Banking and Finance MSc

About the Course

This innovative programme provides you with postgraduate training designed to develop your career in the banking and financial services sector. You will gain a thorough understanding of this field through practical and theoretical application, addressing financial economics, the economics of banking, quantitative methods as well as financial regulation both within the organisation and internationally.

Graduates of the programme will be able to pursue a wide range of careers in financial institutions, banking regulatory organisations and investment banks. Internationally, our graduates are attractive candidates for their domestic regulators and private sector banks. In addition, many graduates will follow other career paths in the financial services sector and could undertake doctoral research.

Aims

The key aim of the course is to provide a good balance between the four pillars of the programme:

• Theories and debates about banking and financial regulation
• Broader financial theories and related issues
• Quantitative methodologies which are critical for economic and financial analysis
• Successful completion of a dissertation in this field

On completion of the course you will be able to effectively manage a range of issues within banking and finance, such as recent banking regulations and successfully deal with matters arising in private banking. You will develop the art of thinking through economic problems within structured frameworks and the course will encourage you to critically evaluate and deliver strategic solutions.

Enquiries

Course enquiries
Email sss-pgenquiries@brunel.ac.uk
Tel +44 (0)1895 265285

For applications already submitted
Contact Admissions online
Tel +44 (0)1895 265265

Related Courses

• Business Finance MSc
• Finance and Accounting MSc
• Finance and Investment MSc
• International Money, Finance and Investment MSc

Special Features

Outstanding academic expertise and research-led teaching

• 95% of our academics are nationally and internationally recognised for their work in economics and econometrics in the latest Research Assessment Exercise (2008)
• As a result, you will benefit from up-to-the-minute research-led teaching by academic staff who regularly publish in international peer-reviewed journals, have an impact on international regulatory design and obtain significant research grants.

Professional training facilities

• You will have access to a variety of professional databases used in business and the finance industry which include Datastream, Bloomberg, Bank Scope, Osiris, Reuters 3000 Xtra and Thomson One Banker
• We hold regular training sessions and external visits with Bloomberg, which will enhance your research and expose you to real-world factors that will be important in future banking related employment.

Scholarships

Brunel offers a number of scholarships for UK, EU and international students – please contact the Admissions Office for more information.

Excellent links with leading organisations

• We have excellent links with business and the finance industry, which will help you to network with organisations and get ahead in your career.

Industry talks, guest lectures and research seminars

• A number of industry talks with professionals from the private sector will be invited to teach part of the programme and will provide you with further practical experience
• There is a wide range of events on offer, such as guest lectures and research seminars to keep you up-to-date on the latest developments and will help build your contacts.
  

Facts and Figures

We are one of the best Economics and Finance Departments in the UK to provide research-active teaching and our research is focused in the following four research centres:

Brunel Macroeconomic Research Centre (BMRC)

We are a group of experienced macroeconomists that focus on research in monetary policy, unemployment and the labour market, and financial development and growth.

Centre For Economic Development and Institutions (CEDI)

CEDI’s activities cover the emerging research field of economic development and institutions, incorporating development economics, comparative economics and transition economics.

Centre for Empirical Finance (CEF)

The main research areas covered within this centre are financial econometrics, risk modelling, micro finance, international finance and computational finance.

Centre for Accounting and Corporate Governance (CACG)

CACG’s research focus includes: What is the process of governance failure? How should it be defined and how can it be predicted? How does governance impact on managers’ incentives? How is governance affected by cultural norms and how does governance affect financial markets?

Course Content

Through the optional units the course also offers a broader perspective on the subject matter and allows you to specialise in an area of banking and financial economics that is of particular interest to you. Industry practitioners deliver a series of Banking and Finance Workshops and these expose students to the operations of financial markets and theories underpinning banking and corporate finance policy. Approximately eight speakers from the private (banking and financial) sector will be invited to teach this unit.

Typical modules (modules are subject to change)

Term 1

Compulsory modules

Quantitative Methods for Finance and Economics

This module is essential to an understanding of the empirical content of the MSc programme and provides the necessary tools to undertake the dissertation. The aim of the module is to enable students: to conduct their own empirical investigations of a range of financial and accounting relationships, to impart the knowledge necessary to understand empirical analysis in academic related Journals, and to provide a basic foundation in the theory and practice of econometric modelling as applied in finance and accounting.

International Finance
While a large part of economics and finance in theory and practice can be treated as a mainly domestic exercise, an increasing number of areas apply to a multi-country setting. This module aims to:

• Equip students with knowledge necessary to work in an international, multi-currency professional environment
• Provide students with knowledge and skills required for academic research and doctoral studies in the area of international finance.

Global Financial Markets
The aim of this module is to provide an understanding of both the key areas of development finance (the finance-growth relationship) and selected aspects of the applied economics of modern financial institutions. The topics covered include financial development and economic growth. Special attention is given to the topics of financial crises and the role of regulation.

Optional modules (select one)

Foundations of Finance
You will address the key principles and the challenges that arise within the financial services sector.

Security Analysis and Funds Management
The aims of this module are to:

• Provide an overview of securities traded in fixed income, stock and derivative markets and their characteristics along with the stylised facts of financial markets
•  Introduce classical models used for portfolio selection and risk management.

