Postgraduate Course: Principles of Banking Law (LAWS11515)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course deals with fundamental concepts of banking (and finance) law. Given the varied backgrounds of students on the LLM International Banking and Finance Programme - some have a legal background, whilst others have a finance/business/economics background - this course will seek to help students to undertake the International Banking and Finance Law Programme on an equal footing. This is because the topics studied in this course are fundamental ones regarding banking and finance law, and are relevant to other courses in the programme, i.e., the course looks at concepts that those dealing with banking (and finance) law need to know and understand. |
| Course description |
As indicated above , Principles of Banking Law provides a knowledge of fundamental and important concepts relating to banking and finance law. This course is important not only as a matter of general knowledge for students involved in learning about banking and finance law, but for at least one other course on the programme (Principles of Financial Transactions). The proposed topics that the course will look at include:
(i) the banker-customer relationship - the debtor-creditor relationship between a bank and its customer will be looked at - this is the fundamental relationship between a bank and its customer: that the customer only has a personal right to recover money deposited in a bank account; there will also be a very broad look at the United Kingdom regulatory position to give the discussion context;
(ii) the operation of bank accounts - the application of moneys paid into, and out of, bank accounts, the rules relating to this, and the problems arising in relation to secured lending and debt recovery; in addition, the rules concerning set-off of bank accounts, particularly with regard to insolvency, will be looked at;
(iii) banker's obligation of confidentiality - the duty to keep information acquired by a banker about a customer secret, subject to well-defined exceptions;
(iv) anti-money laundering and data protection/cybersecurity (financial crime) - deals with the rules regarding liability for involvement with money laundering, including the obligation to report "suspicious transactions", "tipping off", the criminal sanctions imposed on bankers for non-compliance, and the effect on bank secrecy; also, the rules about safely processing and storing, and not disclosing, "personal data" of customers will be looked at, including the sanctions involved for breach, and the obligations put on banks;
(v) bank conduct- the obligations and liability for advice given and services provided, under the general law and statute (the second Market in Financial Instruments Directive);
(vi) trusts (relevant to banking) - money is often held on trust - this seminar provides a broad overview of what is involved in a trust and being a trustee, and the benefits of using a trust (such as, protection in insolvency)
(vii) United Kingdom corporate insolvency regime (relevant to banking) - looks at liquidation, receivership and administration - banking transactions have to be predicated on the basis of insolvency: what happens if the customer becomes insolvent?; and
(viii) secured lending (corporate loans and security for loans) - what are the key concepts involved in loan and security documents, and what are the key provisions in such documents.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 25 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
A 100% essay of 5,000 words in length. Students will have a choice of topics taken from the subjects studied during the course. |
| Feedback |
Formative Assessment
This will take the form of a case note of 4 pages. Guidance is provided as to the layout of the note, eg, Facts, Court's Reasoning. The purpose is to get students from non-United Kingdom jurisdictions reading and understanding and digesting cases (a primary source), as these are important for this course and the assessment process.
It further gives the students the opportunity to practice and utilise their legal writing skills and their referencing skills, ie, footnoting sources, such as, the case citation and the relevant page or paragraph. Referencing skills are important.
The students will be given written feedback on their formative assessment, so that errors can be corrected in advance of the Summative assessment. Students will be given a draft grade to provide them with an idea as to how they went.
Students will be given 3-4 weeks to complete the task, which will be issued early in the semester; they will receive written feedback on their formative assessment before the end of the course.
Summative Assessment
This will be by means of a 5,000 word essay from a choice of topics on the semester's work. This tests a student's knowledge, research skills, analytical skills and communication skills
Students will be provided with written feedback via LEARN. This will, normally, be within 3 weeks from the date of submission, as per University requirements.
Essay Writing Assistance
Students will be provided with a written Essay Writing Guide, setting out good practice and key points regarding essays, ie, the approach to writing essays, what should and should not be included, and resources and referencing.
In addition, essay writing will be discussed in class.
And students will be provided with an Essay Checklist before handing in their essay. This is a summary of key matters they should do and include in their essay. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Have a good grounding in, and understanding of, the key legal principles involved in banking and finance law
- Have a good grounding in, and understanding of, the key legal principles involved in banking and finance law.
- Demonstrate familiarity with the importance of key legal principles in banking and finance law, and their application to banking transactions and operations.
- Have a general appreciation of the law and practice of banking and finance law and the transactions involved in a wider context.
- Be able to undertake independent research in banking and finance law and critically analyse, and apply, what has been learnt.
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Reading List
There will be no set textbook for this course, as articles, cases and legislation will be important. However, the following books can be used as a basis for the course:
(i) R Cranston and E Avgouleas, Principles of Banking Law (2019, 3rd edn, OUP);
(ii) P Hood, Principles of Lender Liability (2012, OUP); and
(iii) L Gullifer, Goode and Gullifer on Legal Problems of Credit and Security (2022, 7th edn, Sweet &. Maxwell)
(iv) PR Wood, Practice of International Banking and the Law (2008, Univesity Edition, Sweet & Maxwell) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
1. "Skills and Abilities in Research and Enquiries"
To be able to effectively research and improve knowledge in areas relevant to banking and finance law, and apply and contextualise the knowledge obtained.
2. "Skills and Abilities in Personal and Intellectual Autonomy"
To be able to think and work independently, including critical self-evaluation and resilience.
3. "Skills and Abilities in Communication"
To be able to communicate their ideas and views, both orally and in written form, in a cogent and coherent manner. In framing these ideas and view, they would be aware of the relevant context (both domestic and international)
4. "Skills and Abilities in Personal Effectiveness"
Being able to adapt to new and changing circumstances, and deal with new situations; and to be able to interact effectively with others.
5. "Technical/practical skills"
Use and apply the knowledge and skills learnt to good effect in the work force (e.g., as a legal practitioner, or in banking or finance) and real world situations, i.e., be able to apply knowledge and critical thinking to solve problems |
| Keywords | debtor-creditor relationship,bank confidentiality,money laundering,data protection,banking |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Parker Hood
Tel: (0131 6)50 2048
Email: Parker.Hood@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Hannah Ackroyd
Tel: (0131 6)50 2008
Email: hackroyd@ed.ac.uk |
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