Sustainability at DBF

The Department of Banking and Finance (DBF) at the University of Zurich is a leading research center that covers a wide range of topics and research interests in the domains of Banking, Corporate Finance, Financial Economics & Quantitative Finance. In line with the DBF mission statement, we strive to foster value-oriented reflective capabilities, global consciousness, social responsibility, and ethical awareness in research, teaching, and executive education.  

The DBF is responsible for three research centres that promote specific and interdisciplinary research and teaching on the broad field of sustainability in finance:

Center for Financial Networks and Sustainability

Center for Responsibility in Finance

Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth

To consolidate critical streams of academic research and teaching in order to effectively inform sustainable development and growth, the DBF, its research centers, and partners from other departments and faculties joined forces to create the Center of Competence for Sustainable Finance (CCSF), launched in January 2020. The DBF and the CCSF thus contribute to University of Zurich's mission and policy with regard to sustainability. You can find more information on sustainability at UZH here.

The DBF is continuously expanding its university teaching offer for students as well as its executive education program, leading eventually to a comprehensive teaching offer covering the broad field of sustainable finance. As of the fall semester 21, there is the new minor Sustainable Finance for Master's students. An overview of the courses offered in the minor can be accessed here (PDF, 177 KB).

The following courses provide in-depth teaching on selected aspects of sustainability and responsibility in banking and finance:

Bachelor

Essential courses:

• Interd. point of view on the question of responsibility and the (dys-) functions of the financial markets (Chesney, Tanner, Maranghino-Singer) 
• Sustainability and the Finance Sector (Favier, Serafimova) 
• Behavioral Ethics (Tanner)

The following courses deal with aspects of sustainability and responsability in selected classes:

• Asset Pricing (Chesney)
• Banking (Basten)
• Banking and Finance II (Chesney, Farkas)
• Corporate Finance I (Wagner)
• Unternehmensberichterstattung und Corporate Governance (Wagner)

Master

Essential courses:

• Environmental and Financial Sustainability (Chesney, Zheng)
• Sustainable Investing (Utz, Kölbel) 
• Microfinance and Impact Investing (Krauss)
• Sustainable Finance and Networks (Battiston)
• Empirical Methods in Sustainable Banking (Ongena, Bilan)
• Advanced Sustainability Economics [ETHZ] (Bretschger, Komarov)

The following courses cover selected aspects of sustainability and responsibility in depth:

• Corporate Governance (Wenk)
• Climate change and finance: metrics to assess risks and opportunities (Battiston)
• Global Poverty and Economic Development (Casaburi)
• Literatur, Wirtschaft und Geschichte: Illiteratus Homo Oeconomicus? (Chesney, Jorge de Oliveira)
• Philosophy of Science (Scherer)
• Corporate Risk and Resilience - how future leaders can navigate the risk landscape (Börner, Hoppler)
• Ethics, Sustainability and Financial Markets (Bieber)
• Corporate Social Responsability (Überbacher)

The following courses deal with aspects of sustainability and responsability in selected classes:

• Corporate Finance (Habib)
• Continuous Time Quantitative Finance (Chesney)

PhD

Essential courses:

• Climate change and finance: metrics to assess risks and opportunities (Battiston)
• Research Seminar in Sustainable Finance (Kölbel)

The following courses deal with aspects of sustainability and responsability in selected classes:

• Mathematical Finance: Mathematical Finance and Derivatives (Chesney)
• Research Seminar in Contract Theory, Banking and Money (Ongena, Rochet)

Executive Education

• Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) UZH in Sustainable Finance
• Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) UZH in Sustainable Finance 
• Diploma of Advanced Studies (DAS) UZH in Sustainable Finance