Financial Education: Research and Advocacy

Financial education is widely seen as one of the solutions to rising debt levels, mortgage fraud and other consumer financial problems. In the past five years, Congressional legislation has called for a national strategy for financial education and added a financial education requirement to bankruptcy law. The ABA Education Foundation works closely with ABA's government relations department to promote bankers' role in increasing financial literacy.  We also track the latest research to help you create or fine tune a results-oriented financial education program.  

Former ABA Education Foundation Chairman Julie Cripe (President and COO, Omnibank, NA, Houston, Texas) and Current Chairman Steve Martin (Vice President, Canandaigua National Bank and Trust Company, Canandaigua, N.Y.) met with Congressman Al Green of Texas (far left) and Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts (second from right) during Hill visits in April. Rep. Frank is Chairman of the House Financial Services
Committee, of which Rep. Green is also a member.

ABA Education Foundation Chairman Julie Cripe testifies on Capitol Hill. Speaking on behalf of the industry to the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, Cripe highlighted the many things bankers are doing to support financial education. Cripe is holding the ABAToolbox on Financial Education, one of the many toolboxes available free to ABA Members.
Photo: James Tkatch

Recent Research on Financial Literacy

• National Adult Financial Literacy Reserach Overview (Aug. 2007)
  Networks Financial Institute at Indiana University
• Analyzing the Relationship Between Account Ownership and Financial Education
  New America Foundation's Financial Services and Education Project (Sept. 2007)
• Federal Reserve Report to the Congress on Credit Scoring (Aug. 2007)
• Capital One's Annual Back to School Survey (July 2007)
  2007 Teach Children to Save Teacher Response Survey 
  ABA Education Foundation (July 2007) pdf
• Borrowing to Get Ahead, and Behind: The Credit Boom and Bust in Lower Income Markets
  The Brookings Institute (May 2007) pdf
• The National Foundation for Credit Counseling's first Consumer Financial Literacy Survey (April 2007) pdf
• A Longitudinal Evaluation of the Intermediate-term Impact of the Money Smart Financial Education Curriculum upon Consumers' Behavior and Confidence
  FDIC (April 2007) pdf
• National K-12 Financial Literacy Qualitative and Quantitative Research
  Networks Financial Institute at Indiana State University (March/April 2007) pdf
• Early Intervention and Credit Cardholders: Results of Efforts to Provide Online Financial Education to New-to-Credit and At-Risk Consumers
  The Center for Financial Services Innovation (Jan. 2007) pdf

For more information, contact Marquita Powell.