August 17, 2005
JS-2685

Deputy Assistant Secretary Iannicola Recognizes Program
Teaching Credit Management to College Students

Treasury's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Education Dan Iannicola, Jr. today congratulated the Society for Financial Education and Professional Development at a grant announcement ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The Society received a $750,000 private grant to provide credit management and personal money management training to more than 20,000 college students over the next three years.

Iannicola applauded the Society for reaching out to college students at a very crucial stage of their lives, when financial education can make a real difference. Iannicola also encouraged financial institutions to support financial education by working with nonprofit organizations committed to spreading financial literacy.

"The relationship between credit and college students is a challenging one. For many students credit, in the form of student loans, makes a higher education possible. For other students the mismanagement of credit, sometimes through credit cards, can cause students to drop out of college," Iannicola said. "The answer is financial education. Through programs like the one we honor here today, financially educated students can derive the benefits of credit while avoiding its pitfalls, and go on to accomplish their goals."

A nonprofit organization established in 1998, the Society's primary mission is to enhance the level of financial and economic literacy of individuals in the United States and promote professional development at the initial stage of career development and mid-level management. The Society offers credit management and personal money management seminars to college students to expose them to the fundamentals, strategies and the intricacies of personal financial management that they may not get elsewhere. Since its inception, the Society has presented personal financial management seminars on over 51 college campuses, many of which are Historically Black Colleges and Universities. During the 2003-2004 school year, it reached over 8,000 students nationwide. HSBC provided the grant to support the program.

The Department of the Treasury is a leader in promoting financial education.  Treasury established the Office of Financial Education in May of 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 Office 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-