The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today announced the release of its award-winning Money Smart financial education curriculum in Russian, making it the sixth language in which the curriculum is offered. Money Smart is also available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.

"The FDIC's Money Smart program teaches money-management skills that empower people to take advantage of the opportunities to save and invest offered by our financial system," said Martin J. Gruenberg, Acting FDIC Chairman. "The new Russian-language version of Money Smart will make the program more easily accessible to an important additional segment of our society."

Money Smart was first released in English in 2001, followed by a Spanish-language version in 2002, Chinese and Korean versions in 2003, and a Vietnamese version in 2004.

The 2003 U.S. Census estimates that the foreign-born population is 11.7 percent, with sizable immigrant populations from Latin and Central America, Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. Two of the largest Russian-speaking populations in the United States are in the Sacramento Basin and Los Angeles.

The Russian version of Money Smart is the first translation by a group outside of the FDIC. The translation is the work of the Sacramento Roundtable, a successful public-private sector collaboration of banks, community-based organizations and government agencies in the Sacramento area, which is facilitated by the San Francisco regional community affairs programs of the FDIC and the Office of Thrift Supervision.

Key partners in the Sacramento Roundtable that worked on the Russian translation of Money Smart include River City Bank, Sacramento; USBank, Walnut Creek; IndyMac Bank, Los Angeles; the Home Loan Counseling Center, Sacramento; the Sacramento Mutual Housing Association and Opening Doors, Inc.; and the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency.

Money Smart is available free of charge to help consumers understand basic financial services, develop money-management skills and learn how to use banking services effectively. The FDIC works with national and local organizations to promote Money Smart to their constituents. To learn more about the FDIC's Money Smart program and to obtain copies of the curriculum, visit the Money Smart page on the FDIC's Web site at www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/index.html.

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Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's 8,833 banks and savings associations and it promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives no federal tax dollars – insured financial institutions fund its operations.

FDIC press releases and other information are available on the Internet at www.fdic.gov, by subscription electronically (go to www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html) and may also be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center (877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200). MS-1-2006