General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW3258 |
| Course name: | Financial Regulations and Compliance |
| Programme offered under: | LLB Programme |
| Semester: | Second |
| Designated research course: | Not applicable |
| Specialization: | Commercial, corporate and financial law |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
This course covers financial regulations and compliance relevant to intermediaries (company and individuals) licensed or registered with the Securities and Futures Commission to engage in regulated activities. Embedded in regulations and compliance are ethics, professional standards and applicable laws. Topics include, but are not limited to, ethics, professional standards, code of conducts and best practices, know your clients, sales and suitability, investor protection, anti-money laundering, timely and accurate communications, independence and objectivity, fair dealing, compliance issues and compliance handling, relevant local rules and regulations and international best practices for investment professionals. Selected cases will be used for discussion in class.
The aim of the course is to develop students understanding of the regulatory framework relevant to regulated activities. Students are expected to acquire knowledge of the relevant regulations and the ability to appreciate and/or challenge the current rules and regulations applicable to the industry. Students should be able to comprehend the importance of ethics, risk and compliance culture in dealing with clients, investors and other stakeholders.
The course will start with a discussion of Hong Kong regulatory framework. The function, powers and responsibility of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission, and their interaction with one another and with the industry players will be discussed. The Lehman reports issued by the HKMA/SFC and the principles under the ode of Conduct for Persons licensed by and registered with the SFC ( FC Code will form the basis of the course. The course will look at various circulars, guidelines and consultation paper issued by the regulators since the 2009 global financial crisis. Focus of the review of the circulars and guidelines will be in areas of industry practices related to client asset handling, know your client policy, client profiling, investment suitability, product risk assessment, investor characterization, selling process, documentation and risk disclosure.
The course will cover selected sections of the Securities and Futures Ordinance which is related to the regulations identified in the code, including definition of different types of licensing activities. Cases laws and reprimand cases will be used to support the understanding of the regulations.
1.3 Course teachers.
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Lea-anne Lee | llee2218@hku.hk | CCT 709 | By email |
1.4 Course Outline (for elective course)
| Please click the link here for the course outline (HKU Portal login required). |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Be able to describe the legal and regulatory framework governing financial institutions.
CLO 2 Be able to describe and critique regulatory reforms and identify key current regulatory topics.
CLO 3 Be familiar with the structure and features of key client legal documentation.
2.2 LLB Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link: https://course.law.hku.hk/llb-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| Class participation | 20% | 1, 2, 3 | |
| Group assignment | 30% | 1, 2, 3 | |
| Take home exam | 50% | 1, 2, 3 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s). See also Course Outline above.
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 12 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by course convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/