Learning objectives
In addition to considering the specific characteristics of banks and
appraise their role in a modern society, the course aims to give an in depth overview of the FinTech Industry: the FinTech companies - which
are radically innovating the way financial services are built and offered -,
their activities and related risks are examined. Additionally, the course
provides an overview of the main strategies that incumbents are
following in the new market conditions and the main challenges in
FinTech security and regulation.
At the end of the course the students will acquire:
1) the knowledge necessary to understand the features and the evolution
of the banking system in the fintech era;
2) the ability to apply knowledge in order to understand the impact of the
main environment forces of change on the strategies and performance of
both banks and FinTech companies.
3) the ability to appraise the role of banks and FinTech companies in a
modern society, even in the social and ethical point of view
4) the ability to use a fair technical language;
5) learning skills through problem solving method.
Prerequisites
There are no formal prerequisites other than those set by the
Department, but a good basic knowledge of Financial Markets and Institutions is strongly recommended.
Course unit content
This course consists of two sections. The first module involves the study
of modern commercial bank management, reasons for regulation,
economics of banking, risk management including recent changes in
banking and finance. The second module deals specifically with the
'Fintech companies', which are breaching former banking strongholds and
are defining the standard of digital banking with their technological
innovations. This section essentially examine how digitalization is
transforming the market conditions in the financial sector and seeks to
provide an adequate representation of tools, actions, strategies, ways of
execution and consequences of the 'FinTech revolution'.
Full programme
The first section, aimed at understanding the financial services industry,
will cover the following topics:
- Financial regulation and supervision
- Organizational Structure
- The Financial Services Distribution Channel Model
- The balance sheet
- Risk Management
The second section will cover the following topics:
- The Fintech ecosystem (definitions, origins and relevance of the
phenomenon, taxonomy of the main Fintech Business Applications)
- Digital currency, smart contract, blockchains, and distributed ledgers
- Fintech and the retail banking sector
- Asset management and robo-advisors
- PSD2 and open banking
- Technology innovation in insurance (Insurtech)
- The regulatory challenges of Fintech.
Bibliography
• First part: Ruozi R., Economia della banca, Egea, 2020
• Second part: Course lecture notes, provided by the professor, and other
relevant materials (articles, cases, reports, news articles) available on the
Elly platform.
Teaching methods
Face-to face interactive lessons (case studies and assignments),
seminars, guest speakers.
The main topics of the course will be pointed out during lessons.
Applying knowledge and understanding: assignments
Making judgments: students will be induced to judge strength and
weakness of the main strategies different actors are developing in the
market.
Learning skills: every topic will be discussed beginning from the
illustration of the problem and then analyzing the given solution.
Communication skills: the meaning of each term used by the financial
community will be explained.
Assessment methods and criteria
One hour written examination.
The Knowledge of the topics of the course will be find out by:
- 10 multiple-choice questions each evaluated 2 mark;
- 2 open question (theory questions) 6 points each;
Applying knowledge will be find out by multiple-choice questions.
Communication skills, making judgments and learning skills will be find
out by analyzing the answers to the 2 open questions cited above.
The “lode” is awarded if the highest score is reached in every question.
The final grade will be published in esse3 within 8 days of taking the
exam.
The fulfillment of the written test can be replaced by the succesful
completion of partial written tests, scheduled during the course. The
structure of the partial tests could be the same as the whole tests. If not,
detailed information will be made readily available on the Elly platform.
Devices such as smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, etc. will be strictly
forbidden.
Other information
Note that the lecture slides (which are made available on the Elly portal)
should not be considered as a substitute for the course textbook. They supplement it at most.
