Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Master of Banking and Finance Master of Banking and Finance Table of Contents Master of Banking and Finance Joining Forces to Understand the Complex Financial Dynamics Why This Program? Target Group A Unique Combination of Advantages Program Overview Some Practical Information Evaluation: a dynamic approach Course schedule Degree Tuition fee Admission Procedures Teaching Staff Further Information 10 Joining Forces to Understand the Complex Financial Dynamics During the last few decades the financial world has gone through a complete transformation D ­ eregulation of financial markets, spurred by dramatic technological evolutions, tore down the walls that had existed between domestic and international money and capital markets as well as between banks, ­nsurance companies and stock brokers Competition became the buzzword World-wide finani cial service companies began restructuring their business lines and started developing new products and markets In Europe, the introduction of a single currency further encouraged these developments Finally, the recent financial crisis showed the importance of understanding financial markets in detail and highlighted the necessity of a solid risk management Undoubtedly, the entire economy benefits from these evolutions Unfortunately, for the financial intermediaries life becomes ever more complex It is therefore no wonder that they are constantly in need of specialised people: economists who understand the mechanics of financial markets will always be scarce To accommodate this shortage the Department of Financial Economics of Ghent University introduced advanced studies in Banking and Finance The aim of this Master program is to provide the students with in-depth knowledge of the latest developments in finance and banking and a thorough understanding of the relevant academic literature The target group consists of economists with previous education or working experience in the fields of finance or banking and sufficient proficiency in statistics and econometrics The program ‘Master of Banking and Finance’ shows that the Department of Financial Economics at Ghent University is continuously focusing on evolutions of financial markets By bringing together a group of motivated students and teachers, and by applying dynamic and multimedia teaching methods, the Department of Financial Economics is striving to increase understanding about and enthusiasm for financial developments Master of Banking and Finance Why This Program? The goal of this specialised program in Banking and Finance is to form experts who are able to perform their analysis of financial problems and developments within a sound theoretical and quantitative framework Their analysis should also enable them to work out or to adapt existing (company) strategies Indeed, working in the financial sector is becoming much more demanding, but also very exiting The deregulation of financial markets has opened many opportunities for financial service companies, investors, borrowers as well Herman Verwilst as for the government Technological improvements in Former Chairman of the management committee communication and information processing have decre- of Fortis Bank ased transaction costs dramatically, which altered the core business of banks completely At the same time, “The financial sector needs economists with a these evolutions explain the huge growth rates in the thorough micro- and macro-financial training number of transactions on financial markets Investors and who have mastered quantitative manage- have never before been confronted with such a broad ment techniques for modern financial service range of investment opportunities, whereas corporate companies They should also be able to develop and government borrowers have flexible access to money, a critical vision towards the important tenden- being able to choose the maturity, the currency and even cies and strategic choices in the financial indus- the risk-profile of their financing At the same time, try Young people with such a profile will be the government agencies in general and central banks more leading executives of the future specifically can not only actively use financial markets to In my opinion, the Master of Banking and steer the economy, but also learn about the expectations Finance at Ghent University is the ideal program of economic agents, to the extent that these expectati- to acqui­ e this knowledge and these skills.” r ons are reflected in the prices of financial assets Master of Banking and Finance Why This Program? Of course, no benefits without any dangers – financial markets never present free lunches Although financial intermediaries are undoubtedly offered many opportunities, choosing among them becomes difficult As financial markets are in constant move, a choice that seems to add value to the company in one scenario may well turn out to be fatal in other circumstances Moreover, financial organisations often have many business lines and therefore many counterparties It follows that a clear understanding of all the interrelationships is crucial to ascertain the risk position of the entire organisation Likewise, a major concern of prudential authorities is that the failure of one participant will lead, through its multiple transactions, to the failure of several otherwise sound