Section outline

  • A.Y. 2019-2020 / Second semester - 6CFU

    Course objectives

    This course aims at introducing the economic and business role of financial markets, by focusing on financial institutions and the products or services that they provide. 

    The course will adopt an international perspective, by looking mainly at the US and EU markets and by considering all financial events on a global scale.

    Participants will be able to understand the rationale for the existence of financial markets and institutions, the prevailing limitations to their functioning as well as the issues of their management, both qualitatively and quantitatively.


    The official Syllabus can be found here.


    The following list links class topics to book chapters (chapters may differ due to different book editions, some chapters are available only online).

    • Financial markets: overview:
      • 1 Why Study Financial Markets and Institutions?
      • 2 Overview of the Financial System
      • 7 Why Do Financial Institutions Exist?
      • 18 Financial Regulation"
    • Interest rates
      • 3 What Do Interest Rates Mean and What Is Their Role in Valuation?
      • 4 Why Do Interest Rates Change?
      • 5 How Do Risk and Term Structure Affect Interest Rates?"
    • Market efficiency and behavioural finance
      • 6 Are Financial Markets Efficient? (NOTE: Behavioural finance is not covered explicitly in your book)
    • Money markets
      • 11 The Money Markets
    • Bond markets
      • 12 The Bond Market
    • Stock markets
      • 13 The Stock Market
    • Mortgage markets
      • 14 The Mortgage Markets
    • The Forex 
      • 15 The Foreign Exchange Market
      • 16 The International Financial System
    • Financial crisis 
      • 8 Why Do Financial Crises Occur and Why Are They So Damaging to the Economy?
      • 25 Financial Crises in Emerging Market Economies (online chapter)
    • Central banks and monetary policy 
      • 9 Central Banks
      • 10 Conduct of Monetary Policy
    • Banks 
      • 17 Banking and the Management of Financial Institutions
      • 19 Banking Industry: Structure and Competition
    • Mutual funds
      • 20 The Mutual Fund Industry
    • Insurance and pensions
      • 21 Insurance Companies and Pension Funds
    • Other intermediaries 
      • 22 Investment Banks, Security Brokers and Dealers, and Venture Capital Firms
      • 26 Savings Associations and Credit Unions (online chapter)
      • 27 Finance Companies (online chapter)
    • Derivatives
      • 23 Risk Management in Financial Institutions
      • 24 Hedging with Financial Derivatives