FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

May 6, 2004
JS-1526

Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, Wayne A. Abernathy
Presented Honorary Certificate of Recognition
in Wakefield, Massachusetts
to 1st Educational Savings Branch
for Efforts in Financial Education to High School Students

Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Wayne Abernathy today presented the 1st Educational Savings Branch (1stESB), Wakefield, MA, with an honorary certificate of recognition for its efforts in teaching financial education to high school students. The 1st ESB is a fully operational bank branch of The Savings Bank operated by students attending Wakefield Memorial High School.

"One of the best ways for students to learn the lessons of financial education is through hands-on experience," said Abernathy. "The opportunity to work in a banking environment at such an early age will undoubtedly benefit these students, both in their careers and in managing their own financial futures."

According to The Savings Bank President/CEO Brian D. McCoubrey, numerous students participating in the program have gone on to work in finance-related fields. "Some students enrolled in the program have worked for The Savings Bank during their senior year and while attending college. Several of the students have been employed by The Savings Bank upon earning degrees," said McCoubrey.

The Savings Bank established the 1stESB in April of 1981, the first of its kind in the country. Each year, five high school seniors are selected to serve as Student Bank Officers. The branch is open one hour and twenty minutes a day to offer services such as checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal loans, mortgages, and check cashing for faculty and students.

According to Cindy Lyons, the 1stESB Branch Manager, the student officers contribute to the daily decision making process necessary to run a branch office, participate in event and conference planning, offer community service when available, compete in area competitions that include the LifeSmarts Consumer Challenge(tm) sponsored by the National Consumers League, The Stock Market Game Program(tm) (a trademark of the Foundation for Investor Education), and the Massachusetts SMS® Stock Market Simulation. The students also prepare for and attend the Massachusetts School Bankers Associations (MSBA) annual Spring Conference held at the Boston Federal Reserve Bank. The MSBA is an association formed in 1986 to support and advance school banking programs throughout the Commonwealth. At the present time there are 26 high schools in MA with a bank branch on site.

The Savings Bank further supports financial literacy in the public schools through grants from The Donald E. Garrant Foundation, Inc. for projects supporting education in the areas of saving, investing, borrowing, economics and similar financial topics. The Savings Bank also sponsors The CLUB (children learning to understand banking), a bank-at-school program now functioning weekly at eight schools and 104 classrooms. Now in its tenth year of operation, The CLUB has over 1,800 student depositors. The Bank conducts meetings at the bank for CLUB members to discuss saving and to take a tour of the banking facility in order to be exposed to the function and purpose of a bank.

The Department of the Treasury is a leader in promoting financial education. Treasury established the Office of Financial Education ("Office") in May 2002. The Office works to promote access to the financial education tools that can help all Americans make wiser choices in all areas of personal financial management, with a special emphasis on, saving, credit management, home ownership and retirement planning. The OFE also coordinates the efforts of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, a group chaired by the Secretary of Treasury and composed of representatives from 20 federal departments, agencies, and commissions, which works to improve financial literacy and education for people throughout the United States. For more information about the Office of Financial Education visit: www.treas.gov/financialeducation.

- 30 -