Hokies on Wall Street

Viral V. Acharya is the C.V. Starr Professor of Economics in the Department of Finance at New York University Stern School of Business (NYU-Stern). Viral was a Deputy Governor at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) during 23rd January 2017 to 23rd July 2019 in charge of Monetary Policy, Financial Markets, Financial Stability, and Research. His speeches while at the RBI were released in July 2020 in the form of a book titled “Quest for Restoring Financial Stability in India” (SAGE Publications India), with a new introductory chapter Fiscal Dominance: A Theory of Everything in India. He has been an Academic Advisor to the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago, Cleveland, New York and Philadelphia, and the Board of Governors, and provided Academic Expert service to the Bank for International Settlements, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He is a member of the Climate-related Financial Risk Advisory Committee (CFRAC) of the Financial Stability Oversight Council for 2023-26.

Viral completed Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai in 1995 and Ph.D. in Finance from NYU-Stern in 2001. Prior to joining Stern, he was at London Business School (2001-2008), the Academic Director of the Coller Institute of Private Equity at LBS (2007-09) and a Senior Houblon-Normal Research Fellow at the Bank of England (Summer 2008). At Stern, Viral co-edited the books Restoring Financial Stability: How to Repair a Failed System, John Wiley & Sons, March 2009, Regulating Wall Street: The Dodd-Frank Act and the New Architecture of Global Finance, John Wiley & Sons, November 2010, and Dodd-Frank: One Year On, NYU-Stern and CEPR (released on voxeu.org), July 2011. He is also the co-author of the book Guaranteed to Fail: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Debacle of Mortgage Finance, Princeton University Press, March 2011 and Harper Collins (India), June 2011.

His primary research interest is in theoretical and empirical analysis of systemic risk of the financial sector, its regulation and its genesis in government- and policy-induced distortions, an inquiry that cuts across several other strands of research – credit risk and liquidity risk, their interactions and agency-theoretic foundations, as well as their general equilibrium consequences, as well as climate-change related risks. He has published articles in the American Economic Review, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Review of Finance, Journal of Business, Journal of Financial Intermediation, Rand Journal of Economics, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, and Financial Analysts Journal.

Viral received the inaugural Banque de France – Toulouse School of Economics Junior Prize in Monetary Economics and Finance, 2011, and was awarded the 2017 Alexandre Lamfalussy Senior Research Fellowship of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). He has been a Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher, 2020-22, and his articles have won several best paper prizes at journals and conferences. He is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in Corporate Finance, a Research Affiliate at the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), and Research Associate of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI).

Viral is currently editor of the Journal of Law, Finance and Accounting (2014-16, 2020-), and was an editor of the Journal of Financial Intermediation (2009-12) and associate editor of the Journal of Finance (2011-14).

Viral was the Director of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India and the NYU-Stern Initiative on the Study of Indian Capital Markets, a Director of Western Finance Association, and a member of the Economic Advisory Committee of the Financial Industry Regulation Authority (FINRA), International Advisory Board of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Advisory Council of the Bombay (Mumbai) Stock Exchange (BSE) Training Institute, and Academic Research Council Member of the Center for Advanced Financial Research And Learning (CAFRAL, India). He was also the Deutsche Bank Visiting Chair Professor, National Institute of Securities Markets, India, 2021-22.

I am an accidental banker as a result of a college summer job at United Virginia Bank (later Crestar, now Truist) in my hometown of Radford, Virginia. Upon graduation, I had the good fortune to be hired into the commercial training program at Wachovia Bank & Trust in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I was initially a commercial credit officer, then a commercial relationship manager and from there I moved into increasing levels of management in a wide variety of roles and locations across the country.

I had a long and fulfilling career in a large bank environment before deciding I was ready to be a part of a smaller institution where I could better make an impact and lead strategic direction. My 35-year career has taken me coast to coast, and during my working career I have lived in every time zone in the continental United States! I never imagined I would come full circle and take part in recreating something that has not existed in over 20 years – a Virginia-based regional bank, much like the place where I began my career. It’s good to be home and part of an organization where every Teammate makes a difference.

I am most passionate about unlocking the potential of this great organization for all of our stakeholders – teammates, customers, communities and shareholders. I contribute to my community though various not-for-profit board memberships such as The Virginia Port Authority, Virginia Learns (a partnership between business and the Virginia public K-12 school system) and The Greater Richmond Partnership (a regional economic development organization).

I contribute to my industry through organizations such as The American Bankers Association where I am currently Vice-Chairman and The Mid-Size Bank Coalition of America. I am honored to be a past Chairman of both The Mid-Size Bank Coalition and The Virginia Bankers Association.

Outside of work, my wife and I enjoy travel, the arts and new experiences. I enjoy physical exercise to alleviate stress and stay fit.

I was educated in Virginia, having received my B.S. in Business at Virginia Tech and my MBA at The College of William & Mary.

