Publications

Article

The Harmonization of Lending Standards within Banks through Mandated Loan-Level Transparency

By: Jung Koo Kang, Maria Loumioti and Regina Wittenberg-Moerman

We explore whether the introduction of transparent reporting rules increases credit standard harmonization within a bank. We exploit the new loan-level reporting rules imposed on banks that borrow from the European Central Bank using repurchase agreements... View Details

Keywords: Transparency; External And Internal Reporting; Credit Term Harmonization; Regulatory Scrutiny; Banks and Banking; Credit; Financial Reporting; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Learning

Article

Perceptions and the Politics of Finance: Junk Bonds and the Regulatory Seizure of First Capital Life

By: S. C. Gilson, H. DeAngelo and L. DeAngelo

In May 1991, one month after seizing Executive Life, California regulators seized First Capital Life (FCLIC). Both insurers were Drexel clients with large junk bond holdings, and both had experienced 'bank runs.' FCLIC's run followed regulators' televised comments that... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Bonds; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

July 2018
Teaching Note

The Perfect Storm: What Happens When the Market Moves Four Standard Deviations?

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Sayiddah Fatima McCree

Adam Carter was the portfolio manager for Tate Modern Finance III, L.P. (“Tate” or the “Fund”), the third in a series of U.S. commercial real estate debt funds sponsored by the London-based Tate Partners. The Fund was capitalized with $700 million of equity... View Details

Keywords: CMBS; CLO; Repo Financing; Real Estate; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Financing and Loans

March 2009 (Revised April 2009)
Case

AFSCME vs. Mozilo...and "Say on Pay" for All! (A) (Abridged)

By: Fabrizio Ferri and James Weber

Richard Ferlauto, director of pensions and benefits policy at the AFSCME, the largest public sector workers union in the U.S., was responsible for protecting the pensions of its members. Because pensions were invested for decades, Ferlauto wanted the companies in which... View Details

Keywords: Voting; Investment; Investment Activism; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Ownership Stake; Business and Shareholder Relations; United States

February 1997 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Harrington Financial Group

By: Robert C. Merton and Alberto Moel

In early 1997, Harrington Bank, a small Indiana savings and loan (thrift) wondered what its next move should be. Harrington was acquired in 1988 by the principals of Smith Breeden Associates, a money-management and consulting firm specializing in the application of... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Mergers and Acquisitions; Price; Risk Management; Mortgages; Contracts; Asset Management; Investment; Financial Services Industry

January 2013 (Revised June 2017)
Case

The Perfect Storm: What Happens When the Market Moves Four Standard Deviations?

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz

Adam Carter was the portfolio manager for Tate Modern Finance III, L.P. (“Tate” or the “Fund”), the third in a series of U.S. commercial real estate debt funds sponsored by the London-based Tate Partners. The Fund was capitalized with $700 million of equity... View Details

Keywords: CMBS; CLO; Repo Financing; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Financing and Loans

August 2019 (Revised April 2021)
Case

Zillow Offers: Winning Online Real Estate 2.0

By: Luis Viceira, Marco Di Maggio and Allison Ciechanover

Founded in 2005, Zillow had become the leading online real estate and home-related marketplace. The brand was recognized as a trusted resource for players in the real estate market, providing information and transparency on home prices. Revenue, which was historically... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Corporate Culture; Intermediation; Brokerage; Startup; Evaluating Business Investments; Property; Information Technology; Business Model; Expansion; Business Startups; Real Estate Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

February 2009 (Revised March 2009)
Case

AFSCME vs. Mozilo...and "Say on Pay" for All! (A)

By: Fabrizio Ferri and James Weber

Union seeks to protect its pension funds through shareholder activism focused on corporate governance and executive compensation. The case uses Countrywide Financial as an example. Richard Ferlauto, director of pensions and benefits policy at the AFSCME, the largest... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Mortgages; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Labor Unions; Business and Shareholder Relations; United States

2009
Working Paper

Systemic Risk and the Refinancing Ratchet Effect

By: Amir E. Khandani, Andrew W. Lo and Robert C. Merton

The confluence of three trends in the U.S. residential housing market—rising home prices, declining interest rates, and near-frictionless refinancing opportunities—led to vastly increased systemic risk in the financial system. Individually, each of these trends is... View Details

Keywords: Housing; Mortgages; Risk and Uncertainty; Value; Mathematical Methods; Real Estate Industry; United States

November 2017
Article

Credit-Induced Boom and Bust

By: Marco Di Maggio and Amir Kermani

Can a credit expansion induce a boom and bust in house prices and real 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.... View Details

Keywords: Great Recession; Subprime; Credit Supply; Credit Expansion; Household Leverage; Household Debt; Preemption Rule; Mortgages; Laws and Statutes; Credit; Household; Borrowing and Debt; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation

SSRN

2009
Working Paper

Systemic Risk and the Refinancing Ratchet Effect

By: Amir E. Khandani, Andrew W. Lo and Robert C. Merton

The confluence of three trends in the U.S. residential housing market-rising home prices, declining interest rates, and near-frictionless refinancing opportunities-led to vastly increased systemic risk in the financial system. Individually, each of these trends is... View Details

Keywords: Equity; Mortgages; Interest Rates; Price; Housing; Risk and Uncertainty; United States

2008
Working Paper

Behavioral Aspects of Price Setting, and Their Policy Implications

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

This paper starts by discussing consumers' cognitive and emotional reaction to posted prices. Cognitively, some consumers do not appear to make effective use of price information to maximize their consumption-based utility. Emotionally, prices can induce regret and... View Details

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Price; Policy; Laws and Statutes; Consumer Behavior; Emotions

21 Oct 2014
First Look

First Look: October 21

http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/15-023_145191c4-220f-4dd8-8d41-ee2d1f693716.pdf Housing Collateral, Credit Constraints and Entrepreneurship-Evidence from a Mortgage Reform By: Jensen, Thais Laerkholm, Søren Leth-Petersen,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

HBS Faculty Debate Financial Reform Legislation

from auto dealers, retail stores, and real estate brokers). Finally, Congress missed the main cause of the financial crisis—Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the housing agencies. Given the fragility of the U.S. housing markets, Congress was unwilling to reform these View Details

Keywords: by Staff

2009
Chapter

Behavioral Aspects of Price Setting, and Their Policy Implications

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

This paper starts by discussing consumers' cognitive and emotional reaction to posted prices. Cognitively, some consumers do not appear to make effective use of price information to maximize their consumption-based utility. Emotionally, prices can induce regret and... View Details

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Price; Policy; Laws and Statutes; Demand and Consumers; Business and Government Relations

2025
Working Paper

Climate Risk and the U.S. Insurance Gap: Measurement, Drivers and Implications

By: Parinitha Sastry, Tess Scharlemann, Ishita Sen and Ana-Maria Tenekedjieva

In a world with rising risk, how much are U.S. households willing to pay for homeowners insurance, and what does their demand imply for the future of insurance markets? We provide the first estimates of household willingness to pay for homeowners insurance and the... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Risk and Uncertainty; Insurance; Personal Finance; Consumer Behavior; Mortgages

SSRN

2020
Chapter

Climate Change Is Going to Transform Where and How We Build

By: John D. Macomber

As fires, floods, and droughts increasingly threaten homes, businesses, and other institutions, climate risk has become financial risk. This implies that homeowners and investors have been making location decisions without properly pricing the cost of potential peril,... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Housing; Mortgages; Geographic Location; Real Estate Industry