Student Completes MSc Dissertation Under Bank of England Research Support Programme

Leeds University Business School student, Joseph Sanders, completed his dissertation as part of the Bank of England’s Research Support Programme.

Joseph Sanders, an MSc Finance and Investment student, was selected for the Bank of England’s Research Support Programme, which enables UK postgraduate students to contribute to ongoing research at the central bank. 

His dissertation, “Beyond Credit Crises: Rethinking the Modigliani–Miller Pricing of Bank Capital in the Age of Liquidity and Regulatory Shocks,” challenges the applicability of Modigliani–Miller in banking, demonstrating that capital structure offsets remain incomplete during liquidity and regulatory shocks, thereby proving the necessity of building solvency resilience before crises emerge. 

Joseph was jointly supervised by Bank of England economists Aniruddha Rajan and Andre Gimber, and his academic supervisor, Dr Usman Gilani, Lecturer in Banking and Finance at Leeds University Business School. 

Dr. Usman Gilani, praised the collaboration, noting that the partnership offers students exceptional opportunities to work with policymakers on pressing global challenges. This achievement demonstrates Leeds University Business School’s commitment to high-quality research training and real-world engagement with leading institutions such as the Bank of England.