The European Banking & Financial Services Training Association (EBTN), with the assistance of the Institute of Financial Services – Malta, recently organised an international seminar on financial literacy.
The seminar brought together a distinguished group of education and training institutes with representatives from the financial services sector and the regulators from across Europe.
Dr Chris Said, Parliamentary Secretary for Public Dialogue and Information within the Office of the Prime Minister, who opened the seminar, highlighted the importance of financial literacy as it provides the foundation for saving and spending wisely and therefore helps consumers make better informed choices about their financial future. It is also important for socio-economic development. In fact, financial services and education are both integral components of the Malta Government’s Vision 2015. Dr Said concluded by saying: “Investing in financial services education is commendable and a positive contribution to developing a better society and instilling sound principles and core values that all stakeholders should adhere to.”
The seminar included an expert panel of speakers, which was coordinated by Simon Thompson, President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland. The panel speakers included Guido Ravoet, Secretary-General of the European Banking Federation (EBF) who presented the main results of a survey conducted by the EBF on financial literacy, Prof. Joseph Hassid from the University of Piraeus, Greece, who presented the results of the European Project Finalist, and Isabelle Agius, Strategy & Business Development Manager at the Malta Financial Services Authority, who shared her experiences and insights as a result of being directly involved in an EU project relating to financial literacy.
Anna Iganack gave an interesting presentation about financial education initiatives in practice, in which she explained how certain material was developed and the approach taken to obtain optimal results.
Studies across the world have shown that poor financial literacy is endemic in modern society and can negatively affect GDP growth. Financial services have become an intricate part of daily life, and as they become more complex and sophisticated there is a greater need for education in this area.
At the end of the seminar it was announced that, in the near future, the EBTN would be putting forward a proposal to promote financial literacy to secondary school children across various European countries through a specific EU project.