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| Semester | spring semester 2020 |
| Course frequency | Every spring sem. |
| Lecturers |
Yvan Lengwiler (yvan.lengwiler@unibas.ch, Assessor)
Kumar Rishabh (kumar.rishabh@unibas.ch) Jorma Juhani Schäublin (jorma.schaeublin@unibas.ch) |
| Content | Banking is an important industry in any modern economy. If this industry performs well, it can be a source of substantial welfare gains. However, history has demonstrated that banking is inherently fragile. Every generation experiences one or multiple banking crises. This is one of the reasons why banking activity is heavily regulated and supervised by government agencies. In this course, we try to answer some of the fundamental questions about banks: why do banks exist? What is their role in the economy? What makes them fragile? We will also study some special topics like bank regulation. |
| Learning objectives | The course consists of lectures, group discussions, student presentations and guest lectures. Lectures discuss some key papers in banking theory. The topics cover the banks' role in intermediating risk, monitoring, liquidity needs. We will also discuss specialized topics like credit rationing, and role of debt in the economy. Students will be assigned papers for presentation that develop these ideas further. We will learn from banking theory to think and discuss about banking crises, regulation and supervision of banks, as well as the future of the banking industry. Students will also be assigned an essay topic (or be able to formulate one themselves). The essays should not be long. More important is a concise discussion of the findings. Some essays are empirical in nature, and we have collected an extensive database on US banks that can be used for such projects. Other essays are more of a theoretical nature. In the middle of the semester each student will discuss their essay topic and a roadmap on how to work on their topic, with the lecturers. |
| Weblink | Weblink to ADAM |
| Admission requirements | Students who wish to participate must have passed at least two of the following four mandatory classes of the MSc in Business and Economics: Game Theory, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Econometrics. Prior knowledge of contract theory is desirable but not mandatory. Students who do not fulfill these requirements are requested to ask for permission before enrolling. |
| Course application | Registration: Please enrol in MOnA. EUCOR-Students and students of other Swiss Universities have to enrol at the students administration office (studseksupport1@unibas.ch) within the official enrolment period. Enrolment = Registration for the exam! |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Specialization Module: Areas of Specialization in International and/or Monetary Economics (Master's Studies: International and Monetary Economics) Specialization Module: Finance, Controlling and Banking (Master's Studies: Business and Economics) Specialization Module: Monetary Economics and Financial Markets (Master's Studies: Business and Economics) |
| Assessment format | end-of-semester examination |
| Assessment details | This course can be taken for credit by graduate students in the GSBE, and by MSc Master students. The grading is different, though. The weights towards the final mark are given in parentheses. MSc students • Presentation of a published paper to the class. (30%) • Preparation of an essay on one of the given topics, or an own topic proposed by the student and agreed by the teachers. (weight: 50%) • Active participation in class. (20%) PhD students • Preparation of a short "referee report" on a published paper and presentation of that paper in class. (20%) • Preparation of an essay. The topic can be one from the given list, but it is welcome if students present their own PhD research if it is related to the topic of the colloquium. Presentation of the essay to the class. (weight: 60%) • Active participation in class (20%) |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Registration: course registration |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | 1-6 0,1 |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Business and Economics , studiendekanat-wwz@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Faculty of Business and Economics |