Centre for Financial & Management Studies (CeFiMS) - University of London

Individual Professional Courses – IPC    

Financial Law [FFL104]

Introduction

This course provides an understanding of the essential elements of financial law. The course complements the finance course Risk Management: Principles and Applications [FFL105] by examining the legal approach to dealing with risk. These courses give a comprehensive and coherent understanding of the financial and legal aspects of the subject.

Aims & Objectives

When you have completed your study of this course and its core readings, you will be able to:

• Outline and discuss the importance of financial law for the creation and development of strong financial markets

• Analyse the institutional framework that is necessary for the provision of credit and the operation of financial markets

• Explain and critically discuss the basic legal components of the financial system

• Examine and discuss the key legal problems that relate to the provision of finance and the ways in which financial institutions address such problems

• Critically discuss the legal principles and rules applicable to bank deposits and the relationship between the banker and the customer

• Discuss and analyse the basic legal principles underpinning commercial and international banking transactions

• Identify and critically evaluate the legal risks involved in the process of agreeing and documenting the most basic financial agreement

• Analyse and discuss the basic legal components of the payment systems of key jurisdictions of the world

• Critically evaluate the nature, scope, economic function of security in the provision of finance

Resources

Students receive a looseleaf binder containing eight ‘course units’; these texts are carefully structured to provide the main teaching and are equivalent to traditional course lectures, defining and exploring the main concepts and issues, locating these within current debate and introducing and linking the further assigned readings. Two assignments (to be marked by your CeFiMS tutors), and a specimen examination paper are also included within the student pack, along with the following:

Textbooks:

Ross Cranston, Principles of Banking Law, Second edition, 2003, Oxford University Press, ISBN0199253315.

Roy Goode, Commercial Law, Third edition, 2004, Penguin, ISBN0140289631.

Readings:

A compilation of further readings: recently published articles or seminal writings which augment and illustrate the main text.

Course Timetable:

This shows the linkage between the various components of the course and indicates the schedule for reading the texts, submitting assignments, etc.

Course Content

• Principles of English commercial law

• Risk management role of English commercial law and contractual documentation

• Warranties (including financial warranties)

• Concepts of money and payment

• Instruments – derivatives, currency and interest rate swaps, futures and options

• The banker-customer relationship

• Netting

• Classification and characteristics of credit and security

• Creation, enforcement and transfer of security rights

• Financing against stock and receivables

• Asset-based finance

• Securitisation

Tuition & Assessment

One two-hour examination and one assessed piece of written coursework in each module. Each course module will count for 10% of the total mark. Of this 10%, the examination will count for 70% and the coursework for 30%.