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NCUA Chairman JoAnn Johnson’s Statement on Financial Literacy Month

April 4, 2008, Alexandria, Va - The month of April, 2008, has been recognized as “Financial Literacy Month” by the United States Congress.  National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman JoAnn Johnson has issued the following statement:

“Financial literacy is a cornerstone of NCUA's overall efforts to strengthen the economy by helping Americans improve their personal financial habits.  NCUA plays an active role on the congressionally established Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC), consisting of 20 federal agencies, chaired by the Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson.  The Commission’s website, www.MyMoney.gov, continues to be a proven and vital financial education resource and as Chairman of the MyMoney.gov website I look forward to making future enhancements to the site.  

Credit unions across America continue to play a vital role in helping guide Americans toward a path of financial well-being through their financial literacy efforts.  This is a natural outgrowth of the "people helping people" philosophy espoused by credit unions, and I encourage their efforts to provide education to members particularly during these uncertain economic times. 

In addition, I applaud President Bush’s leadership on this issue, including the creation of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy. The Council, an impressive group of private and non-profit sector financial information leaders, is already moving forward and making progress, especially in the areas of increasing financial education for youth in school, adults in the workplace, and establishing measures for national financial literacy.  For more information regarding the Council, please visit: http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/financial-institution/fin-education/council/index.shtml

Finally, I encourage everyone in the credit union community to get involved in this effort.  By volunteering our time and talent, we will contribute to momentum generated by the President and Congress, leaving a lasting impact on future generations of Americans.”

The National Credit Union Administration is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, also operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), insuring the deposits of over 85 million account holders in all federal credit unions and a majority of state-chartered credit unions.