BFF5916 · International Banking
The Complete Exam Bible · S1 2026International Banking
International Banking teaches how banks work, how to read their numbers, and how banking crosses borders. You learn why intermediaries exist, how to compute a bank's health ratios (NII, NIM, ROA, ROE and the leverage bridge), how to size interest-rate risk with the repricing gap, how Basel III capital adequacy works, then how banks go international — entry modes, trade finance, the monetary trilemma, FX, and fintech. The dominant individual mark is the mid-semester e-exam (40%), taken closed-book and covering every topic in one sitting, so this guide teaches each model to exam standard: the identity examiners expect, the right denominator, and where the marks hide.
What BFF5916 covers
Seven topic clusters → one exam-ready map. Each links to its free chapter guide — from why banks exist to Basel capital, FX regimes and fintech.
How BFF5916 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-semester e-exam | 40% | Individual, timed, closed-book — covers all topics taught to date in one sitting (the single biggest mark) |
| Two online quizzes | 20% | Individual, timed (10% + 10%) — Quiz 1 early weeks, Quiz 2 later weeks; confirm the exact weeks & split in your unit guide |
| Group report | 30% | Team work — analyse a real bank and country, narrating the ratios in context |
| Group presentation video | 10% | Team work — communicate the report's findings; confirm the exact weights in your unit guide |
ROA, leverage & ROE — the signature bank-analysis chain, mark by mark
- +1Capital is the residual: Capital = Assets − Liabilities = 1,800 − 1,650 = $150m. Capital/assets = 150/1,800 = 8.33% — a thin cushion, typical of a bank.
- +2ROA = NPAT / assets = 29.4 / 1,800 = 0.01633 = 1.63% — it captures the interest AND fee margins net of costs and tax.
- +1Leverage (equity multiplier) = assets / capital = 1,800 / 150 = 12.0×.
- +2ROE via the bridge: ROE = ROA × (assets/capital) = 1.63% × 12.0 = 19.6%. Verify directly: 29.4 / 150 = 19.6% — the bridge ties out.
Key terms
- Financial intermediation
- The business of standing between savers and borrowers: a bank issues its own liability (a deposit) to the saver and holds the borrower's loan as its asset, so the saver holds a claim on the bank, not on the borrower. It exists to overcome the frictions that break direct finance.
- Net interest margin (NIM)
- Net interest income divided by total assets — the bank's weighted lending spread. It measures only the interest side; fee income, operating costs and tax are captured by ROA, not NIM.
- Leverage (equity multiplier)
- Total assets divided by bank capital. It is the bridge that scales a small return on assets (ROA) into a large return on equity (ROE = ROA × assets/capital), and it magnifies losses just as much as gains.
- Capital adequacy ratio (CAR)
- Total regulatory capital (CET1 + AT1 + Tier 2) divided by risk-weighted assets (RWA), required to be at least 8% under Basel, plus buffers. The denominator is RWA, not total assets — the single most common error.
- The monetary trilemma
- The impossible trinity: a country can hold at most two of a fixed exchange rate, free capital mobility, and an independent monetary policy. Choosing any two forces you to give up the third — markets break the weakest leg.
BFF5916 FAQ
Is BFF5916 hard?
It is concept-dense and calculation-light: most timed questions reward recognising a definition and doing a short, clean calculation (a ratio, a spread, a gap, a CAR). The difficulty is precision under exam time, and the breadth — the 40% e-exam covers every topic taught to date in one closed-book sitting, so the stakes are concentrated on one paper.
How is BFF5916 assessed?
The mark is built from six pieces in two natures: about 60% timed, individual and closed-book (a 40% mid-semester e-exam plus two 10% online quizzes) and 40% applied team work (a 30% group report plus a 10% group video). The e-exam dominates the individual side and is the only piece that examines every topic at once. Confirm this year's exact weeks and weights in your unit guide.
What is on the BFF5916 mid-semester e-exam?
Everything taught to that point: financial intermediation, the bank balance sheet and its ratios (NII, NIM, ROA, ROE, leverage, efficiency, NPL), the three core risks and the repricing gap, Basel III capital adequacy (CAR, the capital stack, buffers), international and multinational banking, and the international monetary system. Basel (Week 4) and the monetary system (Week 5) are e-exam-only — no quiz tests them — so they are high-value.
Do I need heavy maths for BFF5916?
No. The examinable calculations are short and arithmetic — ratios, spreads, the repricing gap, CAR, a bid/ask spread, a Euro-loan effective rate. There is no duration or covered-interest-arbitrage machinery in the examinable core; the formula sheet is a small list of identities you drill until the denominators are automatic.
Is using AskSia for BFF5916 cheating?
No. AskSia is a study reference written in our own words — we host none of your lecturer's files, and Sia teaches you the method to earn the marks; it does not complete or sit your assessments. Always verify weights and dates against your own Moodle.
How to study for the exam
Treat the closed-book 60% as a formula-sheet recall game: drill the identities until the denominators are automatic — capital not assets for ROE, RWA not total assets for CAR, the undrawn balance for a commitment fee, net proceeds for a Euro-loan effective rate. Four chains recur and carry most marks: read a mini balance sheet → compute the health ratios; given capital + RWA → compute CAR and judge adequacy; given a rate shock → sign the gap and the profit change; given a two-way FX quote → spread it three ways and reason about the regime. Because the e-exam covers every topic in one sitting, do not under-study Basel and the monetary system just because no quiz names them — that is exactly where the e-exam pays off. The same ratios you drill also narrate the 30% report, so one body of method serves both natures.
