More than 249,000 people of different ages improved their financial education through various programs promoted by the AEB and its partner banks in 2022. This figure represents a 38% increase compared to the previous year. During the same period, its financial education and digital skills initiatives benefited more than 10 million people in the digital sphere.
However, this commitment to training extends to the financial sector as a whole: it is estimated that the number of beneficiaries of various training initiatives is double the number of high school students in all of Spain. These are very significant figures that we cannot overlook during financial education week, which provides us with the opportunity to share experiences and knowledge among all of us who value the need for society to move toward a greater financial culture.
If education is fundamental to progressing throughout life, having sound financial knowledge allows us to have greater control over our future by providing us with tools that help us be better prepared for uncertainty.
With this conviction, the AEB is a collaborator in the Financial Education Plan, an initiative of the CNMV, the Bank of Spain, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation that seeks to provide society with basic knowledge to facilitate responsible and informed financial decision-making. Its motto this year is ‘Finance for all, inclusive finance’.
The accepted definition of financial inclusion refers to “the access that individuals and businesses have to various useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs and are provided in a responsible and sustainable manner.” This challenge, undertaken by the financial sector, has advanced decisively in recent years, and it can be concluded that Spain is well ahead of most European countries. In our country, access to financial services is practically universal in person and is reinforced by the other communication options that entities offer their customers.
Speaking of financial inclusion also requires considering three interrelated objectives: improving financial education, reinforcing digital knowledge, and increasing awareness of cybersecurity.
As society advances in digitalization and globalization, it becomes increasingly essential to understand how the economy works and basic financial concepts. In this context, it is key to join forces so that no group is left out of the advantages offered by digitalization and that alternatives are offered for those who cannot or do not wish to use digital channels to access public and private services. Likewise, the rapid digital transformation we are experiencing requires reinforcing users’ knowledge so that their operations are secure. Awareness of the risks of cybercrime is the perfect complement to the constant efforts of banks, companies, and authorities to prevent and combat it.
For many, financial education remains a pending subject despite the significant effort made by banks and authorities in recent years. The surveys we regularly see regarding the financial knowledge of society offer results that many may find discouraging; therefore, it is always useful to remember where we come from and the degree of cooperation we have achieved along the way.
Cooperation is a key element in promoting financial education. We see this, for example, in the growing list of collaborators that the Financial Education Plan has seen in recent years. For this reason, at the AEB, we promote collaboration in financial training and digital skills with foundations and associations from both the private and public sectors. Cooperation within the sector led us a year ago to create the ‘Aula Financiera y Digital’ website, which brings together the training that banks and associations offer to people of different ages. Because perseverance and common work are key to fostering individual well-being and that of society as a whole.
José Luis Martínez Campuzano, spokesperson for the Spanish Banking Association
