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Ken Okamura

Senior Lecturer in Finance


Saïd Business School
University of Oxford
Park End Street
Oxford
OX1 1HP

Profile

Ken is interested in the impact of financial distress on bank and borrower reputation and in the impact of corruption and reputation on countries and firms.

 

He is an expert on the Japanese economy and financial system. He is interested in the impact of financial distress on bank and borrower reputation and in the impact of corruption and reputation on countries and firms.

Ken has previously worked as a fund manager and in investment banking. He was the Japanese equity strategist for Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. He has an LLB in law from the University of Exeter and a DPhil in Management Studies from Saïd Business School, for which he focused on the Japanese financial crisis of 1997-2003. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Research

Ken’s research focuses on how financial crises affect banks and borrowers, including the impact of a bank’s loss of reputation.

Ken’s research focuses on how financial crises affect banks and borrowers, including the impact of a bank’s loss of reputation. He also studies bribery and corruption in international business and the impact of anti-corruption laws on trade flow.

The impact of financial distress on banks and borrowers

Ken investigates the impact of financial distress on banks and borrowers. He is particularly interested in the costs to the economy of the creation of 'zombie' banks in Japan after the 1997-2003 financial crisis, a topic that has some resonance post the 2008 global financial crisis.

He is also looking at the impact of the loss of bank reputation on borrowers, when one of the bank’s borrowers enters financial distress.

Corruption and reputation

Together with Liz Dávid-Barrett, Ken is looking at the impact of corruption and reputation on countries. They are examining the impact of anti-corruption laws in OECD countries on trade flows and also the reasons why countries choose to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

Publications

Benford’s Law and COVID-19 Reporting(opens in new window)

  • Journal article
  • Economics Letters
  • Christoffer Koch,
  • Ken Okamura
Finance

Why does the FDIC sue?(opens in new window)

  • Journal article
  • Journal of Corporate Finance
  • C Koch,
  • Ken Okamura
Finance

Norm Diffusion and Reputation(opens in new window)

  • Journal article
  • Governance
  • Elizabeth David‐Barrett,
  • Ken Okamura
Finance
See more publications

Engagement

The direct implications of Ken’s work on financial distress and bank and borrower reputations gives an estimate of the costs of financial distress.

This informs decisions on the desirability and benefits of policies associated with financial stability and bank bailouts.

The joint research with Liz Dávid-Barrett on anti-corruption laws and trade show the importance of a level playing field and the analysis of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative highlights the importance of non-state international organisations in anti-corruption activities.

Teaching

Finance is a challenging academic subject, but it is also a rewarding one with immediate practical applications.

Ken believes that the point of finance courses is to give a solid grounding in the former, whilst giving rein to the latter.

Ken is the Academic Director of the Diploma in Financial Strategy

He teaches the undergraduate Final Honours School Finance option, and undertook a revamp of the course between 2013 and 2014 in coordination with developments in the first year Financial Analysis course. He also teaches Finance I on the Diploma in Financial Strategy. He is an active user of new technology, developing online quizzes and games in courses such as MBA Managerial Economics and MLF Finance II.

Ken has also produced a mathematics workbook for the MSc in Law and Finance, portions of which are also used in the MBA, the EMBA and the Diploma in Financial Strategy.