Lakshmi Bala, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Banking and Finance at the Weatherhead School of Management, where she has been a faculty member since 2017. She received her PhD and MS from Penn State University, where she specialized in US Commercial Banking, Credit Risk Management, and Quantitative Analytics of credit channels. Her research extensively covers quantitative modeling of credit and operational risk. Her current research and teaching emphasize the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in commercial banking.
Prior to Weatherhead, Dr. Bala served as a Research Economist and Senior Quantitative Specialist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, a role that honed her expertise in Banking Supervision and Regulation. She is a two-time recipient of the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP) Research Fellowship, completing research assignments at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in 2009 and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in 2010.
In addition to her academic and research activities, Dr. Bala is a sought-after expert in the media. She provides insightful analysis of regional banking, the state of U.S. commercial banking, capital markets, and the emerging role of AI in banking. Her ability to communicate complex financial concepts clearly and engagingly has made her a trusted source for media outlets.
Initially Appointed: 2011
Teaching Information
Teaching Interests
Courses Taught
Office Hours
By Appointment Only
Research Information
Research Interests
• Credit risk management
• Regtech, Fintech and banking
• Financial inclusivity and accessibility
• Markets at the margin
• Fintech and impact of AI on commercial banking
• Advanced analytics in commercial banking stress testing
Awards and Honors
External Appointments
- Faculty Senate Committee on Undergraduate Education, 2022 - present
- Faculty Advisor, Women in Finance, 2020 - Nov. 2024
Publications
- Balasubramanyan, L., Daniel, N., Haubrich, J., & Naveen, L. Causal Impact of Risk Oversight Functions on Bank Risk: Evidence from the Dodd-Frank Act. Journal of Banking and Finance 158 (2024).
- Balasubramanyan, L., Berger, A., & Koepke, M. (2019). How Do Banks Use Their Private Information in the Syndicated Loan Market? Journal of Financial Stability, 43(2019), pp 53-78.
- Balasubramanyan, L., Thomson, J.B., & Zaman, S. (2017). Evidence of Forward-Looking Loan Loss Provisioning with Credit Market Information. Journal of Financial Services Research, 52(2017), pp 191-223.
- Balasubramanyan, L., Thomson, J.B., Craig, B. & Zaman, S. (2016). Credit Market Information Feedback. Atlantic Economic Journal, Volume 44(3), pp 405-407.
- Balasubramanyan, L., and VanHoose, D. (2013). Bank Balance Sheet Dynamics under a Regulatory Liquidity-Coverage Ratio (LCR) Constraint. Journal of Macroeconomics, Volume 37, No. 1, pp 53-67.
- Balasubramanyan, L., and Coulson, E. (2013). Do House Prices Impact Business Starts? Journal of Housing Economics, Volume 22, No. 1, pp 36-44.
- Balasubramanyan, L., Stefanou, S., & Stokes, J. (2012). Generalized Maximum Entropy Approach to Commercial Bank Size and Variance Heterogeneity in Risk. Journal of Economics and Finance, Vol 36, No.3, pp 728-749.
- Balasubramanyan, L., Stefanou, S., & Stokes, J. (2010). Declining Cost Efficiency as a Signal of Increasing Bank Vulnerability: An Entropy-Based Approach. Applied Economics Letters, Volume 17(18), pp 1769-1778.
- Balasubramanyan, L. and Ramesh, M. (2010). How well is Productivity Being Priced? Journal of Economics and Finance, Volume 34, No. 4, pp 415-429.
- Balasubramanyan, L., Stokes, J., & Dressler, J. (2008). Credit Risk Rating Migration and Unobserved Borrower Heterogeneity. Agricultural Finance Review, Volume 68, Issue 2, pp 237-253.
Presentations
- Balasubramanyan, L. (Panelist/Discussant) AIRA- Annual Conference on Credit Risk and Loan Portfolio Quality Issues, "State of Banking Industry: where are we post-COVID?", Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors (AIRA), Cleveland OH . (2022).
- Balasubramanyan, L. (Presenter & Author) NBER Summer Institute : Risks of Financial Institutions, "Causal Impact of Risk Oversight Functions on Bank Risk: Evidence from a Natural Experiment", National Bureau of Economic Research, Boston, MA. (2019).
Education
Residencies, Internships and Fellowships
Additional Information
Grants
NSF ReDDDoT Phase 1: Planning Grant: Designing a Responsible AI-enabled Digital Service Ecosystem in Finance and Healthcare , Co-PI (2024, 2025)