Behavioural Finance: My favourite module on the GCBQ programme

My name is Charles Chungu Daka, a full-time banker at Zambia Industrial Commercial Bank and a part-time MSc Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation student at Warwick Business School.

Having completed five modules so far, my favourite has been Behavioural Finance.

I would recommend this module to individuals who are curious enough about the behaviours of consumers, investors, and even themselves—those who want to look beyond the what of financial decisions to uncover the often-hidden why. The module explores how real investor behaviour deviates from rational benchmarks, drawing on concepts such as heuristics, cognitive biases, emotions, and Prospect Theory. These insights shed light on market inefficiencies and puzzles that traditional finance alone cannot fully explain.

The module has been a secret weapon in my role as a Digital Product and Channels Officer. My work involves researching customer behaviour, creating digital products, deriving insights, and identifying trends. With my new Behavioural Finance hat on, it helps me to understand not only what customers do, but why they make certain financial decisions—whether influenced by anchoring, loss aversion, or overconfidence. This understanding strengthens how I design, analyse, and improve banking products and channels that click with real people.

Furthermore, the module sharpened my ability to critique market behaviour, identify inefficiencies, and appreciate how central banks can incorporate behavioural insights into policy and regulation.