Mr. Clarke manages a variety of investments in small to mid-sized businesses and serves on a variety of Boards. Mr. Clarke is a senior portfolio advisor at FJ Capital Management assisting in the evaluation and management of investments in the U.S. Financial Services Industry. He is also a manager of the Graystone Investment Fund, an entity focused on the development and operation of multi-family real estate in Virginia. Mike joined the Boards of Virginia Partners Bank and Partners Bancorp (NASDAQ: PTRS) in February 2021. As a representative of FJ Capital, he was appointed February 2021 to the Board of Georgia Banking Company, Inc, Sandy Spring GA in connection with a control acquisition and growth capital placement.

Mr. Clarke served on the Board of Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NASDAQ: AUB), a $17 Billion regional banking company until January 2021 from February 2019 when AUB acquired $3 billion Access National Corporation (NASDAQ: ANCX) where he was CEO. Mr. Clarke started Access as a de novo in 1999 with $10 million of friends and family capital. He spearheaded multiple capital offerings, an equity exchange listing, and acquisitions. At the time of its sale, Access had grown the bank assets to $3 billion; wealth services assets to $2 billion; employment over 400 and a market capitalization exceeding $600 million. The company was repeatedly recognized as one of the top performing banks in the US by The American Banker.

Mike has engineered and delivered billions of dollars in capital for small and mid-sized businesses over 35-years. Prior to organizing Access, he was EVP and Chief Credit Officer of United Bank. He began his career at Crestar Bank upon graduation from Virginia Tech in Finance and Marketing. Mr. Clarke is considered a financial expert in accordance with standards set forth by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Mike has been active in a variety of community and business organizations. Active and past roles include: Virginia Tech Foundation Board of Directors (Audit Chair); Board of Virginia Bankers Association; Board of Business Finance Group (an SBA Certified Development Company), Advisory Board of Salem Halifax Capital Partners; Chairman, Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce; Founding Member & Chair of the IncSpire Business Incubator; Chair of the Finance Advisory Board at Virginia Tech; Chair & Treasurer of the Adult Community Education Foundation; and President of The Pamplin College of Business Advisory Council.

Lauren Lynch is a senior studying finance and accounting at Virginia Tech. She is a member of several honors societies and a Co-CEO of BASIS, the fixed-income investment group at Virginia Tech. This past summer she interned at Bank of America in the investment banking division, and upon graduation, she will be returning to Bank of America as an investment banking analyst in the financial institutions group.

Research:
Dr. Morgan’s research spans investments, corporate finance, and financial institutions and is published in the “elite” finance journals and others including Management Science and IEEE Communications. The main body of his work concentrates on the effects that regulations have on the decisions of banks, other financial institutions, and on financial markets. Issues in capital adequacy were of interest to him decades before stress tests and Basel were so ingrained in the industry and academic vocabulary. Recent work examines market shut-downs and how anticipations of future capital regulations affect the present due to transparency and feedback effects.

Business Experience:
Served as an economist in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and at the CFTC.

Service-related Contributions:
As the founding faculty advisor in 2006 for Bond And Securities Investing By Students (BASIS), the student group that manages a $5mm portfolio of investment grade bonds for the VT Foundation, he continues to shape the experiences of many students at the university. As of 2023, over 200 BASIS alumni have achieved outstanding career and personal success. At various times in his career, he served as Department Head, Director of the PhD Program, Chair of the Finance Promotion and Tenure Committee, and as a member of other committees such as the International Programs Committee. He supervised dissertations for numerous Ph. D. students. He is the coordinator for the Financial Risk Management option, founder of CREDIT (middle market private debt student organization), and continues to be an innovator in experiential learning programs.

Professional Achievements:
Dr. Morgan’s achievements have owed much to collaborators in and outside of the Department. Those achievements include managing a multi-million dollar interdisciplinary research group in engineering and business. He was Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on multiple six-digit interdisciplinary research contracts including NSF-funded research and teaching grants all totaling over $2.1 mm. He created and implemented BASIS (with help from several colleagues) as a vehicle for hundreds of undergraduate students to gain in-depth graduate-level knowledge of fixed income markets and to achieve rapid personal growth.

As Global Chief Data Officer, Jim oversees the strategy, architecture, and implementation of the data and analytics capabilities for the $25+ Billion General Insurance business of AIG. Jim and his team leverage data and analytics into all aspects of the business to improve and transform financial performance, customer/agent/employee experience, operational efficiency, and products/services.
Building on 100 years of experience, American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is a leading global insurance organization serving commercial and individual customers in more than 70 countries and jurisdictions. AIG common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Jim has over 25 years of experience leading data and analytics efforts from idea through execution to impact. Jim has been a successful advisor to senior executives on data driven strategies and has designed and implemented large scale data solutions that have delivered significant business value.

Prior to AIG, Jim was Senior Vice President, Business Insurance Information Management & Analytics at Travelers Insurance Company where he was responsible for leading the information strategy and organization across the $15B Business Insurance segment. Prior to joining Travelers, he held various data and financial roles at Allstate Insurance, Ernst & Young, and U.S. Bancorp.

Jim has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Virginia Tech and an MBA from Purdue University.