Publications

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

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01 Nov 2019
HBS Seminar

Meijun Liu, Shuo Li Liu, The University of Hong Kong, Division of information and technology & Stanford University School of Engineering

October 2019
Case

Leading Bank Leumi into the Future

By: Joshua D. Margolis, Allison M. Ciechanover, Nicole Keller and Danielle Golan

An unlikely but highly effective leader of a traditional bank, Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, simultaneously leads a classic change effort and an unconventional effort to innovate. She focuses her initial energy on making the bank more efficient in the face of industry... View Details

March 2009 (Revised February 2011)
Background Note

Note: Fair Value Accounting for Investments in Debt Securities

By: William E. Fruhan

The note describes how fair value accounting applies to debt securities that are classified by financial institutions as (1) "trading" securities, (2) "available for sale" securities, or (3) "hold to maturity" securities. It explains the hierarchy for inputs used in... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Reporting; Assets; Debt Securities; Investment

August 1993 (Revised October 1993)
Case

Dimensional Fund Advisors: 1993

By: Jay O. Light

A small California-based money manager is now offering specialty products for institutional investors based upon recent financial research findings. View Details

Keywords: Financial Instruments; Investment; Financial Services Industry; California

March 2008 (Revised November 2008)
Case

Databank in Africa

By: Jordan Siegel and Yi Kwan Chu

This case tackles issues of regional strategy and strategic institutional arbitrage. Databank is a financial services firm designing its regional strategy for Africa and seeking to benefit from institutional arbitrage. View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Local Range; Emerging Markets; Service Operations; Business Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Africa

summer 1995
Article

Hedging Portfolios with Real Assets

By: K. A. Froot

Keywords: Institutional Investing; Market Efficiency; Behavioral Finance; Equities; Stock Market; Indexing; Hedging; Asset Allocation; Commodities; Commodity Investing; Real Estate; Financial Markets; Asset Pricing

March 2003
Case

Investing in Japan

By: Peter A. Hecht and Luis M. Viceira

The evolution of the macroeconomic environment, capital markets, financial institutions (including banks, public and private pension funds, and mutual funds), and financial regulation in Japan during the period 1980 to 2002, are examined long-term demographic... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Investment; Financial Institutions; Macroeconomics; Japan

April 2010
Background Note

Securities Trading: Front-, Middle- and Back Office

By: Francois Brochet and Rakeen Mabud

This note explains the basic structure of the trading floor in a typical financial institution and how the front, middle and back offices interact to ensure a functioning trading system. View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Financial Institutions; Financial Services Industry

09 Jul 2009
News

Systemic Risk and the Fed

October 1990 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Changing the Culture at British Airways

By: John P. Kotter

In just 10 years, 1980-1990, British Airways turned around both its declining image and financial situation. Focusing on the paramount importance of customer service, British Airways went from "bloody awful" to "bloody awesome." Experiencing a financial crisis in 1981... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Customer Relationship Management; Corporate Strategy; Privatization; Air Transportation Industry; United Kingdom

30 Nov 2016
Working Paper Summaries

The Stock Market and Bank Risk-Taking

Keywords: by Antonio Falato and David Scharfstein; Financial Services; Financial Services

The Growth of Finance

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

Dwight B. Crane

Mr. Crane was a member of the Finance Faculty at Harvard Business School for a number of years, working primarily in the field of financial institutions and corporate governance. He taught in the MBA and executive education programs at the School, most recently... View Details

April 2009
Article

Sovereign Wealth in Abu Dhabi

By: Rawi Abdelal

By the turn of the century, oil had already made the tiny emirate of Abu Dhabi rich beyond anyone's wildest dreams. A sovereign wealth fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), has invested extra oil revenues abroad for more than thirty years and amassed a... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Financial Management; Investment Funds; Sovereign Finance; Wealth; Diversification; Abu Dhabi

April 2020 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Ping An: Pioneering the New Model of ‘Technology-driven Finance’

By: Feng Zhu, Anthony K. Woo and Nancy Hua Dai

In mid-December 2018, Peter Ma, Chairman and CEO of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. was considering whether the company should grow a fifth ecosystem of Smart City Services. Established in 1988, Ping An was one of the top 10 global financial... View Details

Keywords: Business Ecosystems; Fintech; Finance; Information Technology; Business Model; Expansion; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

March 2013
Article

Bridging the Gap? Government Subsidized Lending and Access to Capital

By: Josh Lerner and Kristle Romero-Cortes

The consequences of providing public funds to financial institutions remain controversial. We examine the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund's impact on credit union activity, using hitherto little studied U.S. Treasury data. The CDFI Fund grants... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Credit; Government and Politics; Financial Institutions; United States