Ottawa, September 4th, 2008 – The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) today announced a new partnership with the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) that strengthens their respective financial literacy efforts. The two organizations will promote The City, FCAC's free web-based teacher resource and YourMoney, CBA's newly modernized in-class seminar in high schools across the country.
YourMoney is a 40-minute seminar that will be delivered by volunteer bankers and will introduce young Canadians to key concepts like budgeting, saving and wise credit use. Targeted at senior high-school students, the seminar covers financial basics such as:
- Budgeting: choosing your goals and working towards them;
- Saving and investing: the b enefits of compound interest and saving for the future;
- Credit and borrowing: how to manage credit and avoid credit traps; and
- Keeping money safe: recognizing fraud and how to avoid it.
"The CBA seminar ties in perfectly with The City, the new financial educational resource FCAC developed in partnership with the British Columbia Security Commission," said FCAC Commissioner Ursula Menke. "The City is a free, web-based teacher resource that engages youth by using an imaginative and interactive hands-on appr oach to learning. It covers topics like budgeting, saving, banking, investing, credit and debt. To complement The City's modules, teachers can bring in a YourMoney guest speaker to offer students an inside perspective on these fina ncial issues."
"The City is an excellent complement to the YourMoney program allowing students to build on the skills they learn in the seminar and enhance their knowledge of the money management concepts they'l l need as adults," said Nancy Hughes Anthony, President and CEO of the Canadian Bankers Association. "Banks in Canada are committed to the cause of financial literacy and we're very pleased to have formed this partnership with the FCAC to help young Canadians build a better financial future for themselves."
The City features 2 components – a classroom resource for teachers, comprised of 11 learnin g modules, and 8 interactive self-directed modules for teachers, youth and members of the general public. The City is available, in both English and French, at themoneybelt.gc.ca.
The City is a joint initiative o f the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC). The City is modeled on a successful, award-winning teacher resource the BCSC develo ped for educators who teach Grade 10 students the Planning 10: Finances course, which is mandatory in B.C. high schools. The resource is used in all 60 of B.C.'s school districts and has been delivered to more than 1,400 teachers since it was int roduced in November 2004.
"FCAC is dedicated to improving the level of financial knowledge amongst young Canadians," added Commissioner Menke. "Initiatives such as ou r partnerships with BCSC and CBA help us bring key financial concepts directly into the classroom, in a way students can appreciate a nd that is relevant to them. We all know that financial matters can be complex and hard to relate too sometimes, that is why FCAC is forging new and innovative partnerships designed to help st udents expand their money management skills.''
YourMoney and The City can be used by all interested educators, community groups and local agencies working with youth. To learn more about YourMoney seminars, v isit CBA's Web site at yourmoney.cba.ca. To learn more about The City, visit FCAC's Web portal at themoneybelt.gc.ca.
FCAC provides consumers with accurate, objective information about financial products and services, and informs Canadians of their rights and respo nsibilities when dealing with federally regulated financial institutions. FCAC also ensures compliance with the consumer protection laws, and monitors codes of conduct and public commitments t hat apply to banks and federally incorporated trust, loan and insurance companies.
Marie-France Lettre
Media Relations Officer - FCAC
613-948-2707
lettre.marie-france@fcac.gc.ca
Martine Bélanger
Acting Manager, External Communications - FCAC
613-941-8982
belanger.martine@fcac.gc.ca
CBA
Melanie Minos
416-362-6093, ext. 220
mminos @cba.ca
