Finance and Banking

In order to graduate, the student must complete the program successfully with a GPA of 2.25 or above, and must earn a total of 129 credit hours. Students with a BBA in Finance and Banking should be able to:

• Comprehend and apply finance and banking theories for analyzing business opportunities in these areas.
• Develop problem-solving strategies for financial decision-making.
• Work with corporate houses to further develop their skills.
• Promote multi-disciplinary research and consultancy with the local business community through standard work-based projects and internship.

In the first two years of the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree program, students follow a prescribed sequence of courses. This sequence focuses on GUCR and supporting business requirements, providing students with a broad-based and well-rounded knowledge through acquiring communication skills, problem-solving and IT skills, as well as an understanding of general business concepts. This solid background enables students to complete the specialization requirements in one of their areas of interest during the third and fourth year of the BBA program. The program is further supported by electives chosen from a selection of different courses, to broaden students’ knowledge and enhance their specialized skills.

BFIN 316 Financial Statement Analysis

This course focuses on three major financial statements: the balance sheet, the income statement and the statement of cash flows. For each financial statement, the course details its purpose, construction, pertinent ratios and common-size analysis. Understanding these concepts allows students to evaluate trends in performance over several measurement periods and to compare the performance of different companies over the same period(s). Additional analyst tools such as EPS calculation are also covered.

BFIN 317 International Finance and Banking

The purpose of this course is to focus on international finance theory with current practical applications. The coverage includes: international financial markets including banks, exchange rate determination and government influence on exchange rates, interest rate parity, international fisher effect, exchange rate risk management, managing economic and translation exposures.

BFIN 408 Investment Analysis

The purpose of this course is to investigate trading in financial securities such as stocks and bonds. The coverage includes: trading of securities, analysis of risk and return (using UAE data) diversification, CAPM & APT pricing models, analysis of efficient market hypothesis, bond and stock valuation and technical analysis.

BFIN 412 Managing Investment Portfolios

The purpose of this course is to manage investment portfolios for individual and institutional investors. The coverage includes: managing bond portfolios, macroeconomic and industry analysis, investment strategies, performance evaluation and active portfolio management.

BFIN 431 Management of Banks and Other Financial Institutions

The purpose of this course is to investigate nature of intermediation in financial institutions (commercial and investment banks, insurance companies and Islamic banks) and products developed and managed by these institutions.

BFIN 437 Risk Management

The purpose of the course is to examine the business aspects of risk management as well as corporate application of principles of risk management. The coverage includes risk management, ERM, risk pooling, and use of derivatives (options, future, forwards, swaps) for risk management of institutions.