Course | Columbia Law School

This course is an introduction to the international financial system, its key legal and institutional arrangements, and the kinds of financial markets, intermediaries, and instruments that characterize contemporary global financial practice. The course combines institutional and transactional analysis. It examines both the building blocks of the global financial system and the variety of financial instruments and alternatives available to participants in this system.

The course is divided into four parts. Parts one and two consider the distinctive character of the contemporary global financial system and the key legal and regulatory building blocks that comprise this system. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of the IMF, the World Bank and the BIS in the coordination and integration of global financial markets; the role of national financial regulators and central banks in the monitoring and supervision of national markets; and on the evolving framework of international standards and rules governing capital adequacy, financial disclosure and domestic and international financial risk-taking.

Part three considers a series of recent transactions involving key areas of global finance: global bonds, global banking, and offshore funds and portfolio investment. We consider some of the key legal and institutional challenges facing parties to these transactions, the structuring alternatives available to market players and policy makers, and some of the consequences of these alternatives for the parties and countries involved.

Part four considers the contemporary debate over global financial governance and proposals to reform the global financial system.

The course should be of interest to students planning a career in international legal or financial transactions, as well as for students interested in pursuing policy work in international finance or economic development.