Provide the basic knowledge of the mechanisms of financial intermediation and the functioning of financial markets; Gain skills relating to the management conditions of financial intermediaries, with particular reference to economic and risk profiles; Learn the technical, legal, financial and operational characteristics of financial instruments traded by intermediaries.

Knowledge and understanding: the student will have acquired elementary knowledge of intermediation mechanisms, instruments, markets and financial intermediaries; will understand the meaning of financial instrument prices and the reasons for their variations; will be able to recognize the reasons for the central bank's monetary policy actions and predict the desired effects on financial and real markets; will possess the general framework for the regulation of markets and financial intermediaries. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: the student will be able to assess financial instruments, calculate ex-post and expected returns; will be able to capture the main risk factors associated with financial instruments and calculate the impact of these risks on expected returns; will be able to design simple investment and risk management structures. Autonomy of judgement: the student will have developed the ability to critically assess the investment and financing opportunities offered by markets and financial intermediaries; will be able to assess the presence of possible mispricing situations on the markets; dynamically understand price trends; express personal opinions on the monetary policy choices of the central bank. Communicative skills: the student will have developed the ability to understand the language, even slang, of operators and media that deal with finance; he will be able to talk to professionals in the sector to comment on market trends and will be able to explain to non-specialists the most relevant issues and market trends, for example, expressing opinions on the investment of savings and the acquisition of resources for a simple company. Learning skills: the student will be able to keep constantly updated on the dynamics of financial markets, on the evolution of innovations and new techniques of intermediation of financial resources and will be able to continuously enrich his or her knowledge on the subject by consulting the appropriate sources of specialist information.

Analysis of the characteristics and functioning of financial markets Theory of intermediation and functions of financial intermediaries Financial intermediaries: management, risks and regulation Analysis of the characteristics of financial instruments traded on financial markets

The reference book is Mishkin, F.S., Eakins, S.G., Beccalli, E. "Financial Institutions and Markets," (Ninth Edition) Pearson. Slides and exercises presented in class and signalled by the professor as part of the final exam.

The teaching activity is articulated as follows: Frontal lectures and exercises: aimed at providing basic knowledge, and discussing with students the program's topics. Case Study: analysts, experts, representatives of the credit and financial intermediation sector are invited to enrich the course content by bringing their professional experience to the classroom. Group project: students are involved in group project presentation activities to develop the skills of research, coordination, adoption of technical language and public speaking. Individual study: students integrate the knowledge and skills acquired in the classroom with an individual study of the textbook and reading of in-depth documents indicated by the teacher to promote independent learning skills.

For attending students: Written exam (40%) Continous Assessment (60%) of which Individual evaluation (40%) + Group project (20%) Attending students are those who systematically attend lectures. The essential requisite for being considered an attending student is continuous participation in a group project. The evaluation of the attending students will result from the outcome of the final written exam (40%) and the continuous assessment (60%) that will take place during the course, at individual and group level. The individual evaluation and final written test will consist of: open-ended questions. The subject of the individual evaluation will be the chapters of the book indicated below: Chapter Topic 2 Financial system 12 Interest rates and the role in valuation 18 Financial markets and interest rates 20 Money markets 21 Bond markets 22 Stock markets 23 Forex markets 24 Derivatives markets The subject of the final test, in addition to the chapters provided above for individual evaluation only in the event of a negative outcome or refusal of the grade point assigned to the same, will be the chapters of the book indicated below: Chapter Topic 8 Banking and financial regulation 15 Risk management in financial institutions 16 Central banks structure: the European Central Bank 17 Monetary policy management: instruments and objectives In both tests, any other reference materials distributed during the course and indicated as "study material" will also be subject to verification. The assessment of group work will initially be the same for all members of the group and individual insofar as the professor can ascertain the effective contribution of each member. To this end, the classroom presentations will not be entrusted to one or more "spokesmen", but the professor will invite some or all of the group members to present or discuss parts of the work. The composition of the groups will be decided by the professor and communicated at the beginning of the course. In the days immediately following the course start, each person must confirm or not confirm their intention to participate in the working groups. Those who communicate their withdrawal from the assigned group will be considered "non-attenders". For non-attending students: Written exam (100%) Non-attending students are those who cannot systematically follow the course (regardless of the reason, i.e. participation in internships or completion of the Erasmus period does not allow attendance). Non-attenders are also those who do not participate or withdraw from group work. One year after the end of the course, all students in debt are considered non-attending. Non-attending students will only be assessed based on the final written exam, the structure of which will be the same, but the number of question exercises appropriate to the value of the test will be 100%. The subject of the test will be the chapters of the book indicated below: Chapter Topic 2 Financial system 6 Banks: fundamentals of business and management 7 Banking sector: structure and competition 8 Banking and financial regulation 9 Mutual funds 10 Insurance companies and pension funds 11 Investment banks, brokers and dealers, venture capital 12 Interest rates and the role in valuation 13 Bank operations 14 Financial statements and bank management 15 Risk management in financial institutions 16 Central banks structure: the European Central Bank 17 Monetary policy management: instruments and objectives 18 Financial markets and interest rates 20 Money markets 21 Bond markets 22 Stock markets 23 Forex markets 24 Derivatives markets Plus, any other reference material distributed during the year and indicated as "study material".

There are no formal barriers. The assignment of the final thesis is made by the professor after the approval of the topic, the bibliographic research, and a brief memo illustrating the thesis project.