Course 2015-2016 a.y.

Go to class group/s: 31

CLMG (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/11) - M (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/11) - IM (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/11) - MM (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/11) - AFC (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/11) - CLAPI (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/11) - CLEFIN-FINANCE (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/11) - CLELI (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/11) - ACME (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/11) - DES-ESS (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/11) - EMIT (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SECS-P/11)

Course Director:
ANNA EUGENIA OMARINI

Course Objectives

The terms ‘retail banking’ or ‘retail bank’ refer to that most relevant part of the banking sector that offers a broad range of services (payments, investments, financing, and non-financial services) to private clients, families and small-and medium-sized businesses. Usually, it contributes for more than 80 percent of a bank total income. The retail banking services are offered to the market and distributed through a network of bank branches, financial planners/advisers and high-tech driven devices.

The aim of the course is to provide an adequate representation of the actions, tools, and the critical factors needed to create and protect value in the retail bank.
During the course, we will also approach the main changes accruing in the market, both endogenous (regulation, market integration, competition, decline in interest rates, etc.), and exogenous (the digital revolution and the fintech phenomena, demographic trends, etc.) which have been shaping the industry for some time.

The setting of the course is interdisciplinary, to take account of the different profiles relevant to manage the bank as a business services. Given that the course is focused on providing professional knowledge and effective tools. In pursuing these goals, we assume a dual perspective of analysis, namely:
- Those working within retail banks, and
- Those who, for various reasons, are called to collaborate with retail banks as external partners (consultants, technology vendors, and others).

In order to propose a close link between theory and practice, exposure to fundamental theoretical concepts will be supported by examples and business cases thanks to the presence of professionals from different institutions, such as banks (domestic and foreign), consulting firms and supervisory authorities (Bank of Italy and Consob). Each of them will bring their own particular perspective to the course.

Course Content Summary

The course consists of lectures and group assignments, which are an integral part of the program.
The course aims to achieve three levels of cognitive objectives:

1. Understanding the retail banking business in order to:

• Define the main scope and content.
• Recognize its core aspects relevant to the market and its development.
• Outline the competition (incumbents versus fintech companies).
• Outline market trends in Europe and other foreign markets.

2. Understanding how to manage a retail bank business effectively so as to:

• Explore how the bank business models work.
• Define its balance (economic and financial).
• Outline the organization dimension and the main management levers.
  
  

3. Achieving an integrated vision of the retail banking business, taking account of the changes that are taking place at the regulatory, technological and consumer level. The main goals are to:

• Define and understand the regulatory framework at both national and international level.
• Understand the impact of the digital economy in the retail banking business.
• Assess the evolution in the consumption of banking and financial services and its impacts over the business model.

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

No mid-term exam is scheduled.

For students attending:

• The exam is oral. The contents refer to the textbook and the material made available on the course website (teaching notes, lectures and slides), in addition to the evidence from the guest speakers, which will be an integral part of the course and therefore the final exam.
  
  

The final evaluation will take into account:

• oral exam (50%)
• work project (30%)
• class participation (20%).

There will be a formal presentation of the best work projects. And in addition, there will be a company visit to Banca Mediolanum (which is the Course donor). During the visit there will be a company presentation, and meetings with managers to evaluate the possibilities of internships within their organization.

For those not attending:

• The exam is oral. The contents refer to the textbook and the material made available on the course website (teaching notes and slides).

The final evaluation will be exclusively by oral examination and it will not be possible to integrate marks obtained in group work, which can only be carried out by attending students.

Textbooks

For attending and non-attending students:

• A. Omarini, 2015, Retail Banking. Business Transformation and Competitive Strategies for the Future, Palgrave MacMillan
• A set of articles and teaching notes available on the course website.

Exam textbooks & Online Articles (check availability at the Library)

Last change 20/10/2015 09:33