From Tulips to Bail-ins: 400 Years of Financial Crises and the Regulations They Created

The EIMF Live Online Learning Experience

Participants will receive access to the recorded sessions of the course.

EIMF subject-matter experts deliver engaging and interactive courses across a broad spectrum of areas, that can be enjoyed in the comfort of your own chosen environment. Read more

Course Overview

Financial crises are not freak events — they are recurring patterns driven by leverage, opacity and regulatory drift. This 3-hour masterclass traces four landmark crises across four centuries, drawing direct lines to the frameworks professionals work under today, including MiFID II, AIFMD, Basel III, BRRD, and CySEC’s supervisory priorities.

The 2012–2013 Cyprus Banking Crisis receives particular focus as the bail-in that reshaped EU resolution law. Participants will attain a practical crisis-analysis framework and a clear understanding of how each regulatory response changed what is expected of them.

Training Objectives

Training Outline

THE ANATOMY OF A FINANCIAL CRISIS

· What is a financial crisis? (Reinhart & Rogoff framework)

· Five preconditions: leverage, liquidity mismatch, opacity, herd behaviour, regulatory drift

· The six-point analytical lens applied across all case studies

THE GREAT DEPRESSION (1929) — When Governments Step In

· The Roaring Twenties: credit boom, equity speculation and consumer leverage

· The crash: Black Thursday, bank runs and financial contagion

· The New Deal response: SEC (1934), Glass-Steagall, FDIC and deposit insurance

REGULATION SPOTLIGHT — How the 1929 crash created the SEC model that inspired CySEC’s design and why investor protection rules trace back to this era

THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS (2008) — Too Big to Fail

· Subprime lending, CDOs, credit-rating failure and the Lehman collapse

· Regulatory failure: Basel II, shadow banking and off-balance-sheet opacity

· Post-2008 architecture: Basel III, Dodd-Frank, MiFID II, AIFMD, EMIR

REGULATION SPOTLIGHT — MiFID II obligations for CySEC-regulated firms: suitability, cost disclosures and product oversight

REGULATION SPOTLIGHT — AIFMD: authorisation, delegation, depositary and reporting for Cypriot fund managers

THE CYPRUS BANKING CRISIS (2012–2013) — The Bail-in That Changed Europe

· Background: offshore hub, Greek PSI exposure, banking sector 8× GDP

· The bail-in: first haircut on uninsured deposits over €100,000; capital controls and recovery

· Discussion: Was the bail-in the right decision? What would have happened otherwise?

REGULATION SPOTLIGHT — BRRD — bail-in hierarchy and MREL requirements

REGULATION SPOTLIGHT — Deposit Guarantee Schemes — the €100,000 rule: what it covers and what it does not

REGULATION SPOTLIGHT — CySEC post-2013: supervisory intensification, AML/KYC overhaul and ongoing obligations

CONNECTING THE DOTS — PATTERNS AND TODAY’S RISKS

· Rapid-fire: Tulip Mania (1637), Oil Crisis (1973), Asian Crisis (1997)

· Today’s vulnerabilities: AI concentration risk, private credit growth, geopolitical fragmentation

REGULATION SPOTLIGHT — ICAAP, SREP and stress-testing obligations for CySEC-regulated firms under market stress

Who Should Attend

Training Style

Masterclass format combining short lectures with structured case-study analysis, live polling and guided group discussion. Each crisis is treated as a forensic investigation — participants examine the evidence, diagnose the regulatory failure and debate the policy response. Designed to be intellectually stimulating, Cyprus-relevant and immediately applicable to daily professional practice.

CPD Recognition

This programme may be approved for up to 3 CPD units in Financial Regulation. Eligibility criteria and CPD Units are verified directly by your association, regulator or other bodies which you hold membership.

In-house Training

For groups within the same organisation, this course may be customized to meet any specific needs and delivered in-house.