Finance 408 A and B (TENTATIVE OUTLINE 01/08/06)     Dr. James B. Kehr
Second Semester, 2005-2006                           Office: 116D Upham Hall
Tuesday and Thursday                                 Office Telephone: 529-1571
Section A -  8:00 -  9:15,  16 Upham Hall            Office Hours at Oxford:
Section B -  9:30 - 10:45,  16 Upham Hall            Tu,Th 2:00-4:00; W 10:00-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX11:00 and by Appointment
Internet Site:  http://www.sba.muohio.edu/kehrjb/    E-Mail: kehrjb@muohio.edu

REQUIRED TEXT: Benton E. Gup and James W. Kolari, Commercial Banking: The Management of Risk, Third Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005

The Stanford Bank Game: Version 11 Players' Manual, Executive Edition, Terry Beals, (Human Resources West, Inc., San Francisco, CA, l996 (Oxford Copy Shop)

SUGGESTED: Wall Street Journal

CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION: Commercial Bank Management (3 Semester Hours) Operations of financial institutions. Identification and analysis of problems of financial institutions within our changing environment. Consideration of competition and growth, profitability, capital, and regulation. Emphasis on commercial banking.

STATEMENT ABOUT THE COURSE: This course is one of two courses (the other being Finance 475-Financial Policies of Corporations) that constitute the last of a three course thematic sequence in Corporate Finance. From the understanding of the principles and the acquisition of the tools of financial analysis acquired in Finance 301 (Introduction to Business Finance) and Finance 302 (Intermediate Financial Management) students will apply financial tools to make commercial bank business decisions. Students will be challenged to both understand and use financial theories.

Commercial Bank Management (Finance 408) provides students with an opportunity to apply finance tools acquired in prior courses to solve commercial banking problems.  Areas of interest in banking include 1) asset/liability management, 2) the loan portfolio, 3) the security portfolio, 4) liquidity management, 5) capital management and 6) liabilities management.   The knowledge obtained in this course will challenge students to interact with other learners.  Students reflect and act on problems facing the banking industry.

The Stanford Bank Simulation Game is used in this class.  Student teams compete with each other to maximize the shareholder wealth of their respective banks.  To be successful, students must think critically and logically about managing a bank and integrate knowledge from the academic areas of economics, finance, management and money & banking. (See Stanford Bank Game paragraph below)

STUDENT INFORMATION: On the first day of class you will be given a 3" by 5" index card.  On the front of this index card you will give your full name along with the name that you wish to be referred to in class.  You will also give your class (Jr., Sr.), your major, your local address & telephone number, your cell phone number or work telephone number if you wish, and your email address. On this day I will photograph you.  This photo will be placed on the completed index card.  On the back of this index card please give me the  name of anyone involved in a financial institution who you feel could add to our class by being a guest speaker (please give their name, institution, position and phone number, if known).

CALCULATOR: You are required to purchase a financial calculator. Consider purchasing one of the following financial calculators: 1) Sharp Business/Financial Calculator EL-733A; 2) Texas Instruments BAII Plus (preferred) and 3) Hewlett-Packard (HP) 10B.  The Hewlett-Packard (HP) 12C; (HP) 17BII and 19BII are more expensive financial calculators that could be used in this course.  You will NOT be permitted to use a palm pilot, blackberry, cell phone, or any other type of communication device on examinations.

STANFORD BANK GAME: The Stanford Bank Game is a simulation where you take over the management of a Commercial Bank. Each class will divide itself into teams of 4-6 students. Each team will make financial and strategic decisions for a bank in a simulated quarterly environment. You should keep a record of your team’s meetings and your attendance. Your team is responsible for organizing how you will structure the analysis and completion of the various decision making areas needed to play the game.  Student Manuals provide information that will help you decide what decisions to make. These manuals can be purchased from the Oxford Copy Shop.  Each team must purchase at least one manual (around $35.00).

