CECA and its associated entities celebrate Financial Education Day for the fourth consecutive year
The entities associated with CECA, thanks to their engagement and reach, have organized nearly 500 Financial Education programs in the past year, reaching one and a half million people.
FUNCAS has launched a call for projects aimed at promoting research in financial education with the goal of encouraging studies that evaluate the quality and impact of actions in this area in Spain.
Today, October 1st, marks the celebration, for the fourth consecutive year, of Financial Education Day in Spain, with various activities scheduled across the entire Spanish geography and organized within the framework of the new Financial Education Plan 2018-2021, in which CECA participates as a collaborating entity alongside its associated entities, driven by the Bank of Spain and the National Securities Market Commission. The program of activities will target all segments of the population, paying special attention to the elderly, coinciding with October 1st, which is also the International Day for Older Persons.
In this context, FUNCAS announced today the launch of a call for projects aimed at fostering research in financial education, with special attention to evaluating the impact of programs, innovations in financial education, social inclusion, measurement of competencies in formal education programs, entrepreneurship, and national strategies in this area.
The FUNCASEDUCA Program of grants for research in financial education aims to encourage studies that enable a better understanding of financial education in Spain and help to improve the quality of actions. Researchers and research groups from Spanish public and private universities, as well as other Spanish institutions that carry out non-profit research activities, will be able to apply for this call.
The initiative is part of the ‘Funcas Financial Education Stimulus Program’, which has been launched this year as a result of the agreement signed between the Board of Directors of CECA and the Funcas Board, where CECA budgeted for FUNCAS to implement it, thus responding once again to social and institutional demands.
This program, which has a budget of three million euros, is contributing to financing financial education activities carried out by the entities affiliated with CECA, either directly or through their linked foundations, consolidating existing projects and promoting new ones. It represents the largest investment in financial education in history made by an institution in Spain.
Activities across the national territory
As part of the events planned to celebrate Financial Education Day and Universal Savings Day, commemorations taking place throughout October, CECA is preparing a virtual exhibition on the origins of Financial Education. The exhibition will allow visitors to explore the evolution of savings education to what we now know as Financial Education and will be presented at the National Conference on Financial Education, which is held annually and will celebrate its IX Edition on October 31st, Universal Savings Day, at the CECA auditorium in Madrid.
Some of the activities that the entities affiliated with CECA have scheduled for the week of October 1st to 7th in observance of Financial Education Day will take place in multiple locations across Spain and will be aimed at different audiences.
The promotion of financial education is already a tradition for the entities associated with CECA. In 2008, the Bank of Spain and the National Securities Market Commission, with the support of the General Secretariat of the Treasury and Financial Policy and the General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds, took the responsibility of promoting financial education in our country, creating the first Financial Education Plan (2008-2012), which was followed up for the 2013-2017 period and has recently been renewed for the 2018-2021 period. From the outset, the entities associated with CECA joined this initiative by signing a Framework Cooperation Agreement to the Financial Education Plan and will continue to collaborate with the new plan.
In order to facilitate the exchange of experiences, best practices and the promotion of action plans in the dissemination of financial education, CECA created a Working Group that includes its associates.
These entities collectively carried out around 500 financial education programs last year, reaching over one and a half million beneficiaries. The local grounding of CECA’s associates allows these activities to reach a larger number of people.
A global commitment
The entities grouped under the WSBI and ESBG associations have historically demonstrated their commitment to inclusion and financial culture. Education is key and is one of the main priorities of savings banks and retail banks associated with regulators, European regulators and other international organizations, such as the OECD.
Members of WSBI have developed a significant number of initiatives to promote financial education among young people and adults. The search for innovative methods and constant updates of content are key to the activities developed.
The main reason is the belief that a higher level of education contributes to the stability of the financial system. Therefore, financial education would be a decisive instrument capable of promoting the improvement of citizens’ well-being and fostering equality of opportunity.
