Publications

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Career Coach

Tim Kluska

Tim is a finance professional and CFA who made a soft pivot to investment banking from the mutual fund industry. Tim worked at Vanguard for five years after serving four years in the US Marines. Tim is well-equipped and passionate about... View Details

2012
Working Paper

Mexico's Financial Crisis of 1994-1995

By: Aldo Musacchio

This paper explains the causes leading to the Mexican crisis of 1994-1995 (known as "The Tequila Crisis"), and its short- and long-term consequences. It argues that excessive enthusiasm on the part of foreign investors, not based on Mexico's fundamentals, and weak... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Foreign Direct Investment; Banks and Banking; Government and Politics; Currency Exchange Rate; Banking Industry; Mexico

April 2013
Teaching Note

New Resource Bank: In Pursuit of Green (TN)

By: Christopher Marquis and Juan Almandoz

This case involves the founding and early life of a new bank enterprise in San Francisco with a commitment to the cause of sustainability. It illustrates the opportunities and challenges of banking on values and of specifying and making explicit the practical... View Details

Keywords: Business And Society; Entrepreneurial Management; Growth Strategy; Social Enterprise; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Entrepreneurship; Business and Community Relations; Growth and Development Strategy; Banking Industry; San Francisco

January 1998
Case

From Wall Street to Main Street: Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co.

By: James K. Sebenius and David T. Kotchen

Designed as a follow-up to Morgan Stanley and S.G. Warburg: Investment Bank of the Future (A). View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Valuation; Investment Banking; Mergers and Acquisitions; Banking Industry; Banking Industry

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August 2012
Article

A Darker Side to Decentralized Banks: Market Power and Credit Rationing in SME Lending

By: Rodrigo Canales and Ramana Nanda

We use loan-level data to study how the organizational structure of banks impacts small business lending. We find that decentralized banks-where branch managers have greater autonomy over lending decisions-give larger loans to small firms and those with "soft... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Customers; Financing and Loans; Credit; Organizational Structure; Banks and Banking; Governance Compliance; Competitive Strategy

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February 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Equity Bank: Challenging a Giant

By: Lauren H. Cohen, Michael Chitavi and Spencer C. N. Hagist

Equity Bank and CEO Dr. James Mwangi must find a way to advance from their hard-fought ascension to second largest bank in Kenya by toppling financial giant Safaricom. Doing so means developing a new strategy and tackling technological frontiers no institution in the... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Finance; Strategy; Information Technology; Banks and Banking; Kenya

16 Sep 2009
News

Stop Pining for Glass-Steagall

Forthcoming
Article

In the Red: Overdrafts, Payday Lending and the Underbanked

By: Marco Di Maggio, Angela Ma and Emily Williams

The reordering of transactions from “high-to-low” is a controversial bank practice thought to maximize fees paid by low-income customers on overdrawn accounts. We exploit multiple class-action lawsuits resulting in mandatory changes to this practice, coupled with... View Details

Keywords: Overdraft; Payday Loans; Excessive Fees; Underbanked; Underserved; Income; Personal Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Banks and Banking

February 2011 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Deferred Tax Assets in Basel III: Lessons from Japan

By: David F. Hawkins, Karthik Ramanna, Nobuo Sato and Mayuka Yamazaki

In a controversial decision, the Bank for International Settlements includes deferred tax assets as part of a bank's core capital. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Assets; Capital; Central Banking; Taxation; Banking Industry; Japan

September 1996 (Revised October 1996)
Case

Clarkson Lumber Company

By: Thomas R. Piper

The owner of a rapidly growing retail lumber company is considering the financial implications of continued rapid growth. The magnitude of the company's future financing requirements must be assessed in the context of the company's access to bank finance and/or equity... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Financial Reporting; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Strategy; Financial Strategy; Commercial Banking; Borrowing and Debt; Equity; Corporate Finance

June 2005 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Equator Principles, The: An Industry Approach to Managing Environmental and Social Risks

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Aldo Sesia

In June 2003, 10 leading international banks adopted new voluntary guidelines, called the Equator Principles, to promote sustainable development in project finance. In recent years, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) had raised issues about the lenders'... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Competition; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Policy; Project Finance; Standards; Projects; Commercial Banking; Non-Governmental Organizations

March 2013
Case

First Green Bank: Bringing Bloom to Desert Landscapes

By: Christopher Marquis and Juan Almandoz

First Green Bank is a bank start-up in the midst of the financial crisis which aims to promote sustainability while making money as a bank. The case presents an ethical dilemma as it considers a loan to an arms manufacturer. View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Financial Crisis; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business and Community Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Ethics; Banking Industry; United States; Florida

Helene Hall is a doctoral student in the Business Economics program at Harvard University. Prior to coming to Harvard, she worked as a research analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and studied economics and mathematics at Williams College. Her main research... View Details

28 Feb 2018 - 1 Mar 2018
Other Presentation

Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Africa—Part 1 & Part 2

By: Euvin Naidoo

Part 1: Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Africa with Euvin Naidoo (February 28)

Part 2: Developing Capital Market:A Conversation with Mr. Bola “Koko” Onadele, Managing Director of FMDQ (March 1)
We cordially invite you to an exciting discussion... View Details

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Keywords: Diversified

March 2009 (Revised May 2013)
Supplement

Kinyuseisaku: Monetary Policy in Japan (B)

By: Laura Alfaro and Akiko Kanno

Toshihiko Fukui, Governor of the Bank of Japan, faced a complex situation in the fall of 2007. An economic recovery had allowed the central bank to abandon its zero interest rate policy, which had been in place for years, and raise rates to 0.5%. The Bank of Japan was... View Details

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Money; Central Banking; Interest Rates; Policy; Japan

2022
Working Paper

Distributional Consequences of Monetary Policy Across Races: Evidence from the U.S. Credit Register

By: Laura Alfaro, Ester Faia and Camelia Minoiu

We examine the consequences of monetary policy on racial disparities, focusing on the role of bank lending to firms through collateral and selection channels. Leveraging comprehensive loan-level data from the U.S. credit register (Y-14Q) of the Federal Reserve, we show... View Details

Keywords: Monetary Policy Transmission; Inequity; Credit Registry; Wealth; Collateral Channel; Selection; Racial Disparity; Racial Inequality; Equality and Inequality; Banks and Banking; Credit; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Banking Industry; United States