Financial Institutions and Crises

Introduction

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.

Course content

(Details may vary from year to year)

1. Credit markets and asymmetric information
2. Banks and other financial intermediaries
3. Securitization and credit derivatives
4. Government regulations
5. Major financial crises (recent and historical)
6. Case study(ies)