Slides updated for 2026
Lecture slides
The full set of slides behind Global Financial Systems — taught as FM 447 at the London School of Economics and revised every term. Download any chapter as a PDF.
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · free to use in teaching, with attribution
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Systemic Risk
What systemic risk is, where it comes from and how it is measured and contained
Great Depression
The 1920s buildup, the 1929 crash, monetary and trade policy failures and parallels with today
Liquidity
Market and funding liquidity, how they interact and why liquidity vanishes in a crisis
Asian Crisis of 1997 and the IMF
The 1997 Asian crisis, its causes, the IMF response and the lessons drawn
Banking Crises
Why banks fail, what banking crises cost and how best practice tries to prevent them
Bank Runs and Deposit Insurance
Bank runs, the Diamond-Dybvig model and how deposit insurance changes bank fragility
Trading and Speculation
Trading activities, speculation, market abuse scandals and the policy response to them
(Credit) Markets (and infrastructure)
Credit markets, securitisation, ratings, margins, central clearing and the shadow banking system
Currency Markets. Part a
Currency market structure, fixed and floating regimes, Bretton Woods, intervention and speculative attacks
Currency Markets. Part b
Carry trades, capital flows and controls, global imbalances, FX trading and reserve currencies
Currency Crisis Models
First and second generation currency crisis models, global games and the Argentine experience
Financial Regulations
Basel capital rules, how much capital banks need, macroprudential policy, supervision and resolution
Bailouts
Why authorities bail out banks, lender of last resort history, moral hazard and alternatives
Dangerous Instruments
Credit default swaps, CDOs, correlation and complexity in the 2007-2009 crisis
Failures in Risk Management and Regulations
How risk management and regulation failed before the crisis and the role of capital
The ongoing crisis 2007-2009 phase
The buildup to 2007, how banking changed, the crisis itself and the policy response
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Ongoing/Latest Developments in Financial Regulations
Sovereign Debt Crises
Sovereign debt, why it is repaid without enforcement, defaults and today's debt sustainability
Digital Currencies
Stablecoins, their run risk and geopolitics, central bank digital currencies and the underlying technology
Artificial Intelligence
How AI is used in finance, cyber risk, monoculture, supervision and AI-driven crises
The global financial system in 2026: Opportunities and threats
Threats and opportunities ahead, from sovereign debt and demographics to climate, populism and geopolitics
License — These slides are licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0. Non-commercial use is permitted, but not distribution of modified versions. Material credited to a source on the slide itself is excepted and remains with its original owner. For permission to adapt the slides for your own course, please get in touch.
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