The use of derivatives--a broad term referring to such diverse instruments as futures, swaps, and options--has become increasingly popular in recent years as corporations look for new and better ways to manage risk. The high-profile losses of Procter & Gamble, Metallgesellschaft, and other...

This paper uses a database of 58 financial innovations from 1974–1986 to examine how investment banks are compensated for their investments in developing new products. Investment banks that create new products do not charge higher prices in the brief period of ‘monopoly’ before imitative...

The project’s findings converge on a core theme, namely that the most important aspect of innovation, in the context of risk, is that there are no historical metrics to determine its impact on the world. Therefore, the industry needs to pay special attention to the ways in which its mechanisms...

A new entrant in the nascent online peer lending space, Lending Club must decide whether or not to register with the SEC. Lending Club provided a platform through which individual borrowers could receive loans funded by individuals who chose to invest in them. The management team wanted to grow...

Students must determine whether or not Visa, which had an IPO one month prior, is a good investment. The case provides an overview of multi sided platform businesses and the payments industry in general. Visa's business model and economics are reviewed.

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 cashing, payday lending and...