Publications

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September 2011 (Revised December 2011)
Case

CARD Group: Mutually Reinforcing Institutions

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery, Michael Shih-Ta Chen and Dawn Lau

CARD (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development) is a Philippines-based microfinance organization that began as an NGO and has since expanded into eight related entities providing services to the poor. Under Founding Director Dr. Aristotle Alip's leadership, CARD... View Details

Keywords: Microfinance; Partners and Partnerships; Non-Governmental Organizations; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Philippines

Giannini set up a holding company called Transamerica and purchased banks throughout New York, Washington, Arizona, Oregon and Nevada. Giannini was a pioneer in offering consumer installment View Details

Keywords: Finance

01 Dec 2017
News

2017 in Finance: Helping Consumers Improve Their Financial Life

done on mobile devices, and social media services like WeChat are leading the way. The big question is, how are the banks going to respond? In China, where banks are less regulated, they are starting to branch into the mobile View Details

Keywords: Omer Ismail (MBA 2007), chief commercial officer, Marcus by Goldman Sachs, the firm’s digital consumer financial services business; Finance

September 2024
Case

Xendit: Hiring for Growth

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Steve Castano, Quoc Anh Nguyen and Claire Wu

In 2019, Xendit, a growth-stage Southeast Asia (SEA) fintech venture based in Jakarta, was looking to hire a Head of Sales and Head of Product to lead its next phase of growth. Founded by Moses Lo and Tessa Wijaya, Xendit provided payment infrastructure, modeling... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Financing and Loans; Entrepreneurship; Jobs and Positions; Sales; Product; Growth and Development; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Culture; Expansion; Financial Services Industry; Technology Industry; Southeast Asia; Indonesia; Philippines

January 2007 (Revised October 2007)
Case

The Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund: Striving to Reshape the Social Enterprise Capital Markets

By: Michael Chu and Jean Hazell

Seeking to impact global poverty and philanthropy, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar donates $100 million to Tufts University for a trust restricted to investment in microfinance. Explores the origins of the initiative, the perspectives and objectives of the various parties... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Microfinance; Investment Funds; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Emerging Markets; Social Enterprise; Financial Services Industry

July 2009 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Blue Ocean or Stormy Waters? Buying Nix Check Cashing

By: Peter Tufano

Kinecta Federal Credit Union has the opportunity to purchase Nix Check Cashing as part of their "blue ocean" strategy to reach the financially underserved and increase credit union membership and deposits. But they face financial as well as reputational risk. Check... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Credit; Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Strategic Planning; Partners and Partnerships; Reputation; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

24 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 24, 2006

maintain majority control of their company. As attractive as the plan seems, they worry about the high cost of the loan and the risk that the offering might fail. In January 2005, with no time left to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Mar 2003
News

Rating Better

Three finance professors have devised a new mutual fund rating system that appears to do a better job of separating fund managers whose performance reflects genuine ability from those whose results depend on luck alone. The authors of the... View Details

Keywords: Randolph Cohen; Lubos Pastor; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles

April 2004 (Revised December 2004)
Case

Jazztel

By: Marc L. Bertoneche, Laurent Jacque, Kenneth Hynes and Jennifer Woolman

Jazztel--an upstart Spanish telecom--is considering an IPO on the NASDAQ (rather than the Madrid Bolsa) for funding its ambitious capital expenditure program estimated at $750 million over the next 10 years. The alternative would be another round of high-yield debt.... View Details

Keywords: History; Initial Public Offering; Valuation; Privatization; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; Spain

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05 Dec 2016
Blog Post

5 Pieces of Advice for Applying to HBS

savings and instead utilize a combination of financial aid, scholarships, and loans to get themselves through the program. HBS has an incredible need-based financial aid... View Details

15 Sep 2015
News

Easing the Costs of Saving a Child

Little Feet in 2008. Intended to be a family’s last step in its adoption journey, Pathways, funded by Taylor and a group of donors, is essentially a private, interest-free, nonprofit bank providing loans of... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken

05 Aug 2024
Research & Ideas

Watching for the Next Economic Downturn? Follow Corporate Debt

focused on housing and household debt for good reason: In the United States, a residential housing loan collapse touched off the deep financial crisis of 2008. But in the decade-plus since, the focus on... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

Article

Weak Corporate Insolvency Rules: The Missing Driver of Zombie Lending

By: Bo Becker and Victoria Ivashina

"Zombie lending"—lending to less-productive firms at subsidized rates—can help banks with misaligned incentives in the short run, but it prolongs economic downturns. We propose that inefficient resolution of insolvency is a significant contributor to this problem. We... View Details

Keywords: Zombie Credit; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financing and Loans; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation

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27 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 27

likely to perceive CSR strategies favorably. Our results show how CSR strategies can affect value creation in public equity markets through analyst recommendations. Institutional Stock Trading on Loan Market Information Authors:Victoria... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

24 Dec 2013
First Look

First Look: December 24

provides an introduction to the process of loan syndication and the evolution of the leveraged loan market. The note emphasizes the role of banks as View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

July 2007 (Revised July 2008)
Case

The Beijing Dream

By: Arthur I Segel, Voon Siang Lee, Jialei Tian and Ying Laura Wang

The purchase of a single-family home is generally the major investment for most young couples in China. Shows in detail the process that a young couple goes through in late April 2007 to find, finance, and close on an apartment in Beijing within what they believe to be... View Details

Keywords: Property; Investment; Cost; Emerging Markets; Financing and Loans; Acquisition; Activity Based Costing and Management; Internet and the Web; Management Practices and Processes; Real Estate Industry; Beijing; United States

01 Mar 2023
News

Is AI OK?

to weeding bias out of banking and lending, essentially removing from the picture human beings and their inherently biased decision-making processes. He understood that his father, a Black business owner in... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles

01 Aug 2019
News

Investing for Good

“Our mission at Social Finance is to mobilize capital—public capital, private capital—in service of society. The tool that we are most proud of is the social impact bond, which is essentially a public-private partnership that brings... View Details

Keywords: Finance

January 2000 (Revised October 2001)
Case

@Hoc: Leveraging Israeli Technology in the United States

Describes @Hoc, an idea for an Internet software company, developed by two HBS MBA 1999 graduates, Guy Miasnik and Ly Tran. @Hoc's software, loaded into a browser, enables instant, context-sensitive information retrieval and shopping. @Hoc's R&D team is located in... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry; Israel; Boston