Term 2

Banking
You will explore the nature of banking as well as links between financial intermediaries, risks and the broader economy. The module seeks to conceptualise the economic function of banks and also show how banks are subject to important risks, which necessitate both a complex system of regulation and sophisticated risk management by the bank itself.

Financial Regulation and Macro Prudential Policy
The aims of the module are to develop:

• A sound understanding of the nature of the market failures in banking that that require regulatory responses, and the potential problems with regulation
• Knowledge of the role of bank regulation in ensuring financial stability in the international economy, especially in periods of crisis
• A framework for understanding the nature and use of the wide range of other tools used in macro-prudential regulation.

Banking and Finance Workshop
This module will be based on an innovative and challenging workshop covering key issues within banking and the financial services sector.

Optional modules (select one)

Financial Analysis
The module explores equity valuation models based on company specific variables and analyses the extent to which the current financial statements of companies are suitable for such valuation models. It provides an overview of real-world aspects of securities analysis and investment, as well as of the relation between information and efficiency in securities markets.

International Macroeconomics
You will build on your knowledge acquired on the International Finance module and address key issues in banking and finance from a macroeconomics perspective.

Term 3

Dissertation
A 60-credit dissertation is mandatory for all students who graduate with an MSc degree. Students are invited to select a research question which they investigate under supervision by an academic. Data support is provided by the Department, including Bloomberg and Bankscope. Dissertations raise the employability of students by allowing them to choose research questions that are specific to their job market requirements.

Teaching and Learning

The modules on this degree programme incorporate a diverse range of teaching methods which reflect the module learning outcomes and the demands of the subject material. Effective learning is achieved through a combination of lectures, seminars, directed independent study, workshops, oral presentations, and varied assessment patterns. Use of appropriate IT resources is expected (e.g. electronic resources to access data, and relevant software programmes used in research methods). Dissertation research will give you the opportunity to integrate your knowledge of important themes, frameworks and research findings in banking and finance obtained via lectures, seminars, and workshops.

Assessment

All modules are assessed by a combination of coursework and final examinations. Students who successfully complete the taught part of the course can proceed to the dissertation stage. Students are expected to work on their dissertation in the summer and to submit the final draft in mid-September.

Employability

The Department of Economics and Finance is proud to be celebrating 20 years of taught postgraduate education in Finance this year. Former students from our MSc programmes are now themselves teaching in the Australian Business School, EdHec Business School, Nice, Glasgow University and Oslo Business School. Other MSc students hold senior positions in financial institutions including the Bank of Cyprus, HSBC in Istanbul, Standard Life in the UK and TD Bank Financial Group in Canada.

Many of our graduates also hold positions as government economists including the Bank of England and HM Treasury. The new MS c in Banking and Finance is designed to expand our portfolio and address newly emerging demands in the following areas:

• Deregulation and the increased investment demand for safe as well as risky assets has increased competition between financial institutions and also transformed the role of traditional Banking. There is a demand for graduates who are familiar with the new environment.
• Aligning incentives, reducing risk and ensuring consistency across hugely diverse locations and operations requires appropriate regulation and control. There is a demand for graduates who can analyse such trends at a bank level.
• Banking regulatory bodies in the UK and abroad are trying to establish a reliable and up-to-date system which will promote transparency and equality among the participants of financial markets and ensure stability of the financial system. There is increasing demand for graduates with knowledge on the latest regulatory debates.
• The programme aims to introduce the students not only to the economics of banking and finance but more importantly to establish the links between the changing nature of financial markets, institutions and investors’ decisions. Our graduates are thus highly employable in the non-banking sector.

Graduate School workshops
In addition to the School’s events and training sessions, you will have the opportunity to undertake workshops and skills training provided by the University’s Graduate School, for example:

• CV Writing for Masters Students
• CV Writing Drop-in Clinic for Masters Students
• How to Succeed in Assessment Centres (Masters Students)
• Interview Techniques for Masters Students
• Transferrable Skills for Masters Students

For further information visit the Graduate School.

Careers

This course offers students advanced training in banking and finance so as to pursue a range of exciting careers in the City, government, or an academic career via a PhD. More specifically, graduates would be able to pursue a wide range of careers in financial institutions that hire economists to analyse economic and financial trends, banking regulatory organisations like the FSA, or in leading investment banks like Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley.

Internationally, our graduates would become attractive candidates for their domestic regulators and private sector banks. In addition, many graduates will follow other career paths including financial services, and doctoral research. Since their training would include exposure to both financial economics and the economics of banking, they would be able to proceed to our doctoral programmes in both Economics and Finance.

Fees for 2013/14 entry

Fees information will be available when the course is Approved in Full.

Read about funding opportunities available to postgraduate students

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements

An applicant should have a 2.1 degree in Economics or Finance, or its equivalent from other countries. Students with a 2.1 in Business would also be eligible to apply so long as they demonstrate a reasonable exposure (e.g. A level equivalent) to Economics and Mathematics/Statistics.

English Language Requirements

• IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
• TOEFL Paper test: 580 (TWE 4.5)
• TOEFL Internet test: 92 (R20, L20, S20, W20)
• Pearson: 59 (51 in all subscores)
• BrunELT 65% (min 60% in all areas)

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.