COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: COMPARATIVE BANKING

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
BAF 335	B	5	3	0	0	3	5

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	NA
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Dr. Chrysanthi Balomenou cbalomenou@epoka.edu.al , Wednesday 14:00 - 16:00 pm
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	NA
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Compulsory
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Bachelor in Banking and Finance (3 years)
Classroom and Meeting Time:	On Wednesday E-B32 10:40 am - 13:30 pm
Code of Ethics:	Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement:	A minimum rate of 75% is required for the student to enter the final examination.
Course Description:	BAF 335 - Comparative Banking: Economists, financial specialist, national policy makers, businesses, and analysts in countries everywhere must deepen their understanding and sharpen their awareness of foreign financial systems. The course compares key characteristics of banks and banking systems across countries. International comparisons can reveal trends and norms that might be useful in analyzing national banking and financial policies, and an awareness of banking and financial systems in other countries can promote the realization that national financial policies are likely to have an impact across borders. The increased globalization and interconnectedness of business and finance provides one set of motives for this effort. The course deals with four fundamental aspects of international banking: the structure of banking, with emphasis on the connection between the development of the banking system and economic growth; banking industry performance; banking regulation, supervision, and corporate governance; and banking crises.
Course Objectives:	Basing on the above mentioned description, the course aims, on one hand, to give an analytic comparison of different banking systems in the world by identifying the main aspects regarding financial indicators and performance, regulation and bank supervision, economic impact, path of financial and economic development and the identification of the main problems and difficulties. And on the other hand to provide new interdisciplinary and comparative answers as to why banking sectors in 'liberal' and 'coordinated' market economies operated under a shared set of rules during the Global Financial Crisis and in this way, by bringing together a good mix of academics and practitioners ideas and respective literature for a discussion that focuses on how to change financial practice and the academic field of finance in order to understand the current financial crisis and deal with future turbulent financial times. Through careful analyzes of all these aspects the course emphasizes the main advantages and disadvantages of each banking system and draws conclusions regarding the best practices to be taken in consideration during the decision-making processes of banks and policy makers. In addition, the course aims at showing the improvement of the regulation of banks, as far as the establishment of new Regulatory Institutions, to prevent another crisis and providing an insightful and measured comparative analysis, by reference to the themes of financial stability, price stability, prudential regulation and the increased regulatory role of central banks. Moreover, in this course we examine how different jurisdictions have struck the balance between financial innovation and financial stability, by considering the prudential regulatory of the U.S, U.K., Europe, Japan and discuss how the institutional structures of financial regulation affect or influence the quality of the implementation of financial stability policies. While in parallel, we, critically, analyze and interpret the implemented by the central banking system in USA, E.U, United Kingdom and in a way in Japan, conventional and unconventional polices, especially, during crisis periods. Finally, in this course we investigate and analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the Banking System.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	Comparative Banking
2	Different types of secondary banking
3	Classical Version of Lender of Last Resort Facility
4	Revised Version of LOLR Facility

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Introduction of the syllabus, academic writing rules (a refreshment of the already taught in the first-year key elements of the academic writing well-adjusted to the needs of the comparative banking course) and discussion on the indicative project topics. More specifically we are going to analyze the key parts of the syllabus and afterwards we will be based on the way that we are going to proceed with the elaboration of the team working projects. In order the students to be facilitated more, during this introductory lecture it will be presented some indicative topics or in a broader way reliable scientific areas of the examining field, which could be chosen purely by the students or they can be based on them in order to form their own topic.
2	Different types of secondary banking under the umbrella of the respective regulatory framework (The Economics of Money, Banking, and Financial Markets, Mishkin, 2016, p. 84-91 and p.274, 275). More specifically, this week's lecture is going to be based on a detailed presentation and critical analysis, backed by Swot, per presenting period, Analysis of the milestones of the time evolution of the International, mainly secondary, Banking System, in the framework of the reliable regulatory framework, starting from the period of the awake of the first Global Financial Crisis of 1929 and the vote in 1933, of Glass Steagall Act framework (The Economics of Money, Banking, and Financial Markets, Mishkin, 2016, p. 302)(ECB Working Paper Series: Financial intermediation and technology: What’s old, what’s new?, p.14) till the post Global Financial Crisis of 2007 (i.e. till the enactment of the Dodd Frank Act in 2010 (Congressional Research Service: The FED’s response to COVID-19, Policy issues p.7, 14, 22)
3	Classical Version of Lender of Last Resort Facility (Financial Crises, Contagion, and the Lender of Last Resort, by Oxford University Press, 2009, p.109-126) (ECB Working Paper Series: Benefits and Costs of liquidity regulation p.7, 13, 34) and relevant critical analysis, Justifying the backing of the secondary Banking System (Commercial, Retail, Investment and Corporate Banking), by the Central Bank at national and European level, under circumstances of economic normalcy. Here, we are going to critically explain scientific topics referring to the history of the definition of the LOLR and its origin as one of the main components of the Financial Safety Net. Afterwards, we are elaborating a comparison analysis between LOLR, Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) (Emergency Liquidity Assistance and Systemic Risk, Lastra, p.236, 239, 241, 254, 260)(Banking and Finance Law Review, Revisiting the LOLR, p.456) and The European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF). Furthermore, this chapter is focusing on a very detailed presentation of the function and main principles of the classical version of LOLR, highlighting the huge importance of its 2 main components (Moral Hazard and Deliberate Constructive Ambiguity). Campbell, A.& Lastra R, 2009, p.464-465 Herr, H,2014, p.60-61
4	Revised Version of LOLR Facility (Financial Crises, Contagion, and the Lender of Last Resort, by Oxford University Press, 2009, P. 109-126 and p.169-186) (Banking and Finance Law Review, Revisiting the LOLR, p.490-495) and relevant critical analysis, Justifying the backing of the secondary Banking System (Commercial, Retail, Investment and Corporate Banking), by the Central Bank at national and European level, under circumstances of turmoil and financial crises. Actually, in this week' s lecture we are concentrating on a detailed description and critical explanation of the alterations of each one of the initially presented principles, under the classical version of LOLR facility that are absolutely necessary to be done in order to meet the needs of a recession period. In parallel, special attention is paid to the respective modifications of the components of LOLR, in crisis periods.
5	ECB, FED and BoE conventional and unconventional policies during financial crisis periods (Teaching notes on the ECB vs the FED in the light of the global financial crisis, Balomenou 2020). ECB, FED and BoE conventional and unconventional policies during financial crisis periods. In a more analytical way, during this week s lecture, we are focusing, firstly on the first phase and afterwards on the second one of the Global Financial. Crisis , pinpointing the key strategies and policies that were adopted and implemented in both sides of the Atlantic by the Central Banking in order to support the Secondary Banking and in a broader way the Financial Stability, as far as the Economic Development and Growth, highlighting and justifying relatively, why the prioritization of the goals is subject to the mission of each one of the Banks (FED, ECB, BoE mainly), as referred on the respective Treaties. The whole theoretical grounds are accompanying by reliable authentic statistics.
6	Comparison analysis and related dilemmas. More specifically, during this lecture, the main aim is to cultivate more the critical thinking of our students, by combining a comparison analysis, basing on the previous lecture and being expanded more by the interference of some crucial dilemmas like the ones of : Risk management vs Standard economic policy, Credit Easing vs Quantitative Easing, Conventional vs Unconventional monetary policies and relevant SWOT ANALYSIS and Rules vs. Discretion in Monetary Policy under the Banking Sector (Teaching notes on Critical analysis between ECB’s and FED’s unconventional monetary policies during the second phase of the crisis, Balomenou 2020). Finally, recapping all the already mentioned, we are crystallizing what lessons could be learned in the light of the current financial crisis, in order the Banking System to be resilient and stable (ECB’s Working Paper Series: Monetary policy and its transmission in a globalized world, p. 23, 35, 40, 48)
7	Revision. We are recapping all the already taught subjects, by pinpointing the highlights of them concentrating on those that are needing, due to their nature, more attention in terms of critical analysis and combination of different reliable topics.
8	Midterm Exam
9	Presentation of group projects. The students divided into groups composed of 3-5 members are presenting, using power point system, their teamworking projects, that have been previously submitted to their professor. Each team member is presenting his/hers's own contribution part of the project presentation.
10	ECB and FED conventional and unconventional policies as a response to the COVID - 19 pandemic crisis. Here we are examining, in the first part of the lecture separately each one of the cases, underlying the challenges posed by the pandemic into the Banking Sector (ECB Working Paper Series: The great lockdown: pandemic response policies and bank lending conditions, p. 23-26). While in the second part, we are presenting, per case, the forceful monetary and fiscal policy measures applied during the crisis, which have enabled the financing costs of European and American banks (Congressional Research Service: The FED’s response to pandemic crisis: Policy Issues, p. 15-19) to remain very low and consequently to alleviate the deriving malfunctions. In the third part, we are pinpointing the main differences that are focusing mainly on the fact that in the case of Europe, major attention paid on the Fiscal policy measures (i.e. Recovery and Resilience Facility fund) due to the absence of common fiscal policy, whereas in the US case, due to the existence of the common Fiscal Policy, the monetary issues towards the bad effects of COVID -19 Crisis are taken more into consideration. Finally, into our concluding remarks part it is figuring out that it has to be continued, in both sides of the Atlantic, the close monitoring of financial institutions and markets, to ensure that they continue to provide the necessary flow of credit to the economy, and of financial stability risks stemming from this crisis. In parallel, it must continue to adopt measures to mitigate the new risks and, naturally, stand ready to provide an appropriate International response should such risks materialize, under the umbrella of a global banking regulation and close cooperation and by involving a wide range of stakeholders.
11	Banking Safety Net and the vicious cycle of sovereign banking nexus (ECB Working Paper Series: Managing the sovereign-banking nexus, 2018, p.5-7, 35-40). In this lecture, it is presenting: a) The necessity of the establishment of the Financial – Banking Safety Net (ECB Working Paper Series: Managing the sovereign-banking nexus, 2018, p.23-28), b)The problems and main components and goals of the it, c)Time evolution of the changes made to the monitoring - management of the Financial Safety Net assets, d)The status of the Financial Safety Net, before and after the European Banking Union’s establishment, e)Market Discipline Mechanism vs Financial Safety Net.
12	The new regulatory framework of EBU and its strengths and drawbacks (The Political Economy of European Banking Union, by Oxford University Press, 2016, p.8-24). This week's lecture is dealing with the new trends in the comparative banking under the umbrella of the new regulatory framework of European Banking Union (EBU), having being structured as follows: First part: a)EBU's Mission and Scope, b)EBU's Participants, c)EBU's 3 main Pillars/Mechanisms: c1) The Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM: establishment, function, tasks, objectives, main principles, Cooperation with other European institutions and bodies and Legislative-regulatory framework), c2)The Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM: Establishment – Function, Main components and their tasks and missions, Main tools - Restructuring Plans: 1)General characteristics - Importance. 2)Living will, 3)Their components (Recovery and Resolution Plans' objectives and activation),c2a) SRM cooperation with SSM and potential forms of this cooperation, c3) Legislative- Regulatory framework, d)Harmonized deposit guarantee Scheme (HDGSs: Establishment – Objectives, Legislative- Regulatory framework), Second part: Benefits and Drawbacks of EBU as key drivers for the comparative Banking Enhancement drawbacks (The Political Economy of European Banking Union, by Oxford University Press, 2016, p.206-214).
13	Money market functions and frictions and their development (ECB Working Paper Series: Money markets, central bank balance sheet and regulation, p.9-15). This week's lecture is concentrating on the following axons: a) of the role of money markets in the economy and highlights frictions that may hamper money market functioning. b)Developments in the euro area money markets over 2005-2019 (i.e. during the post-ongoing and post Global Financial Crisis period), c)Money market activity (Money market volumes and rates, Dispersion of money market rates),d) Central bank policies (Excess liquidity, Refinancing operations, Asset purchases, Securities Lending Programme).
14	Revision. We are summing up all the already taught subjects, by pinpointing the highlights of them concentrating on those that are needing, due to their nature, more attention in terms of critical analysis and combination of different reliable topics.

Prerequisite(s):	NA
Textbook(s):	Textbook: Wilson, J.S.G, “Banking Policy and Structure: A Comparative Analysis”, RLE Banking & Finance, March 9, 2014 Routledge Research in Finance and Banking Law, Lui, A. “Financial Stability and Prudential Regulation: A comparative approach to the UK,US, Canada, Australia and Germany,2017, Routledge Research in Finance and Banking Law, Chorafas, D, “The changing role of central banks”, 2013, Palgrave MacMillan, Ham, M, “Central Banks Regulation and the Financial Crisis: A comparative analysis”, 2015, Palgrave MacMillan Studies in banking and financial institutions, Bakir, C. “Bank Behavior and Resilience”, Palgrave MacMillan, Ayadi, R & Mouley, S, “Monetary Policies, Banking Systems, Regulatory Convergence, Efficiency and Growth in the Mediteranean, 2016, Palgrave MacMillan Studies in banking and financial institutions, Azarmi, T & Amann, W, “The Financial Crises: Implications for research and teaching”, 2016, Springer, Joens, C. “Banking Crises: Perspectives from the New Palgrave Dictionary, 2016, Springer. "The Euro Crisis",by Philip Arestis and Malcom Sawyer, 2012. "The Political Economy of European Banking Union", by Oxford University Press, 2016.” "Financial Crisis, Contagion, and the lender of last resort", by Oxford University Press, 2009. Banking Policy and Structure" by J.S.G. Wilson, 2012. "Central Bank Regulation and the Financial Crisis" by Palgrave Macmillian Studies in Banking and Financial Institutions, 2016. Other References: Lectures and the materials prepared by the Lecturers
Additional Literature:	NA
Laboratory Work:	NA
Computer Usage:	NA
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	Provides a full knowledge and understanding of different banking systems and of the international financial system.
2	Outlines the main empirical and analytical tools for the comparison of banks and banking systems
3	Explains the difference, advantages and disadvantages of the main existing and functioning banking systems.
4	Enables students to draw conclusions for the way of functioning of different banking systems properly preparing them for the future decision-making processes.
5	Describes different tools for problem analyzing and solution and responding to the arising respective questions, such as: Why do banks collapse? Are financial systems more fragile in recent decades and why? Can policies to fix the banking system do more harm than good? What's the history of banking crises and the relevant regulatory reforms? By using as references the extent scientific literature of the field, answering from diverse scholarly viewpoints.
6	Use comparative analyze – SWOT Analysis as tools for problem analyzing and solution.
7	Enables students to acquire all the appropriate pedagogical, empirical and theoretical background for responding, positively and effectively to issues considering crises management by the banking and especially central banking system.
8	All the above mentioned are based on high quality literature on hot topics of the field.

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Bachelor in Banking and Finance (3 years) Program
1	The students gain the ability to look at the problems of daily life from a broader perspective with an increased awareness of the importance of moral/ethical considerations and professional integrity in the workplace.	5
2	They develop their knowledge and understanding of banking and finance including concepts, theories, and analytical tools that serve both in national and international markets.	5
3	They gain an understanding of the role of financial management in business firms and the essentials of corporate finance and further develop their knowledge in the field.	4
4	They are able to apply valuation models to estimate the price of different financial assets, measure risk and describe the risk-return tradeoff.	4
5	They are provided with the knowledge and understanding of the regulatory framework and functioning of banking system and central banking as well as international banking system.	5
6	They are able to understand and use fundamental economic theories and tools to solve economic problems in banking and financial services industry.	5
7	They have the ability to develop and utilize accounting, financial and economic data as well as other information to solve different business problems by making use of basic mathematical and statistical models.	4
8	They are expected to develop their numerical and IT skills as well as knowledge of databases in order to address the significant development in the delivery and use of financial services known as FinTech.	4
9	They develop their ability to think critically, do research, analyze, interpret, draw independent conclusions, and communicate effectively, both individually and as part of a team.	5
10	They are provided with opportunities to acquire the necessary skills and competencies to develop professionalism in the banking and financial services industry or to move on to further study within the discipline.	5

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Midterm Exam(s)	1	30
Term Paper	1	20
Final Exam	1	40
Attendance		10
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	16	3	48
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	16	3	48
Mid-terms	1	5	5
Assignments	1	9	9
Final examination	1	11	11
Other	1	4	4
Total Work Load:			125
Total Work Load/25(h):			5
ECTS Credit of the Course:			5

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER

All the expected course learning outcomes were met successfully. The course contributed to the enrichment of students' knowledge since the examined topics had combined the theoretical grounds of the taught scientific field with the needs of the relevant industry.