EPOKA UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND FINANCE
COURSE SYLLABUS
2024-2025 ACADEMIC YEAR
COURSE INFORMATIONCourse Title: FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND MARKETS |
| Code | Course Type | Regular Semester | Theory | Practice | Lab | Credits | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAF 321 | 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) | Dr. Armanda Tola atola@epoka.edu.al |
| Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours: | Dr. Armanda Tola atola@epoka.edu.al , Friday, 09.00-11.00 |
| Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours: | NA |
| Language: | English |
| Compulsory/Elective: | Compulsory |
| Study program: (the study for which this course is offered) | Bachelor in Economics (3 years) |
| Classroom and Meeting Time: | Fridays, 11:40 |
| Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours: | NA |
| Code of Ethics: |
Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline" |
| Attendance Requirement: | 75% |
| Course Description: | This course is about the financial institutions, markets, and instruments that compose today's global financial markets and the risks associated with them. Students will gain a thorough understanding of how financial institutions are managed, how funds are raised, how financial instruments are priced, how risks are managed, and why financial institutions and markets are prone to failure. |
| Course Objectives: | This course is intended to help you understand the role of financial institutions and markets play in the business environment that you will face in the future. It also helps you to develop a series of applications of principles from finance and economics that explore the connection between financial markets, financial institutions and the economy. On the financial markets side, we will learn the term structure of interest rates, stocks, principals of derivatives, and currencies. On the institutions side, we will learn commercial banks, investment banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, the Federal Reserve Systems and their role of in the economy |
|
BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE
|
| 1 | Financial markets |
| 2 | Financial institutions |
| 3 | Financial system |
| 4 | Transaction costs |
| 5 | Term structures of interest rates |
| 6 | Risk structures of interest rates |
| 7 | Bond market |
| 8 | Stock market |
| 9 | Insurance companies |
| 10 | Mutual funds |
|
COURSE OUTLINE
|
| Week | Topics |
| 1 | Introduction & Syllabus |
| 2 | Ch. 1 - Why study financial markets and Institutions & Ch. 2 - Overview of the financial system; Why study financial markets? Why study financial institutions? Function and Overview of the financial markets; Structure of financial markets: Function of financial intermediaries (page 41-76) |
| 3 | Ch. 3 - What Do Interest Rates Mean and What Is Their Role in Valuation? Measuring interest rates: Distinction between real and nominal interest rates; Distinction between interest rates and returns. (page 77- 104) |
| 4 | Ch. 4 - Why Do Interest Rates Change?: Determinants of asset demand; Supply and demand in the bond market; Changes in Equilibrium Interest Rates |
| 5 | Ch. 5 - Risk and Term Structure: Risk Structure of interest rates: Term Structure of interest rates (page 107-128) |
| 6 | Ch. 7 - Why Do Financial Institutions Exist?: Transaction Costs; Asymmetric Information; Moral Hazard (175-205) |
| 7 | Ch. 11 - Money Market: The Money Markets Defined; Why do need money markets? The Purpose of the Money Markets. (page 285-307) |
| 8 | Review for Midterm Exam |
| 9 | Midterm exam |
| 10 | Ch. 12 - Bond Market; Purpose of the Capital Market; Capital Market Participants (page 308-332) |
| 11 | Ch. 13 - Stock Market; Investing in Stocks; Computing the Price of Common Stock (333-353) |
| 12 | Ch. 15 - The foreign exchange market (page 375-395) |
| 13 | Ch. 21 - Insurance and Pension Funds, Insurance Companies: Fundamentals of insurance: Types of Insurance and Pensions (540-569) |
| 14 | Project presentations & Review for the Final Exam |
| Prerequisite(s): | |
| Textbook(s): | Financial Markets and Institutions ~ Mishkin & Eakins (10-th edition) |
| Additional Literature: | |
| Laboratory Work: | |
| Computer Usage: | |
| Others: | No |
|
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
|
| 1 | To discuss theories that underneath the term structure of interest rates |
| 2 | To discuss efficient market hypothesis related to stock pricing |
| 3 | To understand a stylized bank’s balance sheet and discuss how risks are managed in banks |
| 4 | To discuss facts of the insurance business, mutual funds and investment banks |
| 5 | To know how currency value is determined the short run and long run |
|
COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES
(Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution) |
| No | Program Competencies | Cont. |
| Bachelor in Economics (3 years) Program | ||
| 1 | Students define the fundamental problems of economics | 5 |
| 2 | Students describe key economic theories | 5 |
| 3 | Students critically discuss current developments in economics | 5 |
| 4 | Students appropriately use software for data analysis | 5 |
| 5 | Students critically contextualize the selection of an economic problem for research within scholarly literature and theory on the topic | 5 |
| 6 | Students apply appropriate analytical methods to address economic problems | 5 |
| 7 | Students use effective communication skills in a variety of academic and professional contexts | 5 |
| 8 | Students effectively contribute to group work | 5 |
| 9 | Students conduct independent research under academic supervision | 5 |
| 10 | Students uphold ethical values in data collection, interpretation, and dissemination | 5 |
| 11 | Students critically engage with interdisciplinary innovations in social sciences | 5 |
| 12 | Student explain how their research has a broader social benefit | 5 |
|
COURSE EVALUATION METHOD
|
| Method | Quantity | Percentage |
| Midterm Exam(s) |
1
|
35
|
| Project |
1
|
20
|
| Final Exam |
1
|
35
|
| 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 | 1 | 16 |
| Mid-terms | 1 | 20 | 20 |
| Assignments | 2 | 8 | 16 |
| Final examination | 1 | 25 | 25 |
| Other | 0 | ||
|
Total Work Load:
|
125 | ||
|
Total Work Load/25(h):
|
5 | ||
|
ECTS Credit of the Course:
|
5 | ||
|
CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER
|
|
In conclusion, the Financial Markets and Institutions course effectively introduced students to the structure, functions, and dynamics of financial markets, providing a well-rounded understanding of both domestic and global financial systems. The course successfully balanced theoretical concepts with practical insights into current market trends and regulatory frameworks. |