The Stanford Bank Game (SBG) simulation assignment is worth fifty points. Forty points will come from my evaluation of your paper and ten points will come from your teammates evaluation of your work. The quality of your SBG class presentation will be graded on a -2 to 2+ system, with a score of "0" reflecting an adequate presentation.  These points will be used to adjust my forty point evaluation of your written paper.  Your overall score on the SBG may be revised downward at the instructor's discretion if the majority of your team members rate your contribution as unsatisfactory.  You may also receive an incomplete for the class, and be required to do an additional project if your team members identify you as failing to participate in less than half of their meetings.

Click here to obtain an additional copy of the SBG decision form.  

WEBSITE: Chapter Notes, Author PowerPoint Slides, End of Chapter Question and Problem Solutions, Stanford Bank Game Information, Other Handouts, Sample Quantitative Examination Problems and Newspaper Clippings are provided on Blackboard and on the Richard T. Farmer School of Business Network (http://files.sba.muohio.edu) or the "G" drive.  Home work problems are to be completed by the date assigned and before the beginning of class.  These problems will NOT be collected and graded. 

ATTENDANCE: Attendance is expected and may be used in assigning grades.  Students who are absent from any examination without prior permission will receive a score of zero for the missed examination.  Requests for permission to be absent from an examination will be considered only in cases of serious illness, family emergencies, and university sponsored events.  This request must be made in writing and must be handed to the professor by the student.  An email or telephone message does not constitute a meeting between the student and the professor. In general, on campus interviews are not an acceptable reason for missing class.  Out of town interviews may be excused absences, provided you obtain permission for the missed class in advance AND provide some sort of written evidence of the out of town interview (such as a business card, etc.). 

NEW WITHDRAWAL POLICY:

01.203.F. Withdrawing from a Course. Withdrawing from a course is a formal administrative procedure; merely ceasing to           attend class is not the same as withdrawing from a course. Before withdrawing from a course, a student should           consult with his or her instructor and academic adviser. A student may withdraw from a course after the third           calendar week and, ordinarily, before the end of the ninth calendar week of the semester. A grade of W will           appear on the student's official record; a W is not calculated in the student's grade point average.

 203.F.1. Before the end of the ninth calendar week, a student may withdraw from a course with a signature          of acknowledgment from the instructor.

 203.F.4. When possible, a student should continue to attend class until the Interdivisional Committee of                   Advisers has acted on his or her petition. Non-attendance does not void financial responsibility or          a grade of F.

 203.F.5. If a student is found guilty of academic dishonesty in a course and withdraws from the course, the           student will receive the grade W(AD) for the course, and the grade of F will be calculated in the           student's grade point average (refer to Section 01.504.A of The Student Handbook).

01.203.G. An accelerated course or a summer-term course may be dropped without a grade until 20 percent of the class           meetings are completed. Withdrawal with a grade of W may occur until 60 percent of the class meetings are           completed. After that date, a student may no longer withdraw from a course unless a petition is approved by the           Interdivisional Committee of Advisers. A petition to withdraw may be filed as described above in Section            01.203.F.

STUDENT BEHAVIOR: Students are expected to act in a professional and considerate manner towards the professor and other students.  No whining, talking in class or other disruptive behavior will be tolerated.  Studying and reading materials for other courses or classes is not an acceptable activity for this class. Students leaving in the middle of class for no apparent reason are engaging in a disruptive activity. Any student involved in a disruptive behavior during the class may be dropped by the professor.  DO NOT ATTEND class unless you plan to stay. 

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT: Any form of academic dishonesty will be dealt with to the full extent of university policy. Academic misconduct is dealt with as explained in The Miami Bulletin: The Student Handbook, 2005-2006 edition. Policy on class attendance is likewise addressed in the Handbook. Attendance is taken every day.  Regardless of the reason, all absences are recorded (in trouble after the third absence).  Excessive absences will lower your grade or may result in you being dropped from the class.  Absences associated with interviews are treated like any other absence. 

The First and Second Examinations will be given at night.  There will be no class during regular class hours on examination days.  Stanford Bank Game questions will be tested on every examination.  The first third (pp. 1 - 45) of the SBG Manual will be tested in Examination One, the second third (pp. 46 - 82) will be tested in Examination Two and the last third (pp. 83 - 112) will be tested in the final examination. The Final Examination is selectively comprehensive.