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Financial Education
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Highlights
Citi's Financial Education Program
 
Highlights March 2008
 
United States
 
Citi/Junior Achievement Banks in Action Program Concludes In Graduation Event
  • On March 26 Citi and Junior Achievement of Arizona celebrated the completion of Arizona's first JA Banks in Actions program with a special graduation event on the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park campus. This was Citi Arizona's first time partnering with JA in support of this unique program which was delivered to five business and web design classes at Vail High School over an eight-week period.
  • Citi's volunteers visited their assigned class once a week, delivering curriculum that taught fundamental banking and economic concepts, and allowed students to explore career interests in the banking industry. Through a variety of hands-on activities, the Vail students began to better understand the relationship between what they learn in school and successful participation in the global economy.
  • Each student team competed against others in their class for the title of "Bank of Choice", and now that five Bank of Choice teams have been identified, they will compete in the North America Virtual Elimination Round, to be held on May 6, which will feature winning teams from other high schools across the country.
  • Citi Foundation is the global sponsor of JA Banks in Action.
St. Louis: 2008 Habitat Family Financial Education
  • Citi - St. Louis volunteers from CitiMortgage and CitiFinancial are in the midst of teaching financial education to the first wave of 2008 Habitat families. The training will continue with a second group once all Habitat families have been chosen. This is the fourth year that Citi - St. Louis has provided the training for all St. Louis area Habitat families.
  • Habitat family members come together for two hours one night per week over seven weeks. Following dinner, families are divided into adults, teens, and kids to obtain age-appropriate lessons. Materials are sourced through the Citi Financial Education Curriculum, including the Money Know-How with Oscar the Owl for the kids, and Agent Penny and Will Power in Operation Finance for the older kids. Adult and teen topics include Introduction to Financial Services, Basic Banking Services, Money Management, Credit, and Mortgages. For the children, when there is significant age diversity in participants, the older children then become mentors for the younger kids on the evening's topics.
  • During the sessions, each participant has the opportunity to earn Citi Bucks - a manufactured denomination. