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Finance Fundamentals: Financial Services after the Banking Crisis

Explore the UK financial services landscape today, including how financial firms and products are regulated with this online course from The Open University.

Duration

4 weeks

Weekly study

3 hours

100% online

How it works

Unlimited subscription

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Accreditation

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Established

1969

Location

Milton Keynes, UK

World ranking

Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020

See what’s changed in the financial services industry in the last decade

The financial crisis of the late 2000s transformed the UK financial services industry. This online course takes stock and examines the industry today.

You will review the history of the industry leading up to the financial crisis; examine its institutions and the issues they now grapple with; walk down the financial supermarket aisles and see what’s changing with the products on offer; and find out how the industry is now regulated and protects consumers.

The Open University’s Centre for the Public Understanding of Finance created this course, with the generous support of True Potential LLP.

Week 1
The origins and development of financial services
- The origins of the industry
  The origins of financial services in the UK. The emergence of banks, building societies, and insurance firms. The economic and political events that drove the emergence of financial institutions.
- The industry's twentieth century transformation
  Stock exchanges and investment firms. The key developments in the late twentieth century. The liberalisation of the financial services industry and ‘big-bang’. The impact of social changes like the growth of home ownership.
- Boom and bust in the 2000s
  The reforms to the regulation of the industry in the 1990s and 2000s – and again in the 2010s. The 2007/08 financial crisis and the emergency action taken to prevent the banking system from collapsing.
Week 2
Post-crisis: new players, new issues, new rules
- After the crisis: new lenders
  Banks and building societies after the financial crisis. Competition issues and the ‘challenger’ banks, pay and bonuses, ring-fencing banks. Reining in the ‘pay day’ lenders.
- Insurance, investments and financial advice
  Insurance firms: gender and genetic issues. The London Stock Exchange evolves. Investment funds and hedge funds. The role of financial advisers.
- Technology and the reformation of regulation
  Regulation – a bigger role for the Bank of England. The new regulatory environment with the PRA and FCA. How we conduct financial services business: the internet and comparison sites.
Week 3
What’s on offer? The marketplace and current issues
- Personal finance in an era of low interest rates
  The fight for current account business. Historically low interest rates on loans, mortgages and other debt products. Savers lose out on interest rates but get bigger tax breaks. Shares and bonds see big swings in market prices.
- New freedoms in investment products
  Investment funds and tax-efficient investing products. Pension schemes. Pension reform in the UK – the benefits and the risks.
- Property and choosing insurance products
  The focus is on property: running a property portfolio – is buy-to-let coming under threat? Equity release products – making good use of your home or poor value? A decision-making model to use in the financial marketplace.
Week 4
Regulation and consumer protection
- Regulating the industry – what do the regulators do?
  The UK regulatory structure – and the leading roles played by the FCA and the PRA. How do firms get regulated? The Senior Managers Regime replaces the Approved Persons Regime.
- Selling products to consumers – what are the rules?
  Consumer protection and rights when products are sold. Good and bad selling practices. The Retail Distribution Review (RDR) and the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) – are these working for consumers of financial services?
- Protection and help in the financial marketplace
  The multiple safety nets for consumers. CASS, the Financial Ombudsman’s Service, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Organisations that can help and provide guidance – the Money Advice Service and Citizens Advice.