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The Implementation of the National Strategy for Financial Literacy: Taking Ownership of the Future
Each chapter of the National Strategy calls for specific actions to improve financial literacy for all Americans. Each of these Calls to Action may be directed to the Federal government, the private sector, or to individuals. The Calls to Action identify concrete steps that should be undertaken to meet the challenges identified throughout the Strategy. Below are summaries of the Federal government’s efforts related to the implementation of the Strategy.
General Saving
1-1. In the first quarter of 2006, the Treasury Department will partner with a
non-profit organization to develop and implement a PSA on the benefits
of lifetime savings and the savings resources available on the Financial
Literacy and Education Commission’s Web site, MyMoney.gov.
Update: In April of 2007, Treasury and the American Savings Education Council launched a public service announcement on the importance of saving. The PSA promotes the website, MyMoney.gov and toll-free hotline, 1-888-MyMoney.
Homeownership
2-1 Between the second quarter of 2006 and the second quarter of 2007, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will join with the Treasury Department to host a series of meetings highlighting the work of successful partnerships that have advanced homeownership.
Update: In July of 2006, HUD and Treasury co-hosted the first meeting. During the meeting, the complexity of identifying partners to advance homeownership was discussed at length. The meeting addressed foreclosure prevention, non-traditional mortgage products, and hidden costs—such as maintenance, repairs, supplemental insurance, and home improvements. Best practice speakers at the meeting included representatives from NeighborWorks America and the Mortgage Bankers Association. In June of 2007, HUD and Treasury will co-host another meeting highlighting successful partnerships that have advanced homeownership.
In June of 2007, HUD and Treasury co-hosted a second meeting in Boston, MA. HUD and Treasury led a discussion with financial institutions, lenders, policymakers, community organizations and counseling agencies on how public-private sector partnerships can better deliver grassroots counseling and training programs. The discussion focused on helping home-buyers better understand the terms of their mortgages to help them stay in their homes. The Citizens' Housing and Planning Association discussed its Massachusetts Homeownership Collaborative program as an illustrative that can be replicated throughout the country.
The Unbanked
For more detailed information on the four regional Unbanked conferences coordinated by the Financial Literacy and Education Commission please visit the following link
http://www.occ.treas.gov/cdd/finlitresdir.htm.
8-1 Between the second quarter of 2006 and the third quarter of 2007, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, along with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, will host a series of four regional conferences to share best practices on banking of the unbanked. The conferences will bring together community-based organizations, financial service providers, and Federal, state, and local regulators to broker partnerships and discuss the latest developments and strategies in bringing people into the financial mainstream.
Update: In May of 2006 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the FDIC, NCUA, OCC and Treasury held their first of four regional conferences to address the problems faced by those outside the financial mainstream at the “Midwest Regional Conference on Reaching Unbanked People.” Topics discussed included building partnerships and identifying solutions, serving immigrant communities, selling the business benefits of serving the unbanked within the institution, reaching young customers, developing new products, and providing financial education to help new and potential users.
In December of 2006 in Edinburg, Texas, FDIC, NCUA, OCC and Treasury, with the assistance of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Office of Thrift Supervision and HUD, held the “Southwest Regional Conference on Reaching Unbanked People.” The conference was hosted by the University of Texas – Pan-American. This was the second of four regional conferences. The conference included discussion on unbanked people in border and immigrant communities, the role of financial institutions in financial literacy, the impact of being unbanked for individuals and communities, and a survey of Latino Earned Income Tax Credit filers in border communities. Following the conference, Federal agency representatives participated in a community financial education event sponsored by the Office of Congressman Ruben Hinojosa.
In March of 2007 in Seattle, Washington, the FDIC, NCUA, OCC, OTS, Treasury, and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco with the assistance of HUD and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, held the “Northwest Regional Conference on Reaching Unbanked People.” The conference convened government officials, financial institutions, community organizations, and others working to reach underserved communities in the Northwest. The conference addressed various needs across the Northwest region, provided descriptions of models for reaching the unbanked from large and small financial institutions, addressed the role of community-based organizations in reaching the unbanked, and provided updates on state and federal policies. It also provided a forum to share observations and innovative ideas with the convening agencies and other practitioners.
On October 4, 2007, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Philadelphia and Richmond – with the help of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs Office of Financial Empowerment held the Eastern Regional Conference on Reaching Unbanked People. The conference convened government officials, financial institutions, community organizations, and others working to reach underserved individuals from the Eastern region promoting discussion on topics including reaching youth, reaching immigrant markets, creating community financial institutions, asset building, and what can be learned from alternative lenders.
