Back to basics
While launching the Australian Bankers’ Association’s (ABA) new online financial literacy program, chairman David Morgan said increasing the financial understanding of those who were the most illiterate would increase their personal income by $3,000 a year.
He said this was a sustainability priority that banks could most affect, and over a decade would inject an additional $6 billion a year into gross domestic product.
“The lowest levels of financial literacy were associated with those having lower education, those not working, those with lower incomes, those with lower saving levels, single people and people at both extremes of the age profile,” Morgan said.
“Broadening financial literacy is part of the wider sustainability agenda — an agenda that is determined not just by banks … but by all of us working together in partnership.”
Also the chief executive of Westpac Banking, Morgan said the bank employed the philosophy that a prosperous business went hand in hand with a prosperous society.
For this reason, Westpac introduced a Financial First Steps workshop three years ago to teach its young employees the basics in money management.
Today, school students, apprentices and indigenous communities also use the program.
The ABA’s new Financial Literacy Info Centre provides access to other workshops of this type from Australia’s banking sector.
“The new section of the ABA website complements the ASIC consumer protection FIDO website and the Financial Literacy Foundation’s pending web portal, as well as our member banks’ financial literacy resources,” Morgan said.
Recommended for you
AFCA has confirmed United Global Capital’s membership of the body will not be extended to accept further complaints, avoiding a repeat of the Dixon Advisory scenario.
Three of Australia’s largest financial advice groups have shared their thoughts with Money Management on whether they would include crypto on their approved product lists.
Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor has vowed to introduce a bill to legislate a raft of financial services reforms if the Coalition is elected.
Money Management examines the share price of financial advice licensees over one year to 31 March, with M&A actions in the final quarter having a positive effect for two licensees.