Amit Seru

Professor, Finance

Amit Seru

The Steven and Roberta Denning Professor of Finance

Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Academic Area:

Additional Administrative Titles

Co-Director, Directors’ Consortium
Director, The Emerging CFO: Strategic Financial Leadership Program

Research Interests

  • Financial Intermediation and Regulation
  • Resource Allocation and Internal Organization of Firms
  • Performance Evaluations and Incentives

Bio

Amit Seru is The Steven and Roberta Denning Professor of Finance at Stanford Graduate School of Business, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). He was formerly a faculty member at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Professor Seru’s research focuses on corporate finance with an emphasis on financial intermediation and regulation, technological innovation and incentive provision, and financing in firms. His research in these areas has been published in American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, and other peer-reviewed journals. He is a co-editor of the Journal of Finance and was previously an editor of Review of Corporate Finance Studies, department editor (Finance) of Management Science, and an associate editor of the Journal of Political Economy.

He has presented his research to U.S. and international regulatory agencies, including the Bank for International Settlement (BIS), Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), European Central Bank (ECB), Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Most recently, he gave the Biennial Andrew Crockett lecture on regulation of banks in the era of fintechs to central bank governors around the world at the BIS. He has received various National Science Foundation grants, the Alexandre Lamfalussy research fellowship from BIS, and was named as one of the Top 25 Economists under 45 by the International Monetary Fund in 2014. His research has been featured in major media, including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Financial Times, and the Economist.

Seru earned a BE in electronics and communication and an MBA from the University of Delhi. Subsequently, he received a PhD in finance from the University of Michigan. He was a senior consultant at Accenture before pursuing his PhD. Seru was the recipient of a Rackham Pre-Doctoral Fellowship at University of Michigan and received a Lt. Governor’s gold medal for overall academic excellence at the University of Delhi.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD in Finance, University of Michigan, 2007
  • MBA, University of Delhi, 1998
  • B. E. in Electronics & Communication, University of Delhi, 1996

Academic Appointments

  • Professor of Finance, Stanford GSB, 2016–present
  • Denis and Karen Chookaszian Professor of Finance; University of Chicago, Booth School of Business; 2015–16
  • Professor of Finance; University of Chicago, Booth School of Business; 2013–14
  • Associate Professor of Finance; University of Chicago, Booth School of Business; 2011–12
  • Assistant Professor of Finance; University of Chicago, Booth School of Business; 2007–10

Awards and Honors

  • R. Michael and Mary Shanahan Faculty Fellow, 2019–20
  • R. Michael and Mary Shanahan Faculty Fellow, 2018–19
  • MBA Distinguished Teaching Award, 2018
  • National Science Foundation Award, 2016
  • Rising Star in Finance Award, 2016
  • Hillel J. Einhorn Excellence in Teaching, University of Chicago GSB, 2016
  • Journal of Financial Economics Paper Prize in Corporate Finance (First Prize), 2015
  • Emory Williams Annual (School wide) Teaching Award, 2015
  • IMF Generation Next Award, 2014
  • AER Excellence in Refereeing, 2014
  • QJE Excellence in Refereeing, 2014
  • AQR Insight Award, 2014
  • Crowell Memorial Prize, Panagora Asset Management, 2014
  • Finalist, MacArthur Foundation Grant, 2014
  • Best paper, Red Rock Conference, 2012
  • Chookaszian Endowed Risk Management Prize, 2011
  • Best paper awards at European Finance Association, CAF Research Conference, NSIM Conference and Mistsui Research Conference, 2008
  • BSI Research Award, 2008

