Publications

November 2012 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Barclays Bank, 2008

By: Lucy White, Steve Burn-Murdoch and Jerome Lenhardt

In the midst of the financial crisis, Barclays (the world's 4th largest bank by assets) is forced by UK regulators to raise more capital. Should it take up the UK government's offer to invest, or take funding from investors from the Middle East? Students may price the... View Details

Keywords: Government And Business; Option Contract; Corporate Finance; Bank Capital; Bank Regulation; Finance; Banking Industry; Europe; North and Central America

October 2018
Supplement

African Bank Investments Limited (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Less than a year after joining the board of African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL), the newest director finds himself in difficult discussions with other directors about removing the struggling company’s CEO. The case is set in South Africa in mid-2014 as shares in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Personal Finance; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Insurance; Leadership; Management; Risk Management; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; Africa; South Africa

April 2024
Article

Model-based Financial Regulations Impair the Transition to Net-zero Carbon Emissions

By: Matteo Gasparini, Matthew C. Ives, Ben Carr, Sophie Fry and Eric Beinhocker

Investments via the financial system are essential for fostering the green transition. However, the role of existing financial regulations in influencing investment decisions is understudied. Here we analyse data from the European Banking Authority to show that... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Energy Sources

2010
Working Paper

Regulating for Legitimacy: Consumer Credit Access in France and America

By: J. Gunnar Trumbull

Theories of legitimate regulation have emphasized the role of governments either in fixing market failures to promote greater efficiency or in restricting the efficient functioning of markets in order to pursue public welfare goals. In either case, features of markets... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Financial Markets; Personal Finance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business History; Business and Government Relations; Welfare; France; United States

30 Nov 2016
Op-Ed

Where Could More Regulation Help Small Businesses? Online Lending.

Our regulatory system has also been an unnecessary albatross on the growth of fintech players and on banks who try to partner with them. No single federal regulator has authority to oversee business lending.... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills and Brayden McCarthy; Financial Services

03 Dec 2009
News

How to take moral hazard out of banking

March 2014
Teaching Note

Barclays Bank, 2008

By: Lucy White

In the midst of the financial crisis, Barclays (the world's 4th largest bank by assets) is forced by UK regulators to raise more capital. Should it take up the UK government's offer to invest, or take funding from investors from the Middle East? Students may price the... View Details

Keywords: Government And Business; Option Contract; Corporate Finance; Bank Capital; Bank Regulation; Finance; Banking Industry; Europe; North and Central America

24 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

What’s Government’s Role in Regulating Home Purchase Financing?

going to be easy, but it's critical to privatization. As we increase our regulation of banks and require them to hold more capital, we'll be driving more activity into the less-regulated securitization... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services

18 Feb 2011
Working Paper Summaries

A Behavioral Model of Demandable Deposits and Its Implications for Financial Regulation

Keywords: by Julio J. Rotemberg; Financial Services

2010
Working Paper

A Behavioral Model of Demandable Deposits and Its Implications for Financial Regulation

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

A model is developed that rationalizes contracts that give depositors the right to obtain funds on demand even when depositors intend to use these funds for consumption in the future. This is explained by depositor overoptimism regarding their own ability to collect... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Insurance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Consumer Behavior; Financial Services Industry

June 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

The Southeast Bank of Texas in the Financial Crisis

By: Robert C. Pozen and Benjamin Greff Schneider

The Southeast Bank of Texas, like most other financial institutions in the U.S., has fallen on hard times during the financial crisis of the past year. Now, in March 2009, the bank is faced with several choices as a result of the new reforms spawned from the financial... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Crisis; Capital; Financial Liquidity; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Banking Industry; Texas

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Lawsuits and Litigation; Crisis Management; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Design; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Crime and Corruption; Business Organization; Business Model; Ethics; Corporate Accountability; Governance Compliance; Policy; Compensation and Benefits; Resignation and Termination; Laws and Statutes; Legal Liability; Business or Company Management; Risk Management; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Failure; Agency Theory; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Salesforce Management; Public Opinion; Banking Industry; North and Central America

June 2017 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Sales Misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Dennis W. Campbell, Susanna Gallani and Amram Migdal

Set in early 2017, this case examines widespread sales misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank. Wells Fargo's governance and controls are described in the lead up to the September 2016 announcement that Wells Fargo had settled with regulators for $185 million in... View Details

July 2016 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Banking on Change: Aligning Culture and Compensation at Morgan Stanley

By: Malcolm S. Salter

This case study was prepared as part of a research project on Culture, Conduct, and Governance in Financial Firms. The objective of this project is to compare and contrast the efforts of U.S. and European banks to induce changes in organization culture in the aftermath... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Corporate Accountability; Ethics; Organizational Culture; Corporate Governance; Banks and Banking; United States; Europe

17 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Reserve Bank Governor Discusses India’s Financial Opportunities

phase." A month after becoming the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Rajan came to HBS to deliver the 2013 Leatherbee Lecture, "India: The Opportunities and Challenges Ahead." In addition to running India's central... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

2016
Working Paper

Capital Requirements, Risk Choice, and Liquidity Provision in a Business Cycle Model

By: Juliane Begenau

This paper develops a quantitative dynamic general equilibrium model in which households' preferences for safe and liquid assets constitute a violation of Modigliani and Miller. I show that the scarcity of these coveted assets created by increased bank capital... View Details

Keywords: Capital Requirement; Bank Regulation; Demand For Safe Assets; Business Cycles; Bank Lending; Risk Management; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Capital; Banks and Banking

SSRN

22 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

Online Banks Fill Funding Needs for Small Business

the SEC partially regulates peer-to-peer lending, and state banking laws apply, but the online small business lending sector is largely unregulated at the federal level. Should borrower and lender... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills; Banking; Banking

Fast Answer

Banking industry: overviews & statistics

Where do I find information on banks and banking? Banking Information and Regulation (Federal Reserve) provides information on U.S. proposed and actual View Details

17 Feb 2011
News

Banks likely face fines over foreclosure mess

July 2015
Article

A Behavioral Model of the Popularity and Regulation of Demandable Liabilities

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

Overoptimism regarding one's ability to arrive early in a queue is shown to rationalize deposit contracts in which people can withdraw their funds on demand even if consumption takes place later. Capitalized institutions serving overoptimistic depositors emerge in... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Banks and Banking