Ph.D. Student, Finance, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

August 2003 – Present

• Projected completion date: May 2008
• Dissertation topic: Impact of financing mechanism in microfinance programs on borrower
• Research interests: microfinance, private equity, corporate governance, structured finance, banking, government sponsored enterprises, and international finance
• Passed the finance comprehensive exam in July 2005
• Completed courses on corporate finance, asset pricing, corporate governance, microeconomics, econometrics, and international finance
• Recipient of the Business Dean’s Fellowship
• GPA: 3.333 / 4.000

• Program consisted of courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, industrial organization, applied statistics, and econometrics
• GPA: 4.000 / 4.000

• Academic honors: Emory Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa, and Omicron Delta Epsilon
• Senior thesis topic: urban enterprise zones and employment
• GPA: 3.889 / 4.000

• Retrieve, check, and compile financial data for faculty
• Assist with faculty’s research on private equity and firm boards of directors

• Taught two sections per semester of "Banking and Financial Institutions" (BMGT445)
• Covered topics including the sources of risk faced by financial institutions, usage of derivatives to hedge risk, and the primary and secondary mortgage markets
• Received the "Top 15% Teaching Award" for 2005
• Received the 2007 Wikler Teaching Award in Finance

• Conducted original research of both descriptive and statistical natures for publication in Federal Reserve periodicals on a variety of banking topics
• Provided research assistance to Federal Reserve economists on a range of financial topics
• Evaluated the competitive effects of bank merger, acquisition, and control proposals
• Advised bankers, lawyers, and other regulators concerning bank antitrust policy
• Led and coordinated group of four antitrust analysts
• Served as the Bank’s Fair Lending Advisory Group economist

• Maintained databases and prepared graphs of macroeconomic data
• Assisted Latin America Research Group analysts

Abstract: Microfinance normally consists of lending very small amounts to groups, where each member is jointly liable for each others’ loans. I develop a theoretical model on the relationship between the repayment strategies of microfinance borrowers and the types of projects they invest their microloans in. I show that the expected payoffs to using a microloan to invest in a true microenterprise may be less than the payoffs from consuming the loan proceeds. The results imply where microfinance programs would work best according to the individual project opportunities, institutions, and social ties of the borrowers’ countries.

Research Questions: Do the relationships directors have through sitting on multiple boards provide better identification of director independence? Are there significant differences in performance and actions among firms according to our refined measure of independence?

Abstract: Private investment in public equity issues (PIPEs) have typically been seen as solutions to an information asymmetry problem that firms, particularly small growth ones, face when needing to raise external funds publicly. Nevertheless, some raisers of private equity financing are critical of a significant number of PIPE deals, contending that these deals’ terms are harmful to the issuing firms. Some support is given to the faulty contract design hypothesis. Firms that accept "bad" deals and are nevertheless less likely to have limited financing options show significant negative long run abnormal returns.

"Credit Scoring and Small Business Lending in Low- and Moderate- Income Areas" (with W. Scott Frame and Lynn W. Woosley), Financial Review, 2004, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 35-54.

• Received the "Outstanding Academic Paper Award in Financial Institutions and Markets" at the Eastern Finance Association’s 2003 Annual Meeting

"Creating a Secondary Mortgage Market in Mexico" (with Stephen Kay and Jaime del Rio Castillo), Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Financial Update, 2004, Vol. 16, No. 1, http://www.frbatlanta.org/publ.cfm.

"Securitization: New Report Reveals Exposures, Helps Regulators," Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Financial Update, 2002, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 4-5.

"Bank Capital Exposure to Government Sponsored Enterprise Debt," Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Financial Update, 2001, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 1-3.

"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at Work in the Secondary Mortgage Market," Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Financial Update, 2001, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 4-5.

"Is Commercial Banking a Distinct Line of Commerce?" (with Lynn W. Woosley and Frank King), Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Economic Review, 2000, Vol. 86, No. 4, pp. 39-58.

"What Attracts New Entries into Southeastern Banking Markets?" Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Financial Update, 2000, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp 1-3.

"New Law Expands Banks’ Activities," Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Financial Update, 2000, Vol. 13, No. 1, p. 5.

"Banks Selling Insurance: Risky Business?" Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Financial Update, 1999, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 1-3.

"Evaluating Credit Union Competition in Bank Merger Applications," Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Financial Update, 1998, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 1-3.

"Southeast Experiences High Growth in De Novo Banks," Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Financial Update, 1998, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 4-5.

Semiannual Meeting, Washington Area Finance Association, May 2007

Annual Meeting, Eastern Finance Association, May 2003 (Competitive)

Small Business Conference, Rutgers Business School, May 2002 (Invited)

Conference on Business Access to Capital and Credit, Federal Reserve System, March 1999 (Competitive)