The course explains how global financial markets are regulated: the institutions, committees and policies. We will explain why the financial crisis happened, why it was so destructive, and what that has meant for regulation, and go on to address how the system has performed since then. We will explore the political and economic judgements which lie behind the regulatory system, discuss the role global standards play and examine the threats and challenges which have emerged recently, including climate change, cryptocurrencies and populist calls for deregulation.
Learning Outcomes
1. You will understand the main components of the financial system, and how each of them is regulated internationally and domestically.
2. You will be familiar with the roles of the key international bodies which oversee the financial system,
3. You will understand the trade-offs that need to be made between safety and soundness, on the one hand, and flexible and innovative markets on the other.
4. You will learn how to formulate policy proposals and advocate them.
Professional Skills
You will understand the basics of financial regulation and risk management.
Howard DAVIES
Séminaire
English
- In Class Presence: 4 hours a week (6 weeks) / 24 hours a semester
- Reading and Preparation for Class: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester
- Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 3 hours a week / 36 hours a semester
None.
Autumn 2025-2026
There will be two take-home assignments, each representing 50% of the grade. The will be discussed in class and communicated later.
Feedback on Moodle
1.Global Financial Regulation: the essential guide. Howard Davies and David Green. Polity Press
2. Chapter 2 of Davies and Green, pages 32-48 and 59-78.
3. The growth of finance. Greenwood and Scharfstein. Journal of Economic perspectives Spring 2013
4. Chapter 1 and 2 of The Illusion of Control: Why Financial Crises Happen, and What We Can (and Can't) Do About It", J Danielsson – 9 Aug. 2022
5. Financial Supervisory Architecture: what has changed since the crisis? Financial Stability Institute Insights on policy implementation No.8
6. Have we fixed the fractures in the global financial system? Howard Davies. Financial Stability Institute 20th anniversary conference, March 2019 www.bis.org
7. Rethinking Financial Stability. Andy Haldane. Bank of England 12 October 2017
8. Chapter 13 and 14 of The Illusion of Control: Why Financial Crises Happen, and What We Can (and Can't) Do About It", J Danielsson – 9 Aug. 2022
9. Chapter 4 of Davies and Green: global financial regulation the essential guide.
10. Ccompleting the banking union with a European deposit insurance scheme. Carmassi et al. Oxford Economic Policy January 2020.
11. Digital currencies and the future of the monetary system. Agustin Carstens BIS 27 January 2021. Www.BIS.org.
12. BIS paper 147. Embracing diversity, advancing together – results of the 2023v survey on central-bank digital currency' June 2024
13. The future of fintech and banking. Boston Consulting Group, 2023. www.bcg.com
14. Big techs in finance: regulatory approaches and policy options – March 2021 - https://www.bis.org/fsi/fsibriefs12.htm
15. Humans keeping AI in check – emerging expectations in the financial sector. BIS.FSI.31 www.bis.org
16. Climate change, central banking and financial supervision: beyond the risk exposure approach 2021. Yannis Dafermos. SOAS www.soas.ac.uk
17. Central Banks and Climate Change: mission impossible? Jay Cullen. Journal of Financial Regulation. October 2023.
18. Taking a fresh look at supervision and regulation. Michelle Bowman, 6 June 2025. www.federalreserve.org
19. EUs three biggest countries push for bank deregulation. 4/10/24. www.politico.eu
20.Three lines of defence: a robust organising framework or just lines in the sand? Howard Davies and Maria Zhivitskaya. Global Policy June 2018
21. The Z/Yen Global Financial Centres Index. www.zyen.com
22. Benchmarking financial systems around the world. World Bank WPS 6175, 2012 www.worldbank.org
23. Can Financial Markets be Controlled? Howard Davies. Polity Press 2015.