Program Overview

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ECONOMIC LAW

The course aims at providing students with adequate instruments to understand and critically analyze the financial sector from the legal point of view.

OVERVIEW

We will examine prudential regulation, conduct of business rules and the main contracts, taking into account recent developments and scientific debates within the sector, both nationally and internationally, and using seminars to analyze the most interesting and relevant to banking law cases, while developing research and critical analysis skills.

AIMS AND CONTENT

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Knowledge and understanding: the students will acquire adequate knowledge and understanding of the main concepts and rules in the area of banking law, capital markets and competition (with particular regard to TUB, TUF and EU law) (advanced alphabetic-functional competence with open badge)
• Ability to apply knowledge and understanding. The students will be able to apply the knowledge to practical cases, conduct research and understand and solve technical issues emerging in practice in deploying technology to the financial sector
• Critical and autonomous thinking. The students will develop the ability to use and apply their knowledge from a theoretical and practical point of view in different contexts, with autonomous critical thinking (advanced personal competence with open badge)
• Communication skills. The students will acquire the ability to use the technical language used by lawyers and by the financial sector to communicate with professionals, experts but also the general public; thanks to the participation to the seminars and work groups, students will develop soft skills (presentation, communication, team work: advanced social competence; creative competence with open badge)
• Learning skills. The students will develop learning skills which will allow them to keep deepen independently new issues and future applications in the area of financial markets and to adequately deal with the challenges that might emerge in their future working context (advanced learn how to learn competence with open badge).

PREREQUISITES

The students, in studying economic law, will benefit from previous knowledge and understanding of business and corporate law and contracts (private and public law are mandatory pre-requisites).

TEACHING METHODS

Lessons (with active participation of students; instant pools, case-based learning) and seminars (with presentations by students; project-based and case-based teaching; team based learning, debate, etc.: soft skills/open badge available for these activities).

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Part I: Introduction and basic notions

1. The financial sector in historical perspective. Principles and structure of financial regulation and supervision
2. The legal notion of bank and banking activity.
   1. Bank and banking activity in the law. Authorisation
   2. Specialty of banks after the financial crisis
   3. Non-bank financial institutions: 106 TUB, payment institutions, e-money institutions and others (taking into account PSD 2 reform).
   4. Types of activities reserved to banks, of bank permissible activities, prohibited activities.
3. Financial market and investment services
   1. Notion of financial product, financial instruments and investment services
   2. Activity reserved to investment firms and authorisation
4. Supervisory Architecture:
   1. Italian financial Authorities
   2. Recent developments in European Financial Regulation and Supervision: Lamfalussy and the European passport; ESRB, ESAs and the Banking Union (and the role of the ECB in banking supervision); Capital Markets Union
   3. Other authorities and division of competences
   4. International authorities: Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, FSB, etc.

Part II: Regulation of financial intermediaries. Prudential regulation

1. Rules and instruments of prudential regulation and supervision.
   1. Sources of law
   2. groups; crises and resolutions
   3. Deposit guarantee schemes and investor protection systems

Part III: Regulation of financial intermediaries: conduct rules and contracts

1. Applicable law.
2. General regimes (banking, investment)
3. Special regimes
4. Cosumer protection and special regimes (consumer credit and residential mortgages)
5. Aspects of competition law

Part IV: Sustainable finance

1. Sustainable development; role of sustainable finance
2. Notion and characteristics of sustainable finance; limits and obstacles;
3. EU action plan; focus on EU green taxonomy, SFDR, review of delegated acts of MiFID II, AIFMD/UCITS, climate-related benchmark regulation, Ecolabel, EU Green bond standards, CSRD; ISSB; sustainability and prudential regulation.

Part V: Competition law (essential aspects)

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

EUGENIA MACCHIAVELLO

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam aimed at verifying both the general understanding of the area of study and the knowledge on specific topics as well as an adequate level of the specialised language. For students participating to classes (at least 60%) there might be the possibility to take a mid-term exam on the first part of the syllabus. The final grade will be then be determined by the average of mid-term grade and the oral exam grade plus possible additional points received with the active participation in class and seminars/working groups.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Students will be graded based on a oral exam, with questions to test their knowledge about specific topics but also about the underlying rationales of financial regulation and reasoning as well as the level of specialised language. For students attending 60%, a mid-term exam might contribute to the final grade and additional points granted based on the active participation in class and the preparation of presentations in working groups classes (in this last case, with also the attribution of open badges - soft skills).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Please see the course's page on Aulaweb 2025/26 for updated information.

LESSONS

LESSONS START

February 2026

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAM SCHEDULE

Data appello | Orario | Luogo | Degree type | Note
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16/12/2025 | 11:00 | GENOVA | Orale |
22/01/2026 | 15:00 | LA SPEZIA | Orale |
05/02/2026 | 11:00 | LA SPEZIA | Orale |
21/05/2026 | 14:00 | LA SPEZIA | Orale |
11/06/2026 | 11:00 | LA SPEZIA | Orale |
25/06/2026 | 11:00 | LA SPEZIA | Orale |
09/07/2026 | 11:00 | LA SPEZIA | Orale |
10/09/2026 | 11:00 | LA SPEZIA | Orale |

OPENBADGE

SOFT SKILLS - Alfabetica avanzato 1 - A

SOFT SKILLS - Personale avanzato 1 - A

SOFT SKILLS - Sociale avanzato 1 - A

SOFT SKILLS - Creazione progettuale base 1 - A

SOFT SKILLS - Imparare a imparare base 1 - A