Financial Services Fundamentals

Financial Services Fundamentals (FSF) is a course offered to provide necessary financial services information to students entering the Graduate Banking and Financial Law Program without employment experience in the financial services sector or a strong academic background in financial law. It provides the basic information on seven financially related subjects, information the faculty in the Banking Law Program expects students entering to understand prior to entering the Program. The course will have the added benefits of introducing incoming international students to lectures, discussions and readings on financial topics in English.

The course consists of seven modules on particular financial services subjects that provide essential financial law background. The subjects addressed will include: (i) a brief US financial history and the major statutes, structures and legal developments (ii) understanding the financial crisis and the role of the Federal Reserve in addressing that crisis in the US, (iii) the function of US banking regulators and basic US administrative law, (iv) fundamental US corporate law principles and business structures,  (v) how to read regulations, agency orders, interpretive letters, and other agency documents, (vi) basic US corporate tax principles, and (vii) the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodities Futures Trading Commission as financial regulators.

FSF is required for Banking students in the 2-Year program in the summer between their first and second years. All other admitted Banking LLM students may choose to take the course, and it will be strongly recommended for certain students as a means of overcoming a lack of financial services experience..

The course runs for two weeks in August just prior to LLM Orientation.

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