University of Sydney Handbooks - 2020 Archive

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Banking

The units of study listed in the following table are those available for the current. Students may also include any units of study, which are additional to those currently listed, which appear under these subject areas in the Business School handbook/website in subsequent years (subject to any prerequisite or prohibition rules).

Table A - The University of Sydney Business School

Banking

1000-level units of study

BUSS1020 Quantitative Business Analysis

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1 x 2hr lecture and 1 x 2hr tutorial per week Prohibitions: ECMT1010 or MATH1005 or MATH1905 or MATH1015 or STAT1021 or ENVX1001 or ENVX1002 or DATA1001 or MATH1115 Assumed knowledge: Mathematics (equivalent of band 4 in the NSW HSC subject Mathematics or band E3 in Mathematics Extension 1 or 2) OR MATH1111 Assessment: mid-semester exam (25%); weekly homework (15%), assignment (20%), final exam (40%)
Note: Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Commerce, the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Advanced Studies, and the Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws must complete this core unit within the first year of study (full-time students) or within in the first two years of study (part-time students).
All graduates from the BCom need to be able to use quantitative techniques to analyse business problems. This ability is important in all business disciplines since all disciplines deal with increasing amounts of data, and there are increasing expectations of quantitative skills. This unit shows how to interpret data involving uncertainty and variability; how to model and analyse the relationships within business data; and how to make correct inferences from the data (and recognise incorrect inferences). The unit will include instruction in the use of software tools (primarily spreadsheets) to analyse and present quantitative data.
BUSS1040 Economics for Business Decision Making

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1x 2hr lecture and 1x 1hr tutorial per week Prohibitions: ECON1001 OR ECON1040 Assumed knowledge: Mathematics (equivalent of band 4 in the NSW HSC subject Mathematics or band E3 in Mathematics Extension 1 or 2) OR MATH1111 Assessment: written assignment (15%); online quizzes (10%); mid-semester test (20%); final exam (55%)
Economics underlies all business decisions, from pricing to product development, to negotiations, to understanding the general economic environment. This unit provides an introduction to economic analysis with a particular focus on concepts and applications relevant to business. This unit addresses how individual consumers and firms make decisions and how they interact in markets. It also introduces a framework for understanding and analysing the broader economic and public policy environment in which a business competes. This unit provides a rigorous platform for further study and a major in economics as well as providing valuable tools of analysis that complement a student's general business training, regardless of their area of specialisation.

2000-level units of study

BANK2011 Banking and the Financial System

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 2-hour lecture, 1-hour tutorial, weekly Prerequisites: (BUSS1020 or ECMT1010 or ENVX1001 or ENVX1002 or DATA1001 or ((MATH1005 or MATH1015) and MATH1115) or 6 credit points in MATH units including MATH1905) and (BUSS1040 or ECON1001 or ECON1002) Prohibitions: ECOS2004 Assumed knowledge: FINC2011 Assessment: tutorial exercises (5%); midterm test (20%); assignment (25%); final exam (50%)
This unit covers money, commercial banking and central banking and the interactions with the other aspects of the financial system including the financial instruments that facilitate a transfer of resources from savers to investors and the financial markets that allow financial instruments to be traded efficiently. There is a concentration on understanding the financial institutions within the financial system that provide a wide-range of financial services including access to financial markets and the process of financial intermediation. Students are exposed to monetary policy implementation by central banks and the resultant economic impacts both nationally and internationally. Current regulatory settings and government regulatory agencies responsible for these and policy debates are also emphasised.
ECOS2004 Money and Banking

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1x2hr lecture/week, 1x1hr tutorial/week Prerequisites: (ECON1001 and ECON1002) or (ECON1040 and ECON1002) or BUSS1040 Assessment: 3x500wd assignment (20%), 1x1000wd essay (20%), 1x1hr mid-semester test (20%), 1x2hr final exam (40%)
Students will learn how a modern financial system operates and the relationships between the financial system and the economy, with a particular emphasis on understanding business cycles. We will study how money/capital changes hands between agents over time, both directly and through institutions. We will study how these exchanges affect the economy, and how central banks and other policy institutions monitor, influence and regulate these exchanges. There will be an equal emphasis on understanding the modern financial system and on analysing monetary policy and financial regulation.
FINC2011 Corporate Finance I

Credit points: 6 Session: Intensive January,Intensive July,Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 1 x 2hr lecture and 1 x 1hr tutorial per week Prerequisites: (BUSS1020 or ECMT1010 or ENVX1001 or ENVX1002 or DATA1001 or ((MATH1005 or MATH1015) and MATH1115) or 6 credit points in MATH units including MATH1905) and (BUSS1040 or ECON1001 or ECON1002) Assumed knowledge: BUSS1030 Assessment: mid-semester test (20%), major assignment (30%), final exam (50%)
Note: Department permission required for enrolmentin the following sessions:Intensive July
This unit provides an introduction to basic concepts in corporate finance and their application to (1) valuation of risky assets including stocks, bonds and entire corporations, (2) pricing of equity securities, and (3) corporate financial policy decisions including dividend, capital structure and risk management policies. Emphasis is placed on the application of the material studied and current practices in each of the topic areas.

