Banks & Financial Literacy
Many Canadians look to banks as a trusted source of financial information. Banks are working in their communities to provide consumers with the information they need to make sound financial decisions.
Initiatives sponsored or led by banks in Canada:
Access to Opportunity — A partnership between CIBC and the YMCA, this program helps newcomers to Canada break down the barriers to employment and build financial capacity. (CIBC)
Citi Financial Education — Financial education resources and curriculum for kindergarten to grade 8.
Financial Lifeskills — Scholarship honouring hard work, innovation and career direction. (RBC Financial Group)
Students in Free Enterprise — Provides grants for students to develop and implement sustainable financial education projects. (HSBC)
TD Money Lounge on Facebook — A new media approach to financial education aimed at students and youth. (TD Bank Financial Group)
Junior Achievement — Business and entrepreneurship education. Several banks in Canada are supporters of Junior Achievement.
The Learning Partnership's Entrepreneurial Adventure (EA) — EA brings students and teachers from kindergarten to grade 12 together with business partners to create ventures that benefit their local communities. (BMO Financial Group)
Bank the Rest — A savings program that allows customers to automatically round up purchases made using the Scotiabank debit card to the next multiple of $1 or $5. The difference between the purchase total and the round up amount is then transferred to a savings account. (Scotiabank)
Credit Education Week Canada (CEWC) — CEWC is an annual public awareness campaign that puts tools and tips in the hands of Canadians to teach them how to manage their finances. Developed in cooperation with Credit Canada, a non-profit credit counselling service in the Toronto area, CEWC includes a scholarship program, expert speakers on personal finance and community events to empower Canadians to make wise financial decisions. (Capital One Canada)
The Road to Better Credit — Where do you want your credit to take you? The Road to Better Credit provides a roadmap to help Canadians understand how credit works as well as what they can do to build, preserve and maximize it. (Capital One Canada)
Recent research on financial literacy:
Banks can do a better job of helping Canadians understand their personal finances (BMO Financial Group, 2008).
Two-thirds of young families say they should have a better handle on personal finances (BMO Financial Group, 2008).
Delivery Models for Financial Literacy Interventions (Social Enterprise Development Initiatives, 2008).
Financial Literacy: Lessons from International Experience (Canadian Policy Research Networks, 2007).
Canadians consider themselves knowledgeable about personal finance —
but don't always act as shrewdly as they might (Capital One/Ipsos Reid, 2006).
More financial literacy resources:
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) — Federal agency providing information about financial products and services.
Investor Education Fund — Source of information for Canadians on investing and managing money. Established by the Ontario Securities Commission.
Social Enterprise Development Initiatives (SEDI) — National not-for-profit dedicated to helping low-income Canadians achieve economic self-sufficiency, focusing on financial literacy, asset-building and entrepreneurship.
Moving Forward with Financial Literacy — Synthesis Report on Reaching Higher: Canadian Conference on Financial Literacy.
CFEE National Survey — Canadian National Survey on Economic and Financial Capability
