Module Description
The module deals with banking regulation and supervision, and the bank – customer relationship. The first part introduces banks as important economic and social institutions and their regulation in a domestic, EU, and global context. The second part focuses on some key services commonly provided by banks in the course of the bank – customer relationship and analyses relevant legal issues such as contractual fairness, the bank's duty of confidentiality, and the potential for transactional and advisory liability. The module adopts a dynamic approach that balances theoretical perspectives, legal policy and the principles contained in statutes, cases and commercial custom. It does not assume any prior knowledge of banking practice, but it does expect that students will quickly develop a keen interest in financial institutions and markets.
Aims and Objectives
The module seeks to:
- Introduce banks, banking law and the business of banking;
-Equip students with detailed knowledge about the institutions involved in banking regulation and supervision in the United Kingdom and the European Union;
-Introduce the key banking transactions and their legal implications;
-Enable students to appreciate the political, social and economic forces underlying the dynamism and evolution of the financial industry and attempts to regulate the resulting processes and supervise the relevant institutions; and
-Equip students with the analytical tools for analysing domestic banking transactions and applying the relevant law to scenarios drawn from real-life situations.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module students will be able to:
- Review, consolidate and extend their understanding of the legal regulation and supervision of the UK and EU banking industry and the bank-customer relationship in the UK;
- Explain in a systematic and detailed manner the structure and operations of the institutions involved in banking regulation and supervision in the UK and the links with banking regulation and supervision in the EU;
- Assess the success of banking reforms that have taken place both at the domestic and the EU level;
- Analyse key banking transactions and their legal implications and apply the law to scenarios concerning such transactions;
- Critically evaluate arguments, legal issues and practical situations, and frame appropriate solutions to the main issues arising in the banking services sector; and,
- Communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions concerning banking regulation and the banker customer relationship to both specialist and non-specialist audiences