Structure and the Cost of Corporate Borrowing

By: Chen Lin, Yue Ma, Paul Malatesta and Yuhai Xuan

This article identifies an important channel through which excess control rights affect firm value. Using a new, hand-collected data set on corporate ownership and control of 3,468 firms in 22 countries during the 1996-2008 period, we find that the cost of debt... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Cash Flow; Cost; Financing and Loans; Governance Controls; Ownership Stake; Business and Shareholder Relations

Find at Harvard

Read Now

2011
Working Paper

The Impact of Forward-Looking Metrics on Employee Decision Making

By: Pablo Casas-Arce, F. Asis Martinez-Jerez and V.G. Narayanan

This paper analyzes the effects of providing forward-looking metrics on employee decision making. We use data from a southern European bank that, in April 2002, started providing its branch managers with customer lifetime value (CLV) information about mortgage... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Decision Choices and Conditions; Mortgages; Employees; Information; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Service Delivery; Banking Industry; Europe

13 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

What Would It Take to Unlock Microfinance's Full Potential?

and we’ve just deployed the first few dozen of each of them. The first is a graduation loan. For many borrowers, it’s hard to get a formal bank loan that’s more than $1,200 but less than $10,000, so we’ve... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint; Financial Services

March 2017 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Mubadala and EBX: To X or to X It?

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz, Ricardo Andrade and Sayiddah Fatima McCree

In April 2012, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund invested $2 billion in Brazilian conglomerate EBX, believing the company to be undervalued by the public markets. Shortly thereafter, however, EBX and its multiple business lines began to spiral downward. Hani... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Wealth Funds; Conglomerates; Investing; Corporate Structure; International; Sovereign Finance; Business Conglomerates; Investment; Financing and Loans; Restructuring; Organizational Structure; Economy; Brazil; Abu Dhabi

January 2008 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Subprime Meltdown: American Housing and Global Financial Turmoil

By: Julio Rotemberg

This case focuses on the financial difficulties faced in the U.S. from August to December 2006 as well as their roots in subprime lending. After briefly discussing how mortgages were structured and traded in the pre-1990 period, it describes subprime mortgage lending,... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Central Banking; Financial Markets; Mortgages; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; United States

05 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 5

now also has an equity stake in the Bahamas' gaming and resort industry. The case explores the growing role of project financing by way of China's Export-Import Bank and its implications for business dealmaking and the competitiveness of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Nov 2022
Research & Ideas

Buy Now, Pay Later: How Retail's Hot Feature Hurts Low-Income Shoppers

track some 20,000 specific retailers to identify merchants using BNPL, including the top US retailers. Penalizing lower-income consumers The loans create what the authors call the “flypaper effect.” Consumers with healthy access to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Retail; Financial Services; Technology

Spring 2013
Article

The Growth of Finance

By: Robin Greenwood and David S. Scharfstein

The U.S. financial services industry grew from 4.9% of GDP in 1980 to 7.9% of GDP in 2007. A sizeable portion of the growth can be explained by rising asset management fees, which in turn were driven by increases in the valuation of tradable assets, particularly... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Asset Management; Research; Mortgages; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

Read Now

24 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 24

time series. While loan issuance falls in recessions, it is not clear if this is due to demand or supply. We address this question by studying firms' substitution between bank debt and non-bank debt (public... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Overview

Having grown up in a developing country, Professor Sikochi’s research focus is driven by a desire to understand how capital flows to firms and entrepreneurs with the ultimate goal to help build capital markets in the developing economies. To this end, he conducts... View Details

23 Jul 2001
Research & Ideas

Sam Walton: Great From the Start

father-in-law's loan in full. In his fifth year at the Ben Franklin on Front Street in Newport, Arkansas, Sam Walton—the sucker Butler Brothers had been looking for—sold $250,000 worth of merchandise and made a profit of between $30,000... View Details

Keywords: by Richard S. Tedlow; Retail

2024
Book

Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream: How Technology Is Transforming Lending and Shaping a New Era of Small Business Opportunity

By: Karen G. Mills

The second edition of Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream, builds on the groundbreaking 2019 book with new insights on how technology and artificial intelligence are transforming small business lending. This ambitious view covers the significance of... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; AI; AI and Machine Learning; Small Business; Economy; Technology Adoption; Credit; Financing and Loans; Analytics and Data Science

2021
Chapter

Building Small Business Utopia: How Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Can Increase Small Business Success

By: Karen G. Mills and Annie Dang

Small business lending has remained unchanged for decades, laden with frictions and barriers that prevent many small businesses from accessing the capital they need to succeed. Financial technology, or “fintech,” promises to change this trajectory. In 2010, new fintech... View Details

Keywords: Big Data; Fintech; Artificial Intelligence; Small Business; Financing and Loans; Capital; Success; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science

09 Apr 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

The Dark Side of Performance Bonuses

carefully, can open a box full of unintended consequences that ultimately harm rather than help the organization. The financial crisis of 2008 was partially fueled by origination bonuses paid to bank loan... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

16 May 2023
In Practice

After Silicon Valley Bank's Flameout, What's Next for Entrepreneurs?

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in March left the startup world reeling. The biggest lender to fail since the 2008 financial crisis, SVB had become the preferred funder of the startup, tech, and venture capital worlds. Its quick... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Technology; Financial Services

July 2003 (Revised September 2003)
Case

Refinancing of Shanghai General Motors (A), The

By: Mihir A. Desai and Mark Veblen

The CFO of General Motors' joint venture in Shanghai, Shanghai General Motors (SGM), wants to refinance almost $900 million of project finance it raised to begin operations. The highest priority is improving the terms of the financing with regard to costs and specific... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Multinational Firms and Management; Joint Ventures; Financing and Loans; Auto Industry; Shanghai