Bank Capital - Publications - Faculty & Research

May 2016
Case

The Inexorable Rise of Walmart? 1988—2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2015, Walmart surprised investors by announcing that it expected flat sales growth for 2015 and growth of only 3% to 4% over the coming three years. Profits would also fall due to significant investments in people and technology. The company’s stock price... View Details

Keywords: Asda; Costco; David Glass; Convenience Stores; Discount Retailing; Dollar Stores; Doug McMillon; E-commerce; Online Retail; General Merchandise; Grocery; Lee Scott; Mike Duke; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Neighborhood Market; Sam Walton; Sam's Club; Store Formats; Supercenter; Supermarket; Warehouse Clubs; Merchandising; Walmart; Wal-Mart; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Units; Business Divisions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Banks and Banking; Price; Profit; Revenue; Food; Global Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Business History; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Human Capital; Labor Unions; Wages; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Web; Web Sites; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; United States; Arkansas; Bentonville

Citation

Educators

Purchase

12 Jun 2012
First Look

First Look: June 12

lower levels of bank distress, or were operating in less capital intensive industries, the negative effects were mitigated in aggregate. Although Depression era bank distress... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

How Anchor Investors Help Impact Funds Succeed

so-called impact funds, or funds that hope to create positive social or environmental impact. In Anchors Aweigh: Analysis of Anchor Limited Partner Investors in Impact Investment Funds, the authors describe anchors as “generally the first investor to make a substantial... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services

30 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Real Estate: The Most Imperfect Asset

Finance II, students learn about the Rule of One Price, or why two people do not always pay the same. Students learn what professor Peter Tufano calls the "Matrix of Imperfections" in the capital markets, such as transaction... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston; Construction; Real Estate

03 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

Cut Payroll Costs with Transparency, Fairness, and Compassion

Conduct, your jobs are secure. This decision was made with 100 percent support of the Firm’s Operating Committee. At the end of this year, we will know what we are dealing with, and hopefully, the economy will be on the mend by then.” Brian Moynihan of View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Sarah Abbott

21 May 2013
First Look

First Look: May 21

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=44800 Do Strict Capital Requirements Raise the Cost of Capital? Banking Regulation and the Low Risk Anomaly By: Baker, Malcolm, and Jeffrey Wurgler Abstract—Minimum View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2021
Case

Bessemer Venture Partners: Century Fund

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

In July of 2021, Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) contemplated the future of its growth investing practice, known as “Century.” While still relatively new as a focused initiative, BVP’s growth investing already had significant momentum. The fund’s investment pace had... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Financial Institutions; Growth and Development Strategy; Investment Banking; Competitive Strategy; Public Sector; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Acquisition

Citation

Educators

Purchase

25 Oct 2011
First Look

First Look: October 25

Course MaterialsMatrix Capital Management (A) Malcolm P. Baker and David LaneHarvard Business School Case 211-017 Ben Balbale, a partner at hedge fund Matrix Capital, must decide whether to exit their investment in Rovi Corporation, a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2009
Supplement

The Tip of the Iceberg: JP Morgan Chase and Bear Stearns (B1)

By: Clayton S. Rose, Daniel Baird Bergstresser and David Lane

Bear Stearns & Co burned through nearly all of its $18 billion in cash reserves during the week of March 10, 2008, and an unprecedented provision of liquidity support from the Federal Reserve on Friday March 13 was insufficient to reverse the decline in Bear's... View Details

Keywords: Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Capital; Financial Liquidity; Banks and Banking; Governance; Crisis Management; Failure; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Balance and Stability; Valuation; New York (state, US)

Citation

Purchase

20 Aug 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Hedge Fund Investor Activism and Takeovers

Keywords: by Robin Greenwood & Michael Schor; Banking

11 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Budgeting Kills Your Company

tool for achieving strategic alignment. How Fixed-performance Contracts Ensure Underperformance At its simplest, a company's budget process consists of each unit producing a sales forecast (assuming it's a profit center) and a capital... View Details

Keywords: by Loren Gary

16 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

Has COVID-19 Broken the Global Value Chain?

dollars (or perceived that payments would be interrupted). Firms operating in the commodity markets also saw their revenues shrinking, and struggled to meet obligations in (dollar) debt. As a result, most of them turn to banks to obtain... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

09 Aug 2016
First Look

August 9, 2016

economic activity? This paper exploits the federal preemption of national banks in 2004 from local laws against predatory lending to gauge the effect of the supply of credit on the real economy. Specifically, we exploit the heterogeneity... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Sep 2022
What Do You Think?

Is It Time to Consider Lifting Tariffs on Chinese Imports?

into your work, realizing you are serving something bigger than yourself, your employer, peers, etc. that shows in your work and can positively impact others. Brian Thatcher said, “I am for maximizing both profitability and human capital... View Details

Keywords: Re: James L. Heskett

January 2009
Supplement

The Tip of the Iceberg: JP Morgan Chase and Bear Stearns (B2)

By: Clayton S. Rose, Daniel Baird Bergstresser and David Lane

Bear Stearns & Co burned through nearly all of its $18 billion in cash reserves during the week of March 10, 2008, and an unprecedented provision of liquidity support from the Federal Reserve on Friday March 13 was insufficient to reverse the decline in Bear's... View Details

Keywords: Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Capital; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Liquidity; Banks and Banking; Governance; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; System; Valuation; New York (state, US)

Citation

Purchase

05 Nov 2021
Op-Ed

Is the Business World Finally Ready for the Wisdom of Shibusawa?

Eiichi Shibusawa continues to gain influence in Japan—even though he died almost a century ago. Japan’s government announced earlier this year that the 19th century business leader would be the face on 10,000 yen ($90) bank notes—the... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Rei Morimoto; Financial Services; Retail

25 Jan 2010
Research & Ideas

A Macroeconomic View of the Current Economy

What exactly does it mean that the real interest rate has moved, or the real exchange rate has moved this way or that? There are different types of productivity—labor productivity, capital productivity, and total factor productivity.... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

07 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 7

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/11-030.pdf Incentivizing Calculated Risk-Taking: Evidence from an Experiment with Commercial Bank Loan Officers Authors:Shawn Cole, Martin Kanz, and Leora Klapper Abstract This paper uses a series of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Apr 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Corporate Financial Policies in Misvalued Credit Markets

Keywords: by Jarrad Harford, Marc Martos-Vila & Matthew Rhodes-Kropf; Banking; Banking

April 2005 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Furman Selz LLC (A): A Tale of Two Acquisitions

By: Nancy D. Beaulieu, Boris Groysberg and Kyle Doherty

Profiles a firm that was reacquired by two companies with different degrees of success. Highlights integration challenges present in acquisition deals when the primary assets of the target are human capital. Focuses on Furman Selz's acquisition by Xerox in 1987; its... View Details