5155 - INTERNATIONAL BANKING

This course has three main objectives:

• analyze the institutional and economic setting of the international financial markets where major banks operate;
• examine the management problems faced by banks operating in the international financial markets;
• analyze the technical features of the financial instruments negotiated in international financial markets and the characteristics of the markets in which these instruments are issued.

The course includes four main sections:

• the historical evolution of the international monetary system and its implications for the international financial markets;
• the main segments of the international financial markets: the foreign exchange market, the euromarkets, syndicated loans, eurobonds and international bond and equity markets;
• the management policies of international banks: risk management, securitization processes, capital management, funding policies;
• the main problems posed by international financial activities to banking regulation.

• R. LEVICH, International Financial Markets, McGraw-Hill, 2001.

You can choose between the following three options:

1. You take two written exams, one midway through the course (i.e. midterm exam), the other at the end of the course (i.e. final exam). Each written exam consists of two open theory-related questions and one exercise, with 90 minutes time available. You are not allowed to consult books and/or notes during the exam. The final grade will be based on a simple arithmetic average of the two grades. A minimum of 16 for each of the two exams is needed to get the final grade. The average will be rounded to the next integer (for example 21.5 will become 22). 
2. You take only a final general written exam, based on the material covered during the whole course. The exam will consist of three open theory-related questions and one exercise. You will have 120 minutes time available.
3. If you have not taken one of the first two options, on an official exam date, you first take a short written exam, with only one exercise (30 minutes) and no theory. Right after, you take an oral exam on the whole material covered in class. You need to get a minimum grade of 18 to get access to the oral exam. If you start the oral exam, then you cannot withdraw anymore: you have to live with whatever grade you'll receive.