FINANCE 383 : Banking and Financial Institutions
Business and Economics
2020 Semester One (1203) (15 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
This course acts as a bridge for those thinking of going on to honours and those interested in pursuing careers in central banking and the financial services sector. It therefore involves class discussion focusing on current financial market developments including new technologies and their implications and where active student participation is expected. Lecture slides, case studies and other associated material serve as a guide only and do not substitute for the oral presentation. They should be read before coming to class. Lectures are designed to stimulate critical thinking on issues arising either directly or indirectly from these notes, other relevant material and discuss worldwide events that impact financial markets and institutions. Please note that this is NOT your typical undergraduate course. Given the changing industry landscape with Artificial Intelligence and Automation, this course is designed to challenge your way of thinking about financial concepts and applications to the industry and of articulating your own views. It is increasingly important to not just understand concepts but be able to reflect and analyse moving beyond superficial interpretations. If you stay in the course you will enjoy it as many students have done in the past. Students are expected to participate in lively in class debates on a weekly basis and contribute their views to topics discussed in class.
Capabilities Developed in this Course
| Capability 1: | Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice |
| Capability 3: | Solution Seeking |
| Capability 6: | Social and Environmental Responsibilities |
Learning Outcomes
- Understand and describe what modern banks and other financial institutions do, what services they offer, how the payments system works, issues of ethics and sustainability (Capability 1 and 6)
- Describe and explain new technologies and trends in banking such as Blockchain and FinTech (Capability 3)
- Understand and critically evaluate the role of central banks in theory and practice and the role of monetary policy (Capability 1 and 3)
- Understand and critically evaluate the role of banking supervision and regulation (Capability 3)
- Identify, describe and analyse the different types of risk faced by banks and the importance of risk management (Capability 1 and 3)
- Identify and critically evaluate the causes of bank failures, and banking and financial crisis and the role of macro-prudential policy (Capability 3)
Assessments
| Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Test 1 | 25% | Individual Test |
| Test 2 | 25% | Individual Test |
| Test 3 | 18% | Individual Test |
| Assignment | 20% | Group Coursework |
| Participation | 12% | Individual Coursework |
| 5 types | 100% |
| Assessment Type | Learning Outcome Addressed | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |||||
| Test 1 | ||||||||||
| Test 2 | ||||||||||
| Test 3 | ||||||||||
| Assignment | ||||||||||
| Participation | ||||||||||
Workload Expectations
This course is a standard course and students are expected to spend on average 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.
For this course, you can expect 3 hours of lectures, one hour tutorial. Hours of reading and thinking about the content and hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation will vary across individual students and across time although are not expected to be above normal for a level 3 undergraduate paper. It is important to attend lectures and and actively participate in discussion. Attending tutorials is highly recommended since they provide the opportunity to go through exercises and receive feedback that will be useful for the tests.
Learning Resources
Digital Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website at http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Student Feedback
At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter (https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html).
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.