institutions, ultimately causing a total breakdown of the financial system All these examples point out that risk management should be well developed on financial markets Thorough understanding of the complex relationships and dynamics of financial markets and institutions requires insight in many disciplines Knowledge about the organisation of financial markets and the mechanics of the assets traded is not sufficient, if it is not supplemented by awareness of macroeconomic and monetary concepts Moreover, the quantitative nature of finance also requires a sound command of econometrics and data processing skills It is precisely the need of the financial community for people who are able to combine these economic, financial and quantitative skills that led the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Ghent University to organise advanced studies in Banking and Finance This Master program draws heavily upon the expertise of the young team of teachers and researchers from the Department of Financial Economics This department groups sub-fields such as monetary economics, banking, microeconomics of financial markets, investment analysis, financial econometrics, and risk management Target Group The Master program is intended for economists having some background in finance and who feel the need for a serious­ in-depth training in finance and banking Students graduating from this program will probably feel at ease in functions or departments such as • investment analysis • risk management units of financial and corporate organisations • asset and liability management units of financial intermediaries • pension funds, hedge funds • study department of a central bank or government agency • financial consulting firms, rating agencies • supervisory bodies for financial markets and institutions • university or research departments • … Master of Banking and Finance A Unique Combination of Advantages A specialised program university offers a computer room reserved exclusively All courses are specialised and advanced within the broad for the Master students Besides specialised statistical and field of finance and banking econometric software, standard packages such as Microsoft Office, E-mail software, and Internet browsers are also Financial insights are combined with macroeconomics and installed on the computers To download data, the faculty monetary policy subscribes to Datastream Data Channel, from which most Finance is not an isolated world The interrelationships financial and macroeconomic data can be accessed between on the one hand finance and banking and macroeconomic policy on the other hand are studied extensi- Opportunity to obtain in-the-field experience vely Advanced courses in macroeconomics, monetary The assignments prepare the students for a final graduation economics, corporate finance and organisation of financial project During the last two months of the program, teams markets describe the larger setting in which finance should of two students will be given the opportunity to work full- be situated time on a project in a financial institution or government agency under the supervision of both the academic staff You will become familiar with the most recent techniques and a company supervisor Examples of such projects will be used in finance made available on the website of the Master program All courses are strongly founded in academic research Students will be guided through recent academic papers Getting international exposure and encouraged to use the tools and models proposed to In finance and banking it is important to have an interna- analyse and solve real-world problems tional dimension and obviously international problems will Thorough quantitative basis invite internationally renowned guest speakers and guest Because of the availability of abundant data, solving finance professors For instance, we are glad that Frank Smets, who and banking problems often involves extensive number is head of the Monetary Policy Research unit of the Euro- crunching Although most courses will discuss appropriate pean Central Bank, has agreed to teach Monetary Econo- methods to perform such analyses, an advanced course in mics in the Master program Of course, also by choosing financial econometrics will provide the students with the English as the common language in this program, we expli- necessary background citly want to attract an international student population Enjoy interactive education and train your presentation skills In the Master program a lot of time will be devoted to classroom discussion, presentations of case studies and papers, and expositions of analyses of real-world problems By doing so, students will be able to train their oral and written presentations skills They will learn how to state and defend their arguments as well as to (critically) evaluate the statements of students and teachers Working together in applying concepts Many assignments and cases are to be solved by teams of two to four students These assignments serve to better grasp theory and to be able to handle real-world finance problems Because of the importance of these assignments, as a general rule, there will be no lectures after lunch For be discussed in most courses In addition we will frequently Extensive professional support Many courses are taught by members of the Department of Financial Economics This department