JJUA14226U EC Banking Law

The importance of studying banking law is evidenced by the critical role banks play, whether in credit intermediation, savings mobilisation, management of the payment system, or monetary policy. The previous experience shows that shortcomings in the integrity of banks frequently lie at the heart of banking and financial sector breakdowns. Therefore, studies in banking law are crucial for those who intend to pursue a legal career in the financial sector or otherwise have an interest for exploring this dynamic discipline. EC Banking Law has grown significantly over the last decades with increasing areas of banking law being harmonised at the Community level. Considering the practical implications of EC Banking Law for member state banks’ day-to-day operations, it requires a more systematic study.

The summary of the contents is as follows: Authorisation requirements and supervisory set up Introduction to market risk, credit risk and operational risk Depositor and investor protection Money laundering/ terrorist financing Remuneration policies Trade finance Syndicated bank loans EU-wide insolvency rules The course focuses on those areas of EC Banking Law that have attracted much regulatory attention and are of significant practical importance for the legal framework within which credit institutions operate.
The course will start by examining the concept of a credit institution/bank, the minimum authorisation requirements for establishing a credit institution in the EU member state and the supervisory roles of a home member state and a host member state.
The course will further proceed by introducing the concepts of market risk, credit risk and operational risk and own funds. The rationales for capital adequacy rules will be presented. Further on, the course will deal with the issue of depositor and investor protection, covering areas such as depositor and investor protection schemes, MIFID rules and insider dealing rules. The next part of the course will examine banks’ anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing duties, their impact on a banker-customer relationship and cross-border payment transactions. Next, the course will explore the fairly recently harmonised area of remuneration policies for banks’ management and individuals holding certain controlled functions (e.g. actuaries).
The course’s other part will introduce letters of credit, demand guarantees and bills of exchange used in trade finance as well as explore internationally recognised rules governing the above instruments. Likewise, internationally recognised rules and principles governing syndicated lending will be explored. Finally, the course will explain how the insolvency proceeding of a credit institution in one EU member state affects its branches in other EU member states. Though largely consisting of lectures, the course will also incorporate occasional classroom group activities and a couple of guest lectures delivered by practitioners (e.g. legal counsel or compliance officer in an internationally active Danish bank). The guest lectures and group activities have been greatly appreciated by the former students.