Financial education is the key to ensuring people can make sensible financial plans for the future, the British Bankers’ Association says today.
The Government has today proposed money guidance for consumers which will tackle the core problems of a public lack of understanding and awareness of financial services and how banks can help. The review into the financial capability of the population, chaired by Otto Thoresen, aims to help people to make better financial decisions.
BBA Chief Executive Angela Knight attended a briefing on the reviews findings at HM Treasury this morning.
“The British Bankers’ Association believes better financial education is key to ensuring people can make sensible plans for the future and provides us with the best hope of addressing the problem of financial literacy at a national level. The industry already supports significantly the valuable work currently being done by the Financial Services Authority.
“Otto Thoresen has identified a real gap in financial knowledge among the wider population. Now we need to see how the Thoresen proposals would work in practice. The real tests will be encouraging a good take-up of the service and making sure it meets peoples needs. Crucially, we need a further pilot project which is closely developed, monitored and most importantly costed,” says Knight.