Message from the Chairman
Since the FDIC launched the award-winning Money Smart financial education program four years ago, we have helped thousands of unbanked consumers get started on the road to financial independence. We are proud of our leadership role in this area, but there's more to be done. In this issue of our newsletter we focus on one very big problem - the need for more financial education in the Hispanic community - and the latest on what the FDIC is doing to help.

First, the problem. Nearly 40 million Hispanics live in the United States, and according to various studies in recent years, nearly half of the adult Latino population doesn't have a transaction account (such as a savings or checking account) and similarly large numbers don't know enough about how to save and invest their money. The FDIC finds it very troubling that millions of people may be missing tremendous opportunities to establish credit, own a home, build wealth and otherwise create a better future for their families because they lack a basic understanding of how the U.S. financial system works. At the same time, the FDIC believes that the financial services industry is missing out on tremendous business opportunities to serve this large and growing market.

You'll learn about the FDIC's latest efforts to bring more Hispanics into the financial mainstream. We feature details of our summer-long Spanish advertising campaign, which is designed to bring a clear and urgent message to Hispanic Americans - that financial literacy really does matter to them and their families - and that the FDIC's Money Smart program can help them get started. You'll even see photos from the June kickoff event for the media campaign on Capitol Hill.

You'll also read about the FDIC's participation in some exciting new partnerships aimed at helping Hispanic communities, including a financial literacy initiative announced by President Bush.

The FDIC enjoys and benefits from partnerships with dedicated organizations that want to bring more Americans into the financial mainstream. If you want to discuss the possibility of teaming up with the FDIC or Money Smart to help any segment of our population become more knowledgeable and more prosperous, I encourage you to contact your regional FDIC Community Affairs Officer.