Financial Risk Management (FIN108)

This course aims to provide you with an overview of the financial risks that every firm, particularly those in the financial services industry, and people working in these firms face in their activities. Using effective learning approaches such as case studies from PRMIA, FRM and other word-leading certifications for finance and risk management, along with various stories on the lessons of the past narrated by financial historians in famous books or documentaries about finance and risk, and most recent regulatory standards, you will gain an understanding on the evolution and current practices of companies to measure and manage the most important risks they are exposed to: market risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, and operational risk.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to answer each of the following questions: (1) How do individuals define, perceive and deal with risk, and what does this imply for financial risk management? (2) How does a good risk management process help firms, particularly those from the financial services industry, and what can be the consequences of the inadequate risk management? (3) Which are the main financial risks and what are the techniques and tools to measure and manage them? (4) What are some of the most important cases and history lessons with respect to financial risk management failures and what do they teach us?

• Define risk, risk measurement and risk management, explain the functions, benefits and costs of risk management and describe a risk management process for both financial institutions and non-financial corporations.
• Define the market risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, operational risk and systemic risk and describe the main techniques and tools to measure and manage them.
• Analyze and reflect critically on both the good practices and failures in financial risk management based on the recent news articles, assigned readings, cases and relevant research.