Banks and other financial institutions should allocate capital in proportion to the marginal default value of each line of business, which is the derivative of the value of the bank's default put with respect to a change in the scale of the business. Marginal default values give a unique...

We develop a model of internal governance where the self-serving actions of top management are limited by the potential reaction of subordinates. Internal governance can mitigate agency problems and ensure that firms have substantial value, even with little or no external governance by...