MSc in Finance and Economics

M2: Banking track

Curriculum

The Banking track is divided into four modules:

Semester 3:

• Banking Track Module
  • Financial Intermediation (Prof. Sergio Vicente)
  • Empirical Methods in Banking (Prof. Diane Pierret)
  • Banking Operations and Strategy (Course leader: Mr. Olivier Goemans, BIL)
  • Investment Funds (Course leader: Mr. Jean-Francois Rase, BNP Paribas)
  • Insurance Techniques and Management (Course leader: Mr. Christophe Hucque, Allianz)

• Elective courses Module (common for all tracks)

Semester 4:

• Advanced Data Analytics and Digitization Module (common for all tracks)
• Academic Master Thesis or Internship and Applied Master Thesis Module

The Banking Track targets students who seek to gain expertise in financial institutions and financial stability. The objective of the Track is to equip students with a deep understanding of how financial institutions work based on a combination of modern financial intermediation theory and practitioners’ presentations. The Track also provides students with set of methodological skills that help them understanding how new crises, policies and innovation affect the financial industry. To do so, the Track covers the banking, insurance, and fund industries, reviewing their major characteristics, how they operate, their risks, regulations, trends and challenges for the future.  The focus of the Track is on the role of financial institutions as financial intermediaries to the real economy, and their contribution to economic growth while maintaining financial stability. The Banking Track invites students to critically assess central bank policies and financial institutions’ strategies in the current economic and regulatory environment.

The Advanced Data Analytics and Digitization Module allows students to choose from trending and emerging topics in the financial sector, such as FinTech or big data. Taught together with industry professionals, they deliver insights into innovative finance topics. Courses in this module will be continuously reviewed and updated.

Finally,

Students are given the option to complete either an internship with an Applied Master Thesis, or an Academic Master Thesis.

• Internship and Applied Master Thesis: Students do an internship within the public or private sector for a minimum duration of 12 weeks (with the option to negotiate a longer placement depending on the availability of the student and hosting company/institution). Each student has to submit an Applied Master Thesis. The topic of this thesis is coordinated between the student, an academic supervisor and the company supervisor. The Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance provides some support to students in obtaining a placement as well as drawing up internship contracts between the hosting institution and the student.
• Academic Master Thesis: Topics for the academic master thesis are coordinated together with the programme director and thesis supervisor. The Master thesis is an independent piece of research that should showcase a thorough understanding of the chosen topic as well as the appropriate research methodology. 

Learning outcomes

• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of fundamental financial intermediation theories and be able to apply them in the context of real-life decisions
• Apply key empirical methods used by policy makers and academics to assess the effect of policies on the financial sector
• Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the economics, operational and regulatory framework of the banking, insurance, and fund industries, the roles of the different financial institutions, their main characteristics, how they function, and how to measure their risks.
• Have a detailed understanding of the regulatory environment of the banking, insurance, and fund industries
• Develop critical thinking, the ability to work independently as well as in teams, and to present their work in front of an audience
• Gain exposure to the banking and finance industry, opportunities for professional networking

Prerequisite

Successful completion of the first year (M1) of the MSc in Finance and Economics or any other equivalent MSc programme.

Employability

We are training highly skilled and employable graduates: 80% of past year cohort is currently employed! Discover the career paths of our former students with our employability survey.