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ASB1202 Financial Markets and Institutions: Assignment

Aims:

The aim of this assignment is to produce a well-structured, well-written and well-researched report, demonstrating your ability to apply the theoretical concepts of central banking to your chosen central bank.

Task:

Prepare a report on ONE of the following central banks:

1. 1. The Bank of England
2. 2. The European Central Bank
3. 3. The Federal Reserve System

Your report should include the following:

• Definition of a central bank and a brief discussion of the organisational structure of your chosen central bank
• A brief discussion of the key roles of a central bank
• An overview of the tools of monetary policy and a discussion of the application of monetary policy by your chosen central bank
• Critically evaluate the lender of last resort (LOLR) function and briefly discuss your chosen central bank’s policy on LOLR and any recent applications of LOLR

Guidance:

This assignments counts for 40% of the final module mark.

Word limit: 2,000 words maximum (excluding references and appendices)

As the assignment will be marked electronically please apply the following formatting:

• Font size 12
• 1.5 line spacing
• Justified text

Your assignment should be referenced using the Harvard referencing style. Please see the following guide for further details:

• https://www.bangor.ac.uk/library/help/documents/harvardreferencingguide.pdf

Use a range of  reliable sources (e.g. textbooks, journal articles, financial press) to inform your work.

Suggested structure for the report:

1. Title page
2. Abstract/executive summary: 200-400 word summary of the report, easily understandable for readers who are not familiar with the
3. Contents page
4. Introduction: providing and introduction to your work, including a broad description of the topic, providing an outline for the rest of the report
5. Main body of the report: discuss the main points of your report here
6. Conclusion and reflection: summarise the main findings of your report, reflecting on what you have learned
7. References: Harvard style
8. Appendices: any additional information e.g. graphs, diagrams etc… ensuring that they have been referenced correctly (where applicable)

Marking criteria:

Marks will be assigned in accordance with the following criteria:

• Quality of background research and its analysis and presentation
• Structure and presentation of the report, including writing quality
• Appropriate and correct referencing, using the Harvard referencing style
• Ability to critically evaluate evidence i.e. to support your work with evidence from the relevant literature