Banking and International Finance

Core modules:

• Global Banking

  • 15 credits
  • 3 hours per week in lectures
  • 12 hours per week self directed study

  This module aims to provide students with an insight into the major features of the banking business and to provide a framework for the understanding of the different types of banks and banking activities.

• Financial Statements Analysis

  • 15 credits
  • 3 hours per week in lectures
  • 12 hours per week self directed study

  The ability to understand and analyse financial statement information is a key skill in a wide range of business activities, from managing a corporation to investing in securities.

  The overall aim of this module is to help students learn and practice a variety of financial statement analysis techniques which can support business decision-making processes.

• Principles of Finance and Valuation

  • 15 credits
  • 3 hours per week in lectures
  • 12 hours per week self directed study

  The module is fundamental to financial decision-making in an uncertain and risk-averse world, from which important branches of finance are developed.

  To develop a coherent understanding of the functioning of financial markets and instruments, in conjunction with in-depth examinations of investor behaviour and the valuation principles for major categories of financial securities.

  The module covers major topics and addresses fundamental issues in finance, with regard to investors, behaviour, asset pricing, fixed income securities and equity valuation.

• Data Analytics for Banking and Finance

  • 15 credits
  • 3 hours per week in lectures
  • 12 hours per week self directed study

  This module provides an overview of analytical methods used in the financial industry for understanding the interdependencies of financial, commodity and macroeconomic data, the random wandering behaviour of asset prices, the rapidly changing volatility in financial returns.

• Research Methods in Modern Finance (runs over terms 1 & 2)

  Strong research is a key element of development strategy for companies and institutions large and small. This module aims to provide a grounding in financial research, particularly financial modelling and information gathering which you will be able to use to support your learning on the rest of your course.

  The module will utilise specific training in a financial modelling package in order to provide a strong foundation for the in-depth and specialist teaching and learning of terms two and three of your course.

  You will also learn how to gather information through database research, which you will be able to use to support your learning, substantiate your arguments and make assessments about the nature of the evidence you are using.

You'll take two core and two elective modules

Core modules:

• Bank Risk Management

  • 15 credits
  • 3 hours per week in lectures
  • 12 hours per week self directed study

  This module provides the conceptual framework necessary to understand the risk management problems confronting banks and financial regulators. These topics are discussed in relation to the 2008/09 financial crisis, key regulatory reforms following the financial crisis, and ongoing global changes such as opportunities and threads to the banking industry and the broader financial sector from FinTech/BigTech entrants.

• International Finance

  • 15 credits
  • 3 hours per week in lectures
  • 12 hours per week self directed study

  In recent years there has been a trend towards globalisation. That has impacted on all financial decisions and has necessitated the understanding of international financial markets.

Elective modules, choose from:

• Corporate Finance

  • 15 credits
  • 3 hours per week in lectures
  • 12 hours per week self directed study

  Building on term one’s finance modules, this module provides an in-depth analysis of the theory and international practice of capital structure decisions, dividend and cash policy, valuation, and mergers and acquisitions.

• Fixed Income

  • 15 credits
  • 3 hours per week in lectures
  • 12 hours per week self directed study

  This module will look at forward rates and par rates, swap rates and interest rate swaps, duration, convexity, and hedging, hedging with interest rate derivatives, a brief introduction to term structure models.

• Alternatvive Investments

  • 15 credits
  • 3 hours per week in lectures
  • 12 hours per week self directed study

  This course will give you the tools necessary to understand these alternative asset classes and to understand how they can be integrated into more traditional portfolios.

• Topics in M&A

  • 15 credits
  • 3 hours per week in lectures
  • 12 hours per week self directed study

  This module will provide an understanding of the main drivers of the market for corporate control, as well as an understanding of the importance of this market within the context of the overall economy. It looks at pre and post acquisition, financial analysis and regulatory framework

In term three you will choose from either

• A Business Research Project (40 credits) and one elective (10 credits)
• An Applied Research Project (20 credits) and three electives (10 credits each)
• Five electives (10 credits each).

Electives offered in 2021

• Behavioural Finance
• Ethics, Society and the Finance Sector
• Financial Crime
• Financial Statement Analysis & Valuation in Banks
• Hedge Funds
• Investment Banking in Corporate Finance
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Private Equity Investment
• Trading and Market Microstructure.

International electives

• FinTech (taught in Italy)
• Investment Strategy (taught in New York, USA)

Please note that electives are subject to change and availability.

Business Research Project

• Business Research Project

  It is important for aspiring professionals to demonstrate, on an individual basis, their ability to apply concepts and techniques they have learned in an in-depth study of a topic of their choice and to organise their findings in a report, all conducted within a given time limit.

  To train you to undertake individual research and provide you with an opportunity to specialise in a contemporary business or finance topic related to your future career aspirations.

  You are required to submit a project of approximately 10,000 words on any subject area covered in the rest of the programme.

  Typical projects can involve any of the following: extracting data from electronic databases or by hand; statistical analysis of large or small populations; interviews; case studies of an industry or a sector or of a business / finance issue in a particular country setting.

• Applied Research Project

  The aim of this module is to enable you to demonstrate how to integrate your learning in core and elective modules and then apply this to the formulation and completion of an applied research project. You will be required to demonstrate the skills and knowledge that you have acquired throughout your MSc study.

  You will undertake a short piece of applied research on a question of academic and/or practical relevance. Guidelines will be provided in order to help you identify the research question. Based on your chosen topic, you must write a report of around 3,000–5,000 words that summarises and critically evaluates your method and your findings.

See the MSc in Banking and International Finance programme specification.