marja nykanen : opening remarks - bank of finland financial literacy conference opening remarks by ms marja nykanen, deputy governor of the bank of finland, at the bank of finland financial literacy conference, helsinki, 12 june 2023. * * * ladies and gentlemen, dear conference participants, good morning and a very warm welcome to the bank of finland's money museum! please let me thank each of you for taking part in our conference. i also want to thank all of our presenters, panelists and the keynote speaker professor annamaria lusardi. the quality of presentations is outstanding, and i hope you are all looking forward to the discussions as much as i am. we come together today to discuss the vitally important topic of financial literacy. it is a skill which every citizen needs, but which far too many lack. sound financial literacy is at the heart of people's well - being, and therefore, improving it must be a top priority of the authorities. in the past, it was sufficient to be aware of your income and expenses, in a practical sense. " spend less than you earn " is an old and simple wisdom. and " it is not about the high income, but the low expenses " as my grandmother used to say. today, credit is readily available and complex investment products are accessible at our fingertips. the gap between the financially resilient and the financially fragile is widening. the current cost of living increase has made financial skills imperative for households. it is now recognised that poor financial abilities have left many households unprepared to face this cost of living increase, rising interest rates and their consequences. in this opening address i will first discuss the specific challenges that the cost of living increase imposes on households and to financial stability. i will then explain why a lack of financial literacy is not just an individual problem but has a wider effect on the entire financial system. i will argue that financial literacy must go hand in hand with a wellregulated financial market and macroprudential policies. i will emphasise that interconnectedness between financial literacy and financial stability, in particular, explains why central banks are fostering financial education. i will finish by introducing initiatives by the bank of finland which aim to improve the financial skills of all our citizens. dear friends, in today's economic climate it is more important than ever to be financially literate. during a recent press conference at which i introduced our financial stability review, i quoted warren

financial literacy and education. financial literacy enhances financial stability. links between financial stability and financial literacy are important and they form a worthwhile field for exploration. i am delighted that many papers today focus on microlevel decision - making and its links to the macro - economic outcomes. the bird's eye view enables us to discuss the broad scope of financial literacy. many papers and presentations also consider the societal effects of financial literacy. collecting high - 4 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches quality data, designing studies to evaluate financial literacy policies, improving teaching techniques and making central banking communications more understandable are all financial literacy research areas that help us to understand household behaviour and eventually improve financial stability. dear all, let me reiterate how delighted i am to welcome you to the bank of finland's first international financial literacy conference. for the bank of finland, promoting financial literacy has been a key strategic priority and this financial literacy centre in connection with our museum is a concrete outcome of this work. when we were choosing the vision for our centre, we abandoned the stereotypical finnish modesty. the vision states, " finns will be the best at financial literacy in the world "! this year we are also celebrating the 20th anniversary of the bank of finland's museum. the museum is open to the public for free and it has become a popular place to visit here in the heart of helsinki. in 2020 the bank of finland took an initiative which resulted the first national strategy in financial education. we started by surveying all different financial education activities in finland. when it comes to implementing the strategy, we thrive to be a key player within our national financial education network. the network includes relevant ministries, banking, consumer and financial sector associations and ngos. co - operation between different stakeholders is crucial, because in finland many important policy areas such as consumer protection or citizens'advice do not fall under the functions of the central bank. co - operation enhances the outreach of financial education to different socioeconomic groups and gives us a feedback channel that we can utilise in developing our activities further. the mission of the financial literacy centre is to improve citizens'understanding of the economy and increase their interest in economic issues. our educational games, exhibitions and interactive displays explain common economic concepts like inflation, interest rates, and, in general, aim to make monetary policy more accessible to the broader public. we also offer workshops on personal finance for school children and students. to our visitors, we deliver neutral and research -