Why I chose to study the Financial Regulation & Supervision module

Global Central Banking and Financial Regulation participant, Berna Altun, shares why they chose to study the Financial Regulation & Supervision module.

I'm Berna Altun from Germany, and I work for the Central Bank of Germany Deutsche Bundesbank. I decided to join the Financial Regulation & Supervision module as I am currently working in this area and wanted to gain further insights.

This module gives you a comprehensive and detailed study of financial regulation, and insights of the interaction between deposit insurance moral hazard and the too big to fail problem, which is getting more important nowadays. We also explored the legal basis for financial regulation, the hard capital and liquidity rules created by Basel III, how raising capital requirements would inhibit growth and how to make the system safe from excessive incentivisation. The most interesting part for me was how to regulate fintech, since it's not a bank like the traditional models but it's a competing institution with the traditional financial methods. This is quite complex so it was useful to establish a theoretical basis to understand it. In addition, exploring how to regulate fintech was interesting as it is always changing and so it is exciting as this module will always evolve and next year there will be different resources. It is very topical and relevant, which I liked! 

Overall, this module generally provides a big picture of the financial system. The financial system consists of many market players, so it doesn't have to be just the institution it can be also the private market or customer. This module allows you to explore different perspectives of the economy generally and to know how the risks are working, how the regulations are working and how to act from different perspectives.

The live sessions are easy to attend as you know the dates before the module starts. During the live sessions, the lectures present their presentation and then we have 20 minutes to ask questions and to get the answers. However, if you did miss any live sessions, you can easily upload and watch in your own time. The my.wbs online learning platform has many different resources including the modules with the papers, an open Library resource and the option to reach out to our professors. Having this close cooperation meant that working never felt lonely. In addition, as part of the module you are set up in small groups with your fellow cohort members. Although it is not mandatory to work with them, it is helpful to discuss the modules, assessments and to share ideas or insights.

I'm planning to switch from my current role to a monetary policy department where I will be able to implement my learnings from this module. This programme is enabling me to open myself to new areas and open new doors in my career.