hosts a young team of professors and researchers Their research covers most subfields in the domain of finance and banking More details can be found on the Department’s website All teachers and researchers will be available to help students finding their way in the world of finance In addition, the program co-ordinator assists students with more practical problems Opportunity to spread courses over years: the possibility exists to spread the Master program over two years An attractive study environment The city of Ghent hosts the largest student population of the country; the University alone accounts for over 30,000 students, enrolled in faculties The Faculty of Economics most courses, the grades on the assignments will weigh and Business Administration is situated close to the Medie- heavily on the final grades val city centre Theatres, musea and sporting facilities are Excellent computer facilities In order to be able to work in the best circumstances, the within walking distance Student housing is comfortable and affordable More information can be found on www.ugent.be Master of Banking and Finance Program Overview Below we list a description of the courses offered in the Master program Advanced Investments ships are established between various financial markets (stocks, bonds, corporate bonds, exchange rates, commodities) and economic indicators (growth, inflation, inte- Michael Frömmel rest rates, balance of payments, central bank policies) This course focuses on recent developments in portfolio The objective is to investigate the consequences of these theory and finance, such as behavioural finance, bubbles interactions for investment decisions, both asset alloca- and globalized markets Both the empirical testing of tion and market timing, as well as the risk of financial theoretical models and the empirical analysis of financial assets Students also have to manage an asset portfolio to markets are discussed The goal is to make the students translate theory into practice acquainted with the academic literature in these fields International Banking and Financial Markets and to teach them how to apply the methods introduced in these papers to real-world problems Koen Schoors Financial Econometrics Gerdie Everaert The aim of this course is to study a widely neglected issue: How commercial banking systems behave under distress? We analyse the causes of banking crises around The aim of this course is to provide students with the the world and propose methods to prevent these crises ability to recognise problems in financial economics and or, if need be, to solve them Various institutional arran- to analyse these problems within the existing scientific gements are compared, ranging from deposit insurance literature To this respect, students are acquainted with schemes to exchange rate arrangements Also the inter- a number of modern econometric techniques commonly national financial architecture comes under scrutiny employed in the financial literature Special attention goes to the analysis of a number of rela- An important accent in this course is to provide students tively recent cases with the ability to translate the acquired knowledge to real problems, i.e students are required to be able to provide solutions to practical problems in a scientifically well-founded and creative way Financial Risk Management Frank De Jonghe (Deloitte) Management of Financial Institutions Rudi Vander Vennet The course intends to provide a thorough understanding of the main issues and the complex interactions in the management of modern financial services firms (FSFs) The aim is to (1) identify important trends within In this course, the pricing and the use of derivative the changing environment of FSFs, including the finan- products is discussed Especially the quantitative techni- cial crisis, (2) articulate and understand strategic issues ques used for pricing and risk management will be exten- in financial intermediation, (3) master up-to-date analy- sively covered Next to that, in three separate sessions, tical and quantitative tools to tackle the key decisions in the key ingredients for the measurement of market risk, FSFs, (4) propose and justify scientifically accurate and credit risk and operational risk are introduced workable solutions for real-world problems, (5) confront evidence obtained in cases or research with the acquired Economics of Financial Markets William De Vijlder (BNP Paribas Investment Partners) This course analyzes the interaction between financial markets and the macroeconomic environment Relation- body of theoretical and empirical knowledge in the field, and (6) critically assess competing paradigms of FSF ­analysis Master of Banking and Finance Program Overview Governance in Financial Institutions Herman Verwilst This course starts from the basic knowledge about the role of banks in the economy The fundamentals of regulation and supervision are thoroughly presented, as well as the revealed shortfalls and the proposed adjustments The internal and external governance of banks is analysed The observed weakness and proposed improvements will be discussed Students write and defend a paper on one of the topics The aim of the course is to understand the behaviour Topics in Advanced Corporate Finance Dries Heyman This course wants to give the students a thorough understanding of various important