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Unit of study_
LAWS6345: Principles of Financial Regulation
2025 unit information
The financial crisis of 2007-9 revealed serious failings in the regulation of financial institutions and markets. This prompted a fundamental reconsideration of the design of financial regulation, which governs a financial system that has become ever-more complex and interconnected, and which evolves at an ever-accelerating pace. This course presents a holistic overview of the key principles underpinning financial regulation. It draws on economic theory to explain the way in which the financial system functions, and then to analyse the goals of financial regulation. This analytic framework is then applied to a series of substantive topics in financial regulation, spanning the traditionally-separate fields of banking, markets, and consumer finance. The unit also considers the operation of the new tools of 'macro-prudential policy' and the international coordination of financial regulation in the global financial system. While the substantive topics are considered in terms of EU and US rules, the analytic tools developed are of more general application. Topics covered in this unit: The financial system; Goals and challenges of financial regulation; Consumer finance; Market regulation; Bank capital and liquidity regulation; Bank governance and resolution; Shadow banking and Macro-prudential and international coordination. Students who complete this unit successfully will have an overview of the economic principles underpinning financial regulation, to be able to understand and critically evaluate the principal substantive aspects of financial regulation in the US and EU, as well as their international coordination. Refer to the Sydney Law School timetable - https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/4533/pages/postgraduate-lecture-timetable
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Sydney Law School
| Study level | Postgraduate |
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| Academic unit | Law |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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None |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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None |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. Evaluate the principles of financial regulation and critically analyse their application to regulated entities and transactions.
- LO2. Critique global financial regulatory designs and models, identifying their strengths and weaknesses.
- LO3. Analyse emerging trends in financial regulation, such as decentralised finance and ESG investing, and evaluate their implications for the financial sector.
- LO4. Develop sound, logically-structured legal arguments in response to complex legal problems and communicate these to diverse audiences.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Intensive April 2025
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Block mode | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
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