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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2012 version)

  Persephone's Pomegranate: Crédit Agricole and Emporiki

  Dante Roscini, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Jerome Lenhardt

  In 2006 the French bank Crédit Agricole bought the Greek Emporiki bank, for €2.8 billion, at the peak of a bull market for bank takeovers. Six years, a major financial crisis, and €5.2 billion of losses later, in a context of great uncertainty in the European banking sector, what decision should Crédit Agricole take regarding Emporiki? Through the example of this European cross-border acquisition the case looks at the Greek banking system before and during the unprecedented Greek sovereign debt crisis; the efforts of Greece and the main actors of the European financial system to prevent the embattled country from having to exit the Euro zone; and the potential scenarios for Greek banks in mid-2012.

  Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Currency; Development Economics; International Finance; International Relations; Banking Industry; Greece;

  Citation:

  Roscini, Dante, Daniela Beyersdorfer, and Jerome Lenhardt. "Persephone's Pomegranate: Crédit Agricole and Emporiki." Harvard Business School Case 713-055, May 2013. (Revised from original November 2012 version.)

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2011 version)

  South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle?

  Richard H. K. Vietor and Diego Comin

  Fifteen years after ending apartheid, formal unemployment in South Africa was still at 24%. While the country had grown at 4 to 5% annually during the 2000s, the financial crisis set it back by 1 million more unemployed. Moreover, it seemed as if the nation were stuck between low wage and fully developed competitors. The government of Jacob Zuma has just adopted a "New Growth Path," hoping to create several million jobs over the next few years. Both the Finance Minister and the head of the Central Bank support the initiative, but worry how they can sustain fiscal discipline and control inflation, in light of these stimulative policies. Organized labor, meanwhile, has little sympathy for any sort of sacrifice.

  Keywords: Financial Crisis; Inflation and Deflation; Policy; Employment; Wages; Competition; South Africa;

  Citation:

  Vietor, Richard H. K., and Diego Comin. "South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle?" Harvard Business School Case 711-084, May 2013. (Revised from original April 2011 version.)

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2012 version)

  Can the Eurozone Survive?

  Dante Roscini and Jonathan Schlefer

  The sovereign debt crisis that took Greece by storm in 2010 began to spread to other European markets. Within a few months Ireland and Portugal had also lost access to the sovereign debt markets and had to rely on supranational loans for their financing. The risk of further contagion was clear and present. Political leaders continued to seek measures to stem the crisis and to avoid the larger economies of Spain and Italy becoming involved. The European financial system became strained. Banks were found to be undercapitalized and began to ration credit to the economy. The European Central Bank intervened to provide liquidity to the system in order to avoid a credit crunch. Could the eurozone survive the storm?

  Keywords: sovereign debt crisis; Currency areas; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Currency Exchange Rate; International Relations; Banking Industry; European Union; Germany; France; Italy; Spain; Greece; Portugal;

  Citation:

  Roscini, Dante, and Jonathan Schlefer. "Can the Eurozone Survive?" Harvard Business School Case 713-034, May 2013. (Revised from original September 2012 version.)

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