Author Archives: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation

A Crisis of Banks as Liquidity Providers

In our paper, A Crisis of Banks as Liquidity Providers, forthcoming in the Journal of Finance, we investigate whether the onset of the 2007-09 crisis was, in effect, a crisis of banks as liquidity providers, which may have led to reductions in credit and increased the fragility of the financial system. The starting point of […]

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Delaware Court Preliminarily Enjoins Merger Due to Flawed Sales Process

On November 24, 2014, the Delaware Court of Chancery preliminarily enjoined for thirty days a vote by C&J Energy Services stockholders on a merger with Nabors Red Lion Limited, to allow time for C&J’s board of directors to explore alternative transactions. In a bench ruling in the case, City of Miami General Employees’ & Sanitation […]

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International Banking Regulators Reinforce Board Responsibilities for Risk Oversight and Governance Culture

In October 2014, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision of the Bank for International Settlements issued its consultative Guidelines [on] Corporate governance principles for banks (the “2014 Principles”). The 2014 Principles revise the Committee’s 2010 Principles for enhancing corporate governance (the “2010 Principles”), in which the Committee reflected on the lessons learned by many central […]

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2014 Director Compensation Report

Frederic W. Cook & Co. Inc.’s 2014 Director Compensation Report indicates that non-employee director compensation increased modestly since last year, with increases ranging from 4% to 7%. Although no new design trends were observed, the streamlining of director compensation continues through (1) replacing meeting fees with higher cash retainers implying that director attendance is a […]

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The Allergan Aftermath

Valeant’s failed acquisition bid for Allergan has underscored longstanding M&A principles—even as the involvement of shareholder activists in the M&A arena has introduced new technologies, opportunities, and challenges. In the aftermath of the Allergan saga, it is clear that Pershing Square was richly rewarded for having crafted a novel bidder-activist collaboration model. The outcome for […]

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Three Pathways to Global Standards: Private, Regulator, and Ministry Networks

Scores of governments around the world have chosen to introduce international standards as domestic law, even though they were not legally obliged to do so. The drafters of these standards are not sovereigns or international organizations, but transnational regulatory networks: informal meetings of experts from various countries, some with government affiliations, and others without. Networks […]

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Misalignment Between Corporate Economic Performance, Shareholder Return And Executive Compensation

Investors, directors and corporate executive management share common interests when it comes to company performance and economic value creation. Yet, whilst this commonality is laudable, a review of performance measurement and long-term incentive plan design for USA public companies identifies that current practice is less than clear in measuring and aligning these interests in a […]

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Methods for Multicountry Studies of Corporate Governance

There is a vast and growing literature using multi-country studies to examine the effects of corporate governance on firm value. In our paper, Methods for Multicountry Studies of Corporate Governance: Evidence from the BRIKT Countries, forthcoming in the Journal of Econometrics and recently made publicly available on SSRN, we explore the empirical challenges in multicountry […]

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Some Thoughts for Boards of Directors in 2015

The challenges that directors of public companies face in carrying out their duties continue to grow. The end goal remains the same, to oversee the successful, profitable and sustainable operations of their companies. But the pressures that confront directors, from activism and short-termism, to ongoing shifts in governance, to global risks and competition, are many. […]

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The Efficacy of Shareholder Voting in Staggered and Non-Staggered Boards

In our paper, The Efficacy of Shareholder Voting in Staggered and Non-Staggered Boards: The Case of Audit Committee Elections, which was recently made available on SSRN, we study the efficacy of audit committee member elections in staggered and non-staggered boards. Voting in director elections and auditor ratifications is a primary mechanism shareholders can use to […]

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