FIE448 Banking and Fintech

• Topics

  This is a master-level course covering the basic microeconomic foundations of banking, the role and activities of banks, financial crises and regulation, financial innovation and FinTech, as well as discussions of practical issues related to these theories and developments in the banking sector.

  • Introduction to banking: the role of banks; bank activities and services; types of banking; international banking; financial innovation, FinTech and digital payments.
  • Central banking and bank regulation: the role of central banks and introduction to monetary policies, including open market operations, quantitative easing and the lender of last resort; bank regulation and supervision; bank failures and banking crises.
  • Issues in bank management: banks’ balance sheet and income structure; bank financial management; banking risks including sustainability and climate risks, and bank risk management
  • Recent developments in banking:banks and financial markets, shadow banking, securitisation, mergers and acquisitions in the financial intermediation sector

• Learning outcome

  Knowledge

  After this course, students are expected to:

  • Understand the important economic roles of financial intermediaries, such as the role of commercial banks, investment banks and other financial intermediaries, both in theory and in practice.
  • Understand the important economic roles of central banks.
  • Understand the main activities and services of banks, especially those of commercial banks, both in theory and in practice. These activities reflect the economic roles of banks and are linked to various risks of banks.
  • Understand the main issues related to bank regulation and supervision, bank failures and banking crises.
  • Understand recent financial innovation in the banking sector and their underlying motives. Understand the role of securitisation and how it contributed to the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
  • Know the new developments in the banking sector, such as FinTech and digital payments, and be aware of the main FinTech advances and their motives.
  • Understand the relevance of sustainability to banking, including sustainability and climate risks and their implications for banks and bank risk management.

  Skills

  After this course, students can:

  • Analyze banking, financial crises, financial innovation, and new developments in financial intermediation using the concepts, methods, and knowledge introduced in the course.
  • Apply advanced analytical skills to problems in banking.

  General Competence

  After this course, students will be able to:

  • Understand the economic and financial foundations introduced in the course.
  • Apply relevant concepts and knowledge to analyse practical issues in financial intermediation.
  • Interpret and critically assess the results and analyses presented in academic research on financial intermediation.
  • Apply new knowledge throughout your career.

• Teaching

  The teaching consists of lectures, class discussions and group assignments.

• Compulsory Activity

  Approved two assignments (case studies), completed individually or in groups of 2-5 students.

  Compulsory activities (work requirements) from FIE448 in Spring 2023 and earlier are not valid.

• Assessment

  Assessment method with two parts:

  (1) Final assignment, completed individually or in groups of 2-5 students (30%).

  Students will have approximately 3 weeks to complete the assignment.

  (2) 3-hour digital school exam (70%).

  Both parts are in English, and must be answered in English.

• Grading Scale

  A-F

• Literature

  • Casu, B., C. Girardone & P. Molyneux: Introduction to Banking. 3rd Edition, Pearson, 2022.

• Permitted Support Material

  Calculator

  One bilingual dictionary (Category I)

  All in accordance with Supplementary provisions to the Regulations for Full-time Study Programmes at the Norwegian School of Economics Ch.4 and Examination support material.