corporate finance decisions; In order to achieve that, both theory and recent empirical evidence will be reviewed We focus on a number of important topics: capital structure, payout policy, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings Next to class work, students will also make an empirical study on one of these topics of individual banks versus regulation, supervision and governance, to understand the function and rationale of public intervention in financial markets and enable the Topics in Empirical Research in Finance students to solve independently and on an academic level problems that are related to bank behaviour and bank Michael Frömmel/Dries Heyman/Rudi Vander Vennet supervision The goal of this course is to accustom students with recent empirical research in finance and banking To this end, researchers from universities and financial institu- Monetary Economics tions will be invited to share their research results and their practical experience with the students and other Gert Peersman This course wants to give the students a thorough understanding of the way monetary policy is conducted and the interested participants In addition, the students will be required to use some of the results or techniques presented in their own empirical research transmission of monetary policy signals to the rest of the economy Thesis (Graduation Project) Strategy and Organisation of Financial Institutions Herman Verwilst During the last two months of the academic year (May and June) students will be given the opportunity to work in small teams on their thesis in a financial institution This will allow them to demonstrate their capacity to analyse The aim of the course is to make students understand real-world situations in a scientifically accurate way using the complex interactions in the organisation of financial the modelling techniques covered in the Master courses services firms, their strategy formulation and the imple- Often, they will be required to offer solutions to actual mentation of strategic plans problems and to assess potential policy implications of such solutions The thesis subjects are usually suggested by financial institutions or other companies A team consisting of faculty members and employees of the company will supervise the students while working on the thesis The findings will be presented by the end of June to the supervising team Master of Banking and Finance Some Practical Information Evaluation: a dynamic approach Admission procedures The courses in this Master program frequently use interactive Students with a Belgian university degree (2nd cycle) or a Belgian learning methods, so students are expected to participate acti- HOLT degree (higher education of minimum years of study): vely Opportunities are offered to hold group discussions, to People meeting this requirement are invited to take an admission test, the purpose of which is to determine the prior knowledge of banking and finance research, of quantitative skills, and English (Partial) exemption of this admission test can be offered if, on the basis of the curriculum, the individual seems to be familiar with these basics More information about these tests can be found on our website: http:// www.feb.ugent.be/fineco/mbf/ To apply for exemption, you should fill out the information form (see website: http://www.feb.ugent.be/fineco/mbf/) and mail it to mbf@ugent.be solve case studies, to give presentations and to discuss actual situations with lecturers and guest speakers In other words, the permanent evaluation of participants is indispensable and very important Course schedule When? The sessions take place on a daily basis, generally from am till pm The afternoon will be devoted to case study preparation, group discussion, exercises, preparation of presentations, guest lectures, etc Language? The program will be taught in English All presentations and reports will be in English Consequently, a sufficient proficiency in English is a necessary entry requirement Students with a non-Belgian degree having a second cycle academic degree: There are compulsory procedures for admission, we advise you to start both procedures at the same time The first procedure allows us to ascertain whether the applicant has the necessary background to be able to successfully participate to the Master program The second procedure is the general acceptance procedure set up by Ghent University Where? Procedure 1: First of all we ask you to complete the information form All courses will take place at our campus at Woodrow Wilson- (see website: http://www.feb.ugent.be/fineco/mbf/) and mail it to mbf@ugent.be In order to speed up the process of application, you should also send: a letter of motivation (why you would like to study advanced courses in Banking and Finance at Ghent University) your Curriculum Vitae (with copies of your diplomas and degrees) two letters of reference your GMAT score plein 5D, Ghent — the building where also the Department of Financial Economics is located The room is equipped with the necessary IT-infrastructure and the computer class for the Master students is also in the building Start of the program: end of September End of the lectures: end of April Thesis (Graduation project): the thesis starts beginning of May and the results will be presented to the faculty and the bank/ company by the end of June Examination