Banking
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- 21 Aug 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Improving Customer Compatibility with Operational Transparency
Service firms seeking prospective customers usually highlight the advantages of their offerings and downplay the tradeoffs. This study suggests a different approach: Provide transparency into advantages as well as tradeoffs. The transparency helps customers make informed decisions and can lead to better outcomes for both firms and customers over the long run.
- 08 May 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Bank Boards: What Has Changed Since the Financial Crisis?
Since the 2008 financial crisis, bank boards have not improved their cultural or gender diversity compared to other companies, nor are they better qualified than before the crisis. Outside directorships of bank directors and the extent of CEOs also being Chairman also remains the same. However, there is some evidence of better risk oversight both from managers and the board.
- 03 Apr 2019
- Book
Fintech's Game-Changing Opportunities for Small Business
In the new book Fintech, Small Business, & the American Dream, Karen Mills describes how technology is opening up new capital for entrepreneurs. Around the corner: The transformative benefits of AI and big data. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 15 Jan 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
The Creation and Evolution of Entrepreneurial Public Markets
Since 1990, new stock exchanges geared toward fast-growing, entrepreneurial companies have proliferated around the world. This analysis shows that exchanges in countries with better shareholder protection allowed younger and less profitable companies to raise more capital. These markets alone cannot boost entrepreneurial activity but need enabling institutions.
- 14 Jan 2019
- Op-Ed
These 4 CEOs Created a New Standard of Leadership
At the height of the 2008 financial crisis, these four corporate leaders stepped forward—and changed how we think of leadership forever, says Bill George. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 20 Dec 2018
- Cold Call Podcast
Using Fintech to Disrupt Eastern Bank from Within
When Eastern Bank decided to battle a threat from new competitors, it hired a fintech executive to set up Eastern Labs and start innovating. Karen Mills discusses her case study on what happened next. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 15 Nov 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Do Fire Sales Create Externalities?
This paper contributes to our understanding of the role of large institutional investors in securities markets, providing evidence that the structure of the mutual fund industry increases the risks of costly "fire sales."
- 04 Oct 2018
- Research & Ideas
Diversity Boosts Profits in Venture Capital Firms
VC firms that score high in diversity among their partners also tend to be more profitable, according to Paul Gompers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 09 Aug 2018
- Cold Call Podcast
Two Million Fake Accounts: Sales Misconduct at Wells Fargo
Coming out of the financial crisis, Wells Fargo was one of the world’s most successful banks. But then its sales culture went wild, opening more than 2 million fake accounts. Suraj Srinivasan discusses what went wrong. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 20 Jun 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Show or Tell? Improving Agent Decision Making in a Tanzanian Mobile Money Field Experiment
Mobile money is popular in developing economies but many agents do not maintain proper inventory levels. This paper, based on a study of 4,771 agents in Tanzania, shows how training and ongoing guidance improve their inventory management. Agents who get in-person training and explicit inventory recommendations tend to stock out less.
- 14 Jun 2018
- Cold Call Podcast
How Chase Sapphire Made Credit Cool for Millennials
The Chase Sapphire Reserve card was one of the hottest product launches in 2016. But what would be its next act, now that the introductory offer of 100,000 points was reduced? Shelle Santana discusses JP Morgan's strategy. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 28 Mar 2018
- Research & Ideas
Sophisticated Investors May Be Harming Fintech Lending Platforms
A study by Boris Vallee and Yao Zeng says savvy investors on peer-to-peer lending platforms are upsetting a delicate balance that makes those systems work for borrowers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 12 Mar 2018
- Op-Ed
Op-Ed: Why BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Is Not a Socialist
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s open letter to CEOs has reignited the “shareholders versus stakeholders” debate. Bill George says it's actually not much of a debate: mission-driven, values-centered companies perform better. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 29 Jan 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Do Banks Have an Edge?
Reliance on high leverage is one distinctive component of the bank business model. This study suggests that the aggregate United States banking sector was relatively inefficient between 1960 and 2015. The falling costs of new production technologies in capital markets may further advantage capital markets over banks.
- 01 Nov 2017
- What Do You Think?
What Are the Real Lessons of the Wells Fargo Case?
SUMMING UP James Heskett's readers identify key failures in Wells Fargo's culture and leadership. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 31 Oct 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Mutual Funds as Venture Capitalists? Evidence from Unicorns
Larger mutual funds and those having more stable funding are more likely to invest in privately held startups known as unicorns. Mutual funds are less involved in corporate governance, especially boards of directors, but have more protections when it comes to liquidating their stakes.
- 12 Oct 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
The Decline of Big-Bank Lending to Small Business: Dynamic Impacts on Local Credit and Labor Markets
Between 2008 and 2014, the Top 4 banks sharply decreased their lending to small business. This paper examines the lasting economic consequences of this contraction, finding that a credit supply shock from a subset of lenders can have surprisingly long-lived effects on real activity.
- 26 Jun 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Inventory Management for Mobile Money Agents in the Developing World
Mobile money agents in the developing world face a key inventory management challenge: How much cash and e-float should be held to minimize both stockouts and excess working capital? The authors develop two inventory models and show substantial inventory cost reduction with a large dataset of East African mobile money transactions.
- 01 Jun 2017
- Cold Call Podcast
Building India’s First $100 Billion Company
Startups welcome growth but are often strangled by it. In this podcast, Sunil Gupta discusses how entrepreneur Vijay Shekhar Sharma is meeting this challenge with his mobile payments company Paytm. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
Comments on Macri's Macro by Federico Sturzenegger
Rafael Di Tella analyzes a paper by Federico Sturzenegger, the Governor of the Central Bank of Argentina under President Mauricio Macri, detailing the country’s efforts to stabilize the economy following 12 years of a populist administration.