Universität Wien
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040071 SE Seminar (MA) (2025W)

Fintech and the Changing Nature of Financial Intermediation

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 4 - Wirtschaftswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 24 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Attendance of the organizational meeting at October 6th is mandatory. This is when the seminar program will be introduced and the various tasks will be allocated.

Attendance of the organizational meeting at October 6th is mandatory. This is when the seminar program will be introduced and the various tasks will be allocated.

The idea of the seminar is to read and organize relevant literature in the first meetings before the writing stage is entered. After the reading phase participants will select a topic for the final seminar paper, which is typically different from the selection of the initial paper.

Short student presentations will begin October 20th. Only after a paper from the literature list has been satisfactorily presented and discussed with the peers, participants can select the topic of their seminar paper.

The seminar paper is due end of January 2026.

  • Monday 06.10. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 06.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 13.10. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 13.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 20.10. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 20.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 27.10. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 27.10. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 03.11. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 03.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 10.11. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 10.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 17.11. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 17.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 24.11. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Monday 24.11. 16:45 - 18:15 Seminarraum 3 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Disruptive advances in digital technology, data analytics, and the availability of big data are reshaping the delivery of financial services. How do these advances affect to traditional role of financial intermediaries? How are these innovations enhancing productivity of financial intermediaries? How are they affecting risk management? How are they affecting the prudential regulation of financial intermediaries? Will finanical intermediaries ultimately be replaced by technology platforms? Which is the scope of direct interaction and decentralized finance?

These are pressing questions of current cutting-edge research in the field of intermediation. They affect trading, payments, saving and lending. The seminar provides an introduction into and orientation within this rapidly expanding literature. As such it serves also as an introduction for topics that can be pursued in independent research while drafting a master thesis.

Assessment and permitted materials

Seminar paper (45%)
Presentation of literature articles (30%)
Active discussion of work of peers (25%) -

Attendance and active participation are mandatory. This course is NOT intended for part-time students.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Intimate knowledge of the required preparatory reading is essential for a positive evaluation.

Grading is based on three elements:

1. Seminar paper (45%)

2. Presentations of relevant literature articles (30%)

3. Active participation (25%)

Research requires two-way communication of ideas. Therefore, in research communication both, sender and receiver play a crucial role to establish knowledge and potentially extend it further. Accordingly, both roles will be relevant for grading.

Examination topics

1. Seminar paper
2. Presentation of literature articles
3. Active participation throughout the seminar, i.e. in ALL sessions.

Reading list

Required preparatory reading: X. Freixas and J.C. Rochet: Microeconomics of Banking, 2008, 2nd ed., MIT-Press.

A complete literature list will be presented at the opening session of Oct. 7th and be made available in Moodle.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 27.07.2026 09:26