Module LAWM080 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
LAWM080: International Banking Law
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
The module aims to introduce those students interested in commercial law, international law, and wider development studies to the operation of the international banking and securities finance systems. It aims to give you the opportunity to explore the development and purpose of banking regulations, and to discuss their operation in context, including Fintech. While a key aim is to give you the opportunity to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the law in this area, the module also aims to enable you to evaluate the competing pressures on the banking market today, and the innovative sustainable finance developments. It aims to give students interested in pursuing a career in the area of commercial law a sound introduction to the key principles and practices of international banking law.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
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Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate a detailed and systematic knowledge of the international regulatory structures applied to modern banks, and evaluate whether such structures address the problems of regulation posed by the recent international financial crisis (the so-called credit crunch); 2. Demonstrate a detailed and systematic understanding of the role of bank lending in relation to major infrastructure projects with particular attention to environmental considerations; 3. Demonstrate deep and critical awareness of a wide range of social and contextual implications of the various legal dimensions of international banking; |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. Demonstrate detailed and comprehensive knowledge of international, European Union and UK legal instruments, case-law, statutory materials and critical legal literature as well as critical awareness of their contextual implications; 5. Demonstrate flexible and innovative capacity to analyse complex legal problems, identify the relative significance of applicable rules and principles, and select appropriate methods for investigating and critically evaluating them; 6. Apply detailed and comprehensive legal knowledge to a problem and argue alternative approaches; |
Personal and Key Skills | 7. Identify, retrieve and use the full range of available resources efficiently and autonomously for specific learning tasks; 8. Clarify, plan and undertake tasks confidently and independently, individually and/or with others, to reflect critically on the learning process and to make use of feedback effectively; 9. Work independently, within a limited time frame, to complete a specified task. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover the following topics:
- General history and introduction of the development of modern banking, including shadow banking, securities finance and Fintech
- The structure of international banking regulation in particular the work of the Financial Stability Board and the Bank of International Settlements and Basle I-III Agreements
- European Union Banking regulation in particular the operation of the Single Supervisory Mechanism and the European Banking Authority
- UK banking regulation – the role of the Bank of England, the Prudential Regulatory Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority in relation to the operation of banks
- Old and new currencies, including Bitcoin.
- The regulation of money laundering and terrorist financing
- The banker-customer relationship and the key private law elements of typical banking contracts that are important in relation to business lending
- The law relating to commercial loans – using a syndicated loan as a case study
- Sustainable Finance, the Law and Stakeholders framework.
- The role of multilateral financial institutions (e.g. the World Bank Group) and niche organisations such as the Global Alliance for Banking on Values in bringing regulatory changes for sustainable banking
- Environmental obligations imposed on banks in relation to large scale project finance – and in particular the operation of the Equator Principles
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
---|---|---|
30 | 270 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
---|---|---|
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 3 | 1 x 3 hour introductory lecture session. |
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 9 | 9 x 1 hour overview lectures relating to the material which will be the subject of the following weeks seminar. Lectures which introduce students to particular topics and will provide the foundation for independent guided study. |
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 18 | 9 x 2 hour lecturer-led, two-hour seminars (total of nine). Students will be expected to participate in making at least one presentation, either individually or, if numbers are large, as part of a team, during the course of the seminar programme. |
Guided independent study | 160 | Preparation for seminars, including seminar presentations. |
Guided independent study | 60 | Preparation for (written) formative exercise and summative assessment. |
Guided independent study | 50 | Other guided independent study, such as individual research and reading. |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Use of law databases – such as Westlaw, Lexisnexis, Lawtel as well as the Library Electronic Journals database, to consult especially the Journal of International Banking Law and Regulation. You will also be encouraged to use the FT.com website.
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Written formative exercise | 1,500 words | 1, 3, 9 | Written feedback and provision for individual discussion with students over any concerns or problems |
Team/individual presentation | 30 minutes | 1-3, 8, 9 | Written feedback and provision for individual discussion with students over any concerns or problems |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
---|---|---|
50 | 0 | 50 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
Essay | 50 | 3,750 words | 1-9 | Formal written feedback and an opportunity for oral feedback from the lecturer |
Team presentation | 50 | 45 minutes | 1-9 | Formal written feedback and an opportunity for oral feedback from the lecturer |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
Essay | Essay (3,750 words) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
Team presentation | Individual presentation (15 minutes) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
A. Arora Banking Law (Pearson 2014)
I. Chiu, J. Wilson Banking Law and Regulation (OUP 2019)
L. Dragomir European Prudential Banking Regulation and Supervision: The Legal Dimension (Routledge 2010)
E. P. Elinger, E. Lomnicka, C.V.M Hare Ellinger’s Modern Law of Banking (5th ed.,OUP 2011)
A. Hudson The Law of Finance (Sweet & Maxwell 2013)