periods: Although in most cases students will be evaluated during the lecture weeks, for some courses a formal examination will be organised during two weeks after the Christmas holidays (first semester courses) and one week after the Easter break (second semester courses) If necessary, a second examination session is organised in September Degree Participants who end the program successfully will obtain a Master of Banking and Finance The university degree will only be granted to participants who meet all admission requirements, attend sessions regularly, complete the final project successfully and pass the test on the different subjects Tuition fee Currently, the tuition fee is set at  564,30 Participants have to enrol at Ghent University For students who wish to follow the program on a part-time basis, tuition fee will also be spread over two years In addition to the tuition fee, there are other specific costs like books, course material, use of software, etc We estimate this cost at approximately  400 The address is: Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Master of Banking and Finance, Lena De Cock Tweekerkenstraat 2, 9000 Gent, Belgium Students with a non-Belgian degree are required to take the GMAT organised by the Graduate Management Admission Council This test is organised at numerous locations all over the world (see http://www gmac.com for additional information) When taking the GMAT, please mention that the results should be forwarded to the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Ghent University (GMAT code number 7096) Based on their curriculum and this score, students may qualify for admission In addition, students may be required to take an admission test (Partial) exemption of this admission test can be offered if, on the basis of a strong academic curriculum, the individual seems to be familiar with the required basics The admission test consists of three parts: (1) Financial Economics (2) Investment Analysis, and (3) Econometrics and Statistics Our web­ ite contains references to books suited to prepare for the admiss sion test For any questions you may have with reference to procedure 1, please contact mbf@ugent.be Procedure 2: In order to be able to register for the Master of Banking and Finance, you MUST register at Ghent University For more information: http://www.ugent.be/en/teaching/admission/ degreestudent/application For any questions you may have with reference to procedure 2, please contact internationalstudents@UGent.be Master of Banking and Finance Teaching Staff Prof dr Michael Frömmel Prof dr Gerdie Everaert Michael Frömmel studied mathematics and business Gerdie Everaert obtained his Ph.D at Ghent University administration in Aachen, Germany, and obtained his in 2000 with a dissertation on public capital, economic PhD at the Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany, in growth and the labour market He teaches econome- 2003 with a dissertation on exchange rate volatility His trics at Ghent University His current research interests research focuses mainly on international finance, the are panel data econometrics, the macroeconomics and foreign exchange market and transition economies econometrics of the labour market and the effects of He worked as a visiting researcher at the Austrian, the fiscal policy He published in a variety of academic jour- Bulgarian and the Hungarian National Bank and joined nals including the Journal of Economic Dynamics and the Department of Financial Economics at Ghent Univer- Control, Journal of Time Series Econometrics, Macroeco- sity in 2007 as professor of finance Michael Frömmel nomic Dynamics, Empirical Economics, Public Choice and is author of two books and various articles inter alia in Economic Modelling Quantitative Finance, the Journal of Comparative Economics and the Journal of International Money and Finance Prof dr William De Vijlder Prof dr Rudi Vander Vennet William De Vijlder has been working in asset manage- Rudi Vander Vennet is full professor of financial econo- Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of mics, program director of the Master of Banking and Fortis Investment Management, the asset management Finance and chairman of the Department of Financial company of Fortis Since 2009 he is CIO of Strategy and Economics at Ghent University After obtaining a degree Partners and member of the Management Committee of in economics and a master in finance, he was enrolled BNP Paribas Investment Partners He obtained his PhD at in a Ph.D program at the University of Rochester, New Ghent University in 1990 and has been part-time profes- York His Ph.D dissertation analyzed the performance sor at the same university since 1991 ment since 1989 From 2000 till 2009 he was Global effects of European bank mergers and acquisitions He is (co-) author of various articles on banking and monetary topics in, e.g., Journal of Money, Credit and Banking Prof dr Koen Schoors or Journal of Banking and Finance and he has written Koen Schoors obtained his Ph.D at Ghent University in several contributions in books dealing with European 1998 with a dissertation on the emergence of a commer- bank markets and the EMU In 1999 he received two cial banking system in Russia Later he worked as a important scientific awards Next to his academic duties, consultant and banking expert in Moscow and spent one he has