LAU44132 Financial Services Law

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, students should be able to:

• Identify and critically evaluate the events which led to the overhaul of financial regulation.
• Develop an understanding of the functioning of modern financial markets.
• Demonstrate a sound knowledge of financial regulation.
• Appraise the impact of EU law on domestic financial regulation. · Develop an awareness of developments in financial regulation at a European level.
• Identify the political and economic forces shaping financial services regulation.
  
  

Module Learning Aims

This course will introduce students to financial services and their regulation. Since Ireland’s accession to the EU, Irish financial regulation has been heavily influenced by EU legislation. The financial and sovereign debt crisis have led to greater harmonization of financial regulation. As a result, the course will focus on European legislation and developments.

Module Content

The course will deal with banking and financial market supervision and regulation, such as the recent establishment of the European Banking Union. Furthermore, we will discuss the events which led to the radical overhaul of financial regulation, such as the financial crisis, the sovereign debtcrisis and the Irish banking crisis. Finally, we will also analyze recent developments which will likely alter the structure of Irish and EU financial markets in the coming years, such as the sustainable finance initiatives of the European Commission. The course will examine EU financial services law focusing on major pieces of legislation, such as MIFID II and the European Banking Union. Furthermore, the course will also examine the structure of the regulatory system in Ireland. The focus of the course will be on thorough individual reading of major pieces of legislation and initiatives in the financial services field and group discussion and analysis, through which the class can collectively explore major themes in EU and Irish financial services law. The course will enhance students’ research abilities, their critical analysis of legal materials, their legal writing, and their communication skills. It will challenge them to think about financial regulation at both the detailed micro level of discrete problems and the broader macro level of the financial system.

Recommended Reading List

For an overview of the theoretical underpinnings of financial regulation see J. Armour, D. Awrey, P. Davies, L. Enriques, J. N. Gordon, C. Mayer, and J. Payne, Principles of Financial Regulation, Oxford University Press, 2016

For an overview of financial services law in the EU see Niamh Moloney, EU Securities and Financial Markets Regulation. Third Edition, Oxford University Press