Publications

Journal Articles

Greg Buchak, Gregor Matvos, Tomasz Piskorski, Amit Seru
Journal of Political Economy
February 2024 Vol. 132 Issue 2
Sumit Agarwal, Gene Amromin, Souphala Chomsisengphet, Tim Landvoigt, Tomasz Piskorski, Amit Seru, Vincent W. Yao
The Review of Economic Studies
March 2023 Vol. 90 Issue 2 Pages 499–537
Josh Lerner, Amit Seru
The Review of Financial Studies
June 2022 Vol. 35 Issue 6 Pages 2667–2704
Susan Cherry, Erica Jiang, Gregor Matvos, Tomasz Piskorski, Amit Seru
AEA Papers and Proceedings
May 2022 Vol. 112
Mark L. Egan, Gregor Matvos, Amit Seru
Journal of Political Economy
May 2022 Vol. 130 Issue 5
Tomasz Piskorski, Amit Seru
Journal of Financial Economics
September 2021 Vol. 141 Issue 3 Pages 1036–1059
Efraim Benmelech, Nittai Bergman, Amit Seru
Review of Finance
September 2021 Vol. 25 Issue 5 Pages 1365–1393
Sumit Agarwal, Wenlan Qian, Amit Seru, Jian Zhang
Journal of Financial Economics
August 2020 Vol. 137 Issue 2 Pages 430–450
Greg Buchak, Gregor Matvos, Tomasz Piskorski, Amit Seru
Journal of Financial Economics
December 2018 Vol. 130 Issue 3 Pages 453-483
Mark Egan, Gregory Matvos, Amit Seru
Journal of Political Economy
February 2018 Vol. 127 Issue 1 Pages 233-295
Gregor Matvos, Amit Seru, Rui Silva
Journal of Financial Economics
January 2018 Vol. 127 Issue 1 Pages 21-50
Marco Di Maggio, Benjamin Keys, Tomasz Piskorski, Rodney Ramcharan, Amir Kermani, Amit Seru, Vincent Yao
American Economic Review
November 2017 Vol. 107 Issue 11 Pages 3350-3388
João Granja, Gregor Matvos, Amit Seru
The Journal of Finance
August 2017 Vol. 72 Issue 4 Pages 1723-1784
Sumit Agarwal, Gene Amromin, Itzhak Ben-David, Souphala Chomsisengphat, Tomasz Piskorski, Amit Seru
Journal of Political Economy
June 2017 Vol. 125 Issue 3 Pages 654-712
Leonid Kogan, Dimitris Papanikolaou, Amit Seru, Noah Stoffman
The Quarterly Journal of Economics
March 21, 2017 Vol. 132 Issue 2 Pages 665-712
Umit G. Gurun, Gregor Matvos, Amit Seru
Journal of Finance
October 2016 Vol. 71 Issue 5 Pages 2371-2416
Erik Hurst, Benjamin Keys, Amit Seru, Joseph Vavra
American Economic Review
October 2016 Vol. 106 Issue 10 Pages 2982-3028
Tomasz Piskorski, James Witkin, Amit Seru
Journal of Finance
December 2015 Vol. 70 Issue 6 Pages 2635-2678
Uday Rajan, Vikrant Vig, Amit Seru
Journal of Financial Economics
February 2015 Vol. 1115 Issue 2
Amit Seru, Sumit Agarwal, David Lucca, Francesco Trebbi
Quarterly Journal of Economics
March 7, 2014 Vol. 129 Issue 2 Pages 889-938
Amit Seru, Gregor Matvos
The Review of Financial Studies
February 7, 2014 Vol. 27 Issue 4 Pages 1143-1189

Working Papers

Erica Xuewei Jiang, Gregor Matvos, Tomasz Piskorski, Amit Seru April 2023
Josh Lerner, Amit Seru, Nick Short, Yuan Sun March 2023
Nikolaos T. Artavanis, Daniel Paravisini, Claudia Robles-Garcia, Amit Seru, Margarita Tsoutsoura August 2022
Susan Cherry, Erica Xuewei Jiang, Gregor Matvos, Tomasz Piskorski, Amit Seru January 19, 2021
Greg Buchak, Gregor Matvos, Tomasz Piskorski, Amit Seru December 2020
Sumit Agarwal, John Grigsby, Ali Hortaçsu, Gregor Matvos, Amit Seru, Vincent Yao June 2020
Erica Jiang, Gregor Matvos, Tomasz Piskorski, Amit Seru March 2020
Mark Egan, Gregor Matvos, Amit Seru October 2018
Jose Maria Liberti, Amit Seru, Vikrant Vig 2017
Sumit Agarwal, Efraim Benmelech, Nittai Bergman, Amit Seru January 2015
Benjamin J. Keys, Tomasz Piskorski, Amit Seru, Vincent W. Yao September 2014

