DG Market and George W. Bush - Striking Similarities in Financial Education There are striking similarities between the activities of DG Market of the European Commission and Capital Hill as the reactions to the subprime crisis is concerned. While many including the Head of the Federal Reserve think it is time to educate bankers to be more cautious, provide more responsible credit and refrain from profiting from the needs of poor people an enormous activity takes place in Washington and Brussels to promote financial education to consumers. It is not only that different conferences and events in Brussels and Washington are held to show how concerned governments are with consumers' assumed inability to deal with credit but also the fact that both replace financial education by one sided financial capability or literacy efforts. Both also have started to found a high ranking advisory council on financial education. DG Market now calls for applications and will select its advisory committee while Georg W. Bush has already named these people. We document his presse release PRESS RELEASE USA February 13, 2008 hp-827 Treasury Holds Inaugural Meeting of President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy Washington - The Treasury Department today held the first meeting of the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy to lay out its agenda and goals for the upcoming months. The new Council, established by President George W. Bush on January 22, agreed to focus on expanding Americans' access to financial services and increasing financial education for youth in school and for adults in the workplace. The Council also called for research to measure the nation's level of financial literacy. "Every American should have the skills necessary to take control of his or her financial future, and basic financial education is the first step to achieving that goal," said Council chairman Charles Schwab, who led the meeting. "This Council is committed to making financial literacy a national priority, and to bringing together the private sector, the government, the non-profit sector and our religious communities to help give people of all ages and backgrounds the skills to understand and manage their finances." "The President formed this Council because he understands that financially literate Americans fare better in life," said Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions David Nason. "The best way to raise our nation's level of financial literacy is for the government to work with the types of private sector groups represented on the Council." The President and the Secretary of the Treasury have tasked the Council to work with the public and private sector to help increase financial education efforts for all Americans. Each Council member represents an industry involved with the delivery of financial education. Within the next 30 days, the group will form subcommittees including Financial Literacy for Youth, Financial Literacy in the Workplace, Financial Access for the Underserved, and Financial Education Research sub-committees. The subcommittees will further lay out the Council's agenda and goals for the upcoming months. The Council is also expected to name a liaison to the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, which released a financial education strategy report in 2006. The Council also announced that it will be accepting public comments February 20 - April 30. Details on how to submit public comments will be published in the Federal Register Notice on or about February 20 and posted on http://www.treas.gov/ofe/. The Council will next meet on June 18. The new Council members are: Mr. Ted Beck, National Endowment for Financial Education Mr. John Bryant, Operation HOPE, Inc. (Vice Chairman) Mr. Theodore Daniels, Society for Financial Education and Professional Development Vice Admiral (retired) Cutler Dawson, Navy Federal Credit Union Dr. Robert Duvall, National Council on Economic Education Dr. Tahira Hira, Iowa State University Mr. Jack Kosakowski, Junior Achievement USA Ms. Sharon Lechter, CEO and Founder of Lechter Development Group Dr. Robert Lee, FreshMinistries, Inc. Ms. Laura Levine, Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy Mr. David Mancl, Office of Financial Literacy of the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions Mr. Don McGrath, Bank of the West Ms. Janet Parker, Society of Human Resource Management Mr. Ignacio Salazar, SER National Ms. Mary Schapiro, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Mr. Charles Schwab, Charles Schwab Corporation (Chairman) PRESS RELEASE DG MARKET Commission encourages applications for new Expert Group on Financial Education The European Commission is to create an Expert Group on Financial Education (EGFE). The group will be composed of financial education practitioners and will aim to promote exchange of ideas, experiences and best practices. The group will also advise the Commission on its policy-making in the area of financial education. Interested candidates are invited to send an application to the Commission by 13 June 2008. Internal Market and Services Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said: "Financial education has been gaining attention, especially in the context of the financial turmoil. It is an important means of enabling consumers to make informed and responsible decisions about their personal finance, which has bearing not only on their lives, but also on society and the wider economy. Education is first and foremost a national competence, but I strongly believe that there is also a role for the Commission to promote and facilitate the provision of financial literacy programmes to all consumers in the EU. Efforts at national and EU level should be complementary." The call for applications will be open until 13 June 2008. It is addressed to experts representing both private and public stakeholders: national authorities, the financial industry, consumer associations, academia, etc., who demonstrate the relevant competences and practical experience. A maximum of 25 experts will be selected. The creation of the EGFE is one of the four Commission initiatives announced in the Communication on Financial Education published in December 2007 (IP/07/1954). The members of the group will be appointed for a 3 year renewable mandate. The group will meet twice per year in Brussels and will be chaired by the Internal Market and Services DG of the European Commission. More detailed information about the mandate of the group and the selection criteria for the members can be found in the documentation available at: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/finservices-retail/capability/index_en.htm ID: 41363 Author(s): UR Publication date: 05/06/08     URL(s): ECRC News on EU Financial Education Efforts and Further Links DG Market Advicory Board in Financial Capability Link

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