ben s bernanke : fostering financial literacy speech by mr ben s bernanke, chairman of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the national bankers association foundation financial literacy summit reception, washington dc, 13 april 2010. the original speech, which contains various links to the documents mentioned, can be found on the us federal reserve system ’ s website. * * * it is a distinct pleasure to visit with the national bankers association foundation this evening. i am very pleased to be among your honorees. the foundation does important work, including helping consumers make wise financial choices, connecting the “ unbanked ” with mainstream providers of financial services, and providing assistance and support to minority bankers and entrepreneurs. april is financial literacy month, and so it is fitting that you are hosting this event. i note that you also plan to hold a financial literacy summit later this year on the howard university campus. the summit will bring scholars, bankers, community activists, and others together to brainstorm strategies for educating consumers of financial products. many american families are struggling in the aftermath of the financial crisis, which reinforces the need for reliable and useful information to facilitate good financial choices. helping people better understand how to borrow and save wisely and how to build personal wealth is one of the best things we can do to improve the well - being of families and communities. the foundation is making great contributions to this effort, for example, through your online library of personal finance educational materials. 1 the federal reserve very much shares your abiding interest in helping consumers successfully navigate the financial marketplace. our approach is two - pronged. first, we work actively to foster financial and economic education. second, recognizing that basic financial knowledge is not sufficient to keep people safe from fraud and deceptive practices, we are committed to developing and enforcing strong rules to protect consumers. on the financial education front, examples of the federal reserve ’ s many resources available to the public are an online credit card calculator that helps consumers estimate how long it will take to pay off a credit card bill under different payment scenarios, 2 concise brochures – in both english and spanish – offering consumer tips on such topics as avoiding mortgage foreclosure scams and protecting their checking accounts, 3 and interactive websites that provide consumers with what they need to know about new protections for credit card accounts and overdraft protection programs that recently took effect. 4 see nba foundation, inc., “ financial literacy ”, webpage

these improved economic conditions leading to higher employment rates2 – and the full effects are still materialising. nevertheless, over the past five years structural reform implementation in the euro area has, overall, been sluggish at best. very few reforms identified in the european semester have been substantially implemented. reversing this trend and putting our economy on a higher convergence trajectory is thus a priority. in parallel, national policymakers should make it a priority to build up fiscal buffers to ensure policy space for future downturns. this is particularly important in countries where government debt is high and for which adherence to the stability and growth pact is critical for safeguarding sound fiscal positions. national authorities should therefore be the first ones to step up their efforts. nevertheless, european policies can be a significant catalyst and provide a strong engine for both growth and employment, in various ways. first, there is scope for a better use of the eu ’ s budget. the discussions on the 2021 - 27 multiannual financial framework offer an opportunity to enhance its role in addressing europe ’ s structural challenges, and i welcome the commitment made by leaders at the euro summit to pursue this avenue. second, the single market as an engine for convergence should be used to its fullest potential. this means expanding its reach into new areas, especially those relevant for innovation, such as the digital economy. this is an essential driver of economic progress, benefiting consumers, businesses and the economy as a whole, and will also provide a healthy ecosystem for financial services. it also means increasing the depth of the single market. in the area of financial services, the completion of the banking union and the capital markets union agenda offer an opportunity to do this, and would also provide the cross - border private risk - sharing mechanisms required to underpin the resilience of our economy. 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches this is because deeper and more efficient bond and equity markets in europe would allow economies of scale to be achieved and capital to be allocated to its most productive uses at the european level, in line with the single market objectives. in countries such as latvia, this is particularly relevant because capital markets are less developed and intermediation remains largely bank - based, which results in fewer options for financing business start - ups and expansion. 3 creating a genuine banking union where banks operate across borders and diversify their sources of income would also enhance cross - border private risk sharing, with the result that banks would be able to continue lending to the real