GRA 6546 Financial Institutions and Crises
GRA 6546 Financial Institutions and Crises
This course seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of international credit markets and some of the important crises that have occurred in the last century (esp. 1980s and the 2008 financial crisis). It covers the financial instrument and institutions that exist and operate in credit markets, with a special emphasis on the role of banks, but also considers other financial institutions. Credit provision in the form of bank lending, securitization and structured financial products such as credit derivatives and CDOs will be studied. The role of government regulations, and how these may impact market participants incentives and behaviour, will also be addressed. This also includes financial institutions' engagement with the sustainable development goals of the UN. The course contains a mix of theory, institutional aspects and case studies of actual events.
- To understand how the asymmetric information in credit markets make these markets different from other markets and gives rise to moral hazard and adverse selection problems
- To understand how a well-functioning financial services industry supports economic development and welfare
- Illustrate how technologies and nonsustainable practices in financial institutions can act as a driver of financial crises
- Ability to identify concrete situations of adverse selection or moral hazard
- Ability to calculate key regulatory capital ratios for banks
- Familiarity with institutional characteristics of international credit markets and financial institutions
- Familiarity with the economics of asymmetric information
(Details may vary from year to year)
- Credit markets and asymmetric information
- Banks and other financial intermediaries
- Securitization and credit derivatives
- Government regulations
- Major financial crises (recent and historical)
- Case study(ies)
- Lectures with built-in class discussions
- Group work of cases on financial crisis and regulation
- Pursuant general class discussion of the cases
- Guest lecture (e.g., financial regulator or industry)
The exam for this course has been changed starting academic year 2023/2024. The course now has two exam codes instead of one. It is not possible to retake the old version of the exam. Please note new exam codes in the Exam section of the course description.
It is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class.
Honour Code
Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and represent values that are encouraged and promoted by the honour code system. This is a most significant university tradition. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the ideals of the honour code system, to which the faculty are also deeply committed. Any violation of the honour code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for cheating. These issues are a serious matter to everyone associated with the programs at BI and are at the heart of the honour code and academic integrity. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honour code, please ask.
All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.
Disclaimer
Deviations in teaching and exams may occur if external conditions or unforeseen events call for this.
| Assessments |
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Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Invigilation Weight: 30 Grouping: Individual Support materials:
Duration: 1 Hour(s) Comment: Written mid-term examination under supervision Exam code: GRA 65462 Grading scale: ECTS Resit: Examination when next scheduled course |
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Invigilation Weight: 70 Grouping: Individual Support materials:
Duration: 3 Hour(s) Comment: Written final examination under supervision Exam code: GRA 65463 Grading scale: ECTS Resit: Examination when next scheduled course |
All exams must be passed to get a grade in this course.
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.