Course 2005-2006 a.y.

Course Objectives

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.

Course Content Summary

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.

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

You can choose between the following three options:

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

Textbooks

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