acquired valuable experience as a member of the year at Oxford University as a postdoctoral researcher board of directors of a number of holding companies before returning to Ghent University His main research and financial institutions and as a consultant for various focus is banking and finance, corporate finance, law and financial companies finance, law and economics and institutional economics Het has published widely on these topics in journals like Journal of Comparative Economics, International Review of Law and Economics, Economics of Transition, Journal of Corporate Finance, and Oxford Economic Papers He is an affiliate researcher at LICOS (Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance in Leuven), BOFIT (Bank of Finland Institute for Economies in Transition) and WDI (World Development Institute, University of Michigan) He widely contributes to the public debate in several economic fields Master of Banking and Finance Teaching Staff Prof dr Herman Verwilst Prof dr Gert Peersman Herman Verwilst obtained his Ph.D in economics at the Gert Peersman is full professor of Monetary Economics Johns Hopkins University (USA) in 1974 and worked until at the Department of Financial Economics He obtained 1979 at the International Monetary Fund In 1980 he his PhD in 2001 at Ghent University with a dissertation joined the Department of Financial Economics at Ghent titled “The transmission of monetary policy in the Euro University as full-time professor He is now part-time area: Implications for the European Central Bank“ His professor After a political career as head of the cabinet main research fields are monetary economics, monetary at the Belgian Ministery of Economic Affairs and as a policy and macroeconometrics He published in various member of the Belgian Senate, he moved to the financial international peer reviewed journals, such as Economic sector where he had several executive functions first at Journal, International Economic Review, Economic Policy, the ASLK-Bank and later in the Fortis Group Further- the Journal of Applied Econometrics, the Journal of more, he is chairman or member of several advisory coun- Money, Credit and Banking,… He has been a consultant cils He has written several academic articles on of bank- for The European Central Bank (Frankfurt) and the Bank ing and monetary economics, which were published in of England (London) He is also a member of the Belgian both international and Belgian journals In 1994 he held High Council for Finance the distinguished Francqui chair in Economics Prof dr Frank De Jonghe Dr Dries Heyman Frank De Jonghe is a partner at Deloitte, responsible for Dries Heyman is a postdoctoral FWO-fellow at the Depart- the Actuarial and Financial Risk Advisory team The team ment of Financial Economics He obtained his PhD in 2008 offers both added value support services to the exter- at Ghent University with a dissertation titled “Topics on nal auditors, and independent consulting, in a variety the Portfolio Management of Financial Investments“ His of areas, such as valuation of financial instruments, risk main research areas are mutual fund behavior en behavi- measurement and management, Basel II(I) and Solvency oral finance He published in international peer reviewed II, commodities trading, asset management, securitisa- journals such as Small Business Economics and Insurance: tion, … Mathematics and Economics Frank holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Leuven Before joining Deloitte, he worked for Euroclear as internal auditor, and at ING IM as mutual fund portfolio manager Further Information Other Master program If you would like to obtain further information Master of Marketing Analysis about the Master program in Banking and Finance, Programme Director: Prof dr Dirk VAN DEN POEL please not hesitate to contact us: Tel.: +32 (0)9 264 89 90 E-mail: mma@UGent.be Michael Frömmel/Rudi Vander Vennet Program Directors Phone: +32 (0)9 264 89 79 (Michael Frömmel) Phone: +32 (0)9 264 35 13 (Rudi Vander Vennet) Fax: +32 (0)9 264 89 95 E-mail: Michael.Froemmel@UGent.be E-mail: Rudi.VanderVennet@UGent.be How to reach us Lena De Cock/Nathalie Verhaeghe Program Co-ordinators Phone: +32 (0)9 264 34 68 (Lena De Cock) Phone: +32 (0)9 264 89 84 (Nathalie Verhaeghe) Department of Financial Economics Email: mbf@UGent.be Ghent University Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Tweekerkenstraat 9000 Ghent Belgium Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Department of Financial Economics Woodrow Wilsonplein 5D 9000 Ghent, Belgium Phone +32 (0)9 264 35 12 Fax +32 (0)9 264 89 95 http://www.feb.ugent.be/fineco/ More detailed information on the Master of Banking and Finance can be found at our website http://www.feb.ugent.be/fineco/mbf/ 10 ... Financial Economics Email: mbf@UGent.be Ghent University Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Tweekerkenstraat 9000 Ghent Belgium Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Faculty of. .. mergers and acquisitions He is (co-) author of various articles on banking and monetary topics in, e.g., Journal of Money, Credit and Banking Prof dr Koen Schoors or Journal of Banking and Finance and. .. course material, use of software, etc We estimate this cost at approximately  400 The address is: Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Master of Banking and Finance, Lena De Cock