Academic Publications

Tomasz Piskorski, Amit Seru
Brookings Papers on Economic Activity
2018
Amit Seru, David Lucca
Staff Report- Federal Reserve Bank of New York
June 2014 Vol. 678

Teaching

Executive Education & Other Non-Degree Programs

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Guide your organization through growth with innovative CFO training that blends financial expertise, strategic thinking, and leadership skills.
Learn how to make better financial management decisions to increase the value of your company in the marketplace.
Learn how to grow and scale your company in this 10-month program ​for CEOs and founders of established businesses in Africa, Indonesia, and South Asia.

Stanford GSB Affiliations

In the Media

Insights by Stanford Business

December 05, 2023
New ideas never go out of season.
March 20, 2023
A new analysis finds that $2.2 trillion in losses and nervous customers could spark more bank runs.
March 15, 2023
Four finance professors talk about the ongoing risks banks face and the consequences of backstopping uninsured deposits.
November 10, 2022
Younger investors are more willing to put money behind environmental and social goals — even if it’s costlier.
September 16, 2022
As borrowers sought debt relief, non-traditional lenders and loan servicers faced a financial shock.
April 19, 2022
Navigating the line between opportunity and uncertainty in the ESG boom
March 24, 2022
Some of our favorite articles about breakthroughs, biases, and bosses.
December 09, 2021
Months before the company quit flipping houses, Stanford GSB researchers spelled out the risks of iBuying.
February 22, 2021
Congress and many lenders let families skip payments on mortgages and other loans during the pandemic. But those bills haven’t disappeared.
November 19, 2020
We’ve gathered together the most memorable articles, interviews, podcasts, and videos from a year of world-changing events.
August 27, 2020
A forensic analysis reveals that Chinese banks deployed credit cards as a form of “disguised corruption.”
May 07, 2020
In this panel, professors agreed that something needed to be done, fast, to help the economic fallout, but disagreed on federal government’s strategy.
June 24, 2019
Three Stanford scholars explore how we measure innovation, how innovation drives productivity, and how productivity affects inequality.
March 08, 2019
A new study documents how companies shop for sympathetic arbitrators, and how the arbitrators compete for their business.
October 05, 2018
We aren’t nearly as safe as we could be, two Stanford GSB finance experts find.
December 08, 2017
A new big data analysis spanning 200 years of patents shows that innovation bursts in the 1800s had greater social impact.
October 16, 2017
Obama’s 2009 mortgage-modification program would have helped 70% more homeowners if lenders had been better organized.
April 13, 2017
Nearly a decade after the junk-mortgage crash, tech-savvy and lightly regulated lenders are thriving.
March 30, 2017
Male investment advisers commit misconduct at a much higher rate than women do, but women are more likely to get fired.
January 23, 2017
An analysis of 85 years’ worth of patents shows that technological innovation boosts total wealth.

School News

April 05, 2024
Faculty grants spur momentum in Business, Government, and Society initiative
February 08, 2024
Insights and Bites offers evening sessions with an informal vibe
March 31, 2021
A pair of Stanford GSB professors use movies, skits, and Saturday Night Live-style cold opens to teach the “broad and deep applicability of finance.”
December 04, 2020
This biennial award recognizes outstanding contributions from a financial economist under age 40.
June 20, 2018
With the Corporations and Society Initiative, Anat R. Admati hopes to make Stanford GSB a better citizen of the world.
June 15, 2018
Students in the MBA, PhD, and MSx programs honored Professors Amit Seru, Peter Reiss, and Anne Beyer, respectively, for their teaching and service.
November 02, 2016
This fall, the Stanford Graduate School of Business welcomed six new professors — including the 2016 winner of the prestigious John Bates Clark award, Yuliy Sannikov — and 11 lecturers.