Summary information about the Regional Conferences can be found in the following resources:
Information about the Financial Literacy and Education Commission’s Regional Conferences on Reaching Unbanked People
Regional Conferences on Reaching Unbanked People Summary 
Additional Resources for Regional Conferences on Reaching Unbanked People
Multilingual / Multicultural Populations
9-1 Between the fourth quarter of 2006 and the fourth quarter of 2007, the Treasury Department will host a series of roundtables on financial education topics of special concern to specific communities. The goal of each roundtable will be to raise awareness of the important financial education topics within the specific community highlighted.
Update: The first conference took place in March of 2007 at Treasury and was focused on the Native American population. The conference touched on the needs and wants of the Native American population and how financial education could help. Other topics included public and private partnerships, access to financial institutions and services, and public awareness events on reservations.
Update: The second conference on multicultural and multilingual communities took place in July of 2007 at Treasury. The focus was Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Representatives from the corporate, nonprofit and government sectors participated in the discussion. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss broad financial education themes in the AAPI communities as well as the impact financial education activities that promote financial literacy in these communities.
Update: The third conference on multicultural and multilingual communities took place in March of 2008 at Treasury. The focus was the African-American community. Representatives from the corporate, nonprofit and government sectors participated in the discussion. Topics addressed were an overview of financial education issues in the African-American community, credit literacy, youth and higher education, and retirement readiness.
Kindergarten – Postsecondary Financial Education
10-1 In 2006, the U.S. Department of the Treasury will partner with the Department of Education to host a summit focused on integration of financial education into the core school curriculum. The group also will survey promising practices in financial education and in teacher training in an effort to assist others who are starting or enhancing programs. This public meeting will bring together policymakers, educators, and other leaders in the fields of general education and financial literacy. Findings from this summit will be made available to educators and policymakers throughout the nation.
Update: In February of 2007, ED and Treasury co-hosted a two-day financial education summit. The gathering surveyed promising practices in financial education at school, non-school venues, and college-level programs in an effort to assist those who are starting or enhancing programs. Also discussed were financial education guidelines and standards currently in place in some states around the country, and volunteer opportunities for involvement in schools. A request for comments was published in the Federal Register on the topic of raising the financial literacy levels of kindergarten through postsecondary students. The findings from this summit are currently being compiled and will be made available to the public.
Coordination Efforts
12-5 The Office of Personnel Management and the Treasury Department will partner to establish a network of state and local government officials to improve
collaboration on financial education efforts among federal, state and local levels. The first meeting of the network will be held by the third quarter of 2007.
Update: In April of 2007, on behalf of the the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, the U.S. Treasury and the Office of Personnel Management launched the National Financial Education Network.The National Financial Education Network consists of representatives from Federal, state and local government. The Network will present an opportunity for members to form partnerships and share best practices.
Update: In October of 2007, on behalf of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, the U.S. Treasury and the Office of Personnel Management worked with other partners to coordinate the second summit of the National Financial Education Network.The National Financial Education Network was launched earlier this year and consists of representatives from Federal, state and local government. The Summit presented an opportunity to form partnerships and share best practices.
International Perspective
13.1 Between the third quarter of 2006 and the second quarter of 2007,
the Treasury Department will host an international summit on
financial education. To bring about this multi-national dialogue the
Treasury Department will invite the central government authorities
responsible for financial literacy in their respective nations to convene and discuss recent developments, innovative methods, and successful strategies for improving financial literacy in their home countries.
In May 2008, The Department of the Treasury and the OECD co-hosted an International Conference on Financial Education entitled, Taking Financial Literacy to the Next Level: Important Challenges and Promising Solutions with support from the The Young American Business Trust. The Conference had over 200 attendees from 44 different countries that spanned the globe.
Academic Research and Program Evaluation
11-1 The U.S. Department of the Treasury along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, will convene a symposium of researchers who specialize in financial education. The goal of the symposium is to raise awareness of existing academic research and to define questions that require additional analysis. The symposium will result in a white paper that will survey current financial education research and will also identify areas of potential future research.
Update: On October 6-7, 2008, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and U.S. Department of Agriculture convened the National Research Symposium on Financial Literacy and Education in Washington, DC. Twenty-nine experts from the fields of behavioral and consumer economics, financial risk assessment and financial education evaluation were invited to summarize existing research findings, identify gaps in the literature, and define and prioritize questions for future analysis.
Last Updated:
July 13, 2009
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