3000-level units of study

BANK3011 Bank Financial Management

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: a two-hour lecture and a one-hour tutorial each week during the semester. Prerequisites: BANK2011 or ECOS2004 or FINC2011 Prohibitions: FINC3018 Assessment: mid-semester test (25%); individual assignment (30%); final exam (45%)
The objective of the unit is to expose students to the management of financial risks in banks. The unit examines how financial markets impact on the management of commercial banks and the risks they are exposed to, together with the techniques and approaches used in the measurement and management of these risks. Topics covered include the theory and practice of banking from a financial management perspective, interest rate and foreign exchange market risks, credit risk, liquidity risk, financial management, interest rate and credit derivatives, investment and loan management strategies and portfolio modelling, liability and deposit management, performance analysis, and industry developments.
BANK3012 Bank Supervision

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 2 Classes: 1x 2hr lecture and 1x 1hr tutorial per week Prerequisites: BANK2011 or ECOS2004 or FINC2011 Assumed knowledge: BANK3011 Assessment: mid-semester exam (30%); tutorial exercises (10%); group project (20%); final exam (40%)
This unit provides undergraduate students with knowledge and a greater understanding of the central issues and principles underpinning recent developments in the global regulation and supervision of banking/financial institutions. The concept of financial stability as the goal of public policy and the rationale for prudential regulation and supervision of banks is discussed first. Students are then exposed to a range of concepts and issues pertaining to the measurement, management and prudential regulation of key risks in banking (i.e. market risk, credit risk, operational risk, liquidity risk). Other elements in the unit entail discussion and examination of issues relating to the concept of capital adequacy and risk-based capital ratios with particular reference to Basel Capital Accords; the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision; different national approaches to regulation and supervision of banks; government financial safety nets (i.e.'Lender of Last Resort' and depositor protection schemes); post-crisis structural banking reform proposals.
BANK3013 International Banking Management

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 3 hours lectures will be composed of 2 hours lecture, one hour workshop for some weeks and for others 3 hours of lectures Prerequisites: BANK2011 or ECOS2004 or FINC2011 Assessment: mid-term exam (35%); final exam (35%); research project (30%)
This unit covers various theoretical and applied issues for the international financial markets in which international banks operate in. Topics covered include theories of international banking; internationalisation of banking - US, Japan and Chinese experience; competitiveness strategies; international banking and debt crises; Euro currency markets; financial secrecy and money laundering; and the role of foreign banks in emerging markets.
BANK3014 Private and Investment Banking

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: a two-hour lecture and a one-hour tutorial each week during the semester Prerequisites: BANK2011 or ECOS2004 or FINC2011 Assumed knowledge: BANK3011 Assessment: mid-semester test (25%); group assignment (30%); final exam (45%)
The central objective of this unit is to provide students with an understanding of the activities of private and investment banks, the regulation of these industries and the developments and challenges facing them. The unit examines private banking from the perspective of clients, services and the business model employed. Investment banking activities examined include investment banking financing activities, advisory services, trading and asset management. Topics covered include: the theory and practice of private and investment banking and their roles within the financial systems of modern economies, M and A advisory, corporate restructuring, syndicated lending, underwriting, securitization, private banking, trading in debt, foreign exchange and equity markets, asset management and the implications of regulatory and other industry developments.
BANK3400 Industry and Community Project

Credit points: 6 Session: Intensive February,Intensive July,Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 3 hrs weekly Prerequisites: 72 credit points Prohibitions: BUSS3110 or ACCT3400 or CLAW3400 or FINC3400 or IBUS3400 or INFS3400 or MKTG3400 or QBUS3400 or WORK3400 or WORK3401 Assumed knowledge: (BUSS1020 or DATA1001 or ECMT1010 or ENVX1002 or ((MATH1005 or MATH1015) and MATH1115) or 6 credit points of MATH coded 1000-level units including MATH1905) and (BUSS1040 or ECON1001 or ECON1002) and (BANK2011 or ECOS2004 or FINC2011) Assessment: group plan (20%); individual statement (20%); group report (50%); group presentation (10%)
This unit allows students to undertake an interdisciplinary project, working with one of the University's industry and community partners. This experience allows students to address a complex problem set out by the partner by integrating their academic skills and knowledge from more than one discipline. Students also have the opportunity to build their interpersonal and transferable skills required in their professional life.
BANK3600 Banking in Practice

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1,Semester 2 Classes: 3-hour workshop-style classes (combined lecture/problem solving) Prerequisites: completion of at least 120 credit points including FINC2011 and (BANK2011 or ECOS2004) and BANK3011 Assessment: individual assignment (30%); group assignment (30%); final exam (40%)
Note: This unit should only be undertaken by students in their final semester of the Banking major. This unit of study must be completed at the University of Sydney Business School.
This capstone unit bridges the gap between theory and practice by integrating knowledge and consolidating key skills developed across the Banking major. It aims to provide students with practical experience in identifying, analysing, and solving contemporary business problems. Much of this unit is dedicated to a problem-based/experiential approach to learning. Students ensure their career-readiness by demonstrating their ability to apply concepts, theories, frameworks, methodologies, and skills to authentic problems and challenges faced in the field of banking.
CLAW3210 Banking and Financial Law

Credit points: 6 Session: Semester 1 Classes: 1 x 3hr seminar per week Prerequisites: completion of at least 48 credit points Prohibitions: CLAW2204 Assessment: mid-semester exam (25%), case study / research (25%), final exam (50%)
Banks and financial institutions are central to the stability, efficiency and wealth of modern economies and businesses. This unit focuses on the impact of national and international financial regulation on banking contracts, bank secrecy, money laundering and fraud. Students become familiar with legal risks in commercial and investment banking, by examining the complex relationships and legal duties of the various parties engaged in modern finance. Topics covered include electronic banking, international trade finance and securitisation. The unit assists students to understand how the law is applied in practice through the use of case studies. Special emphasis is placed on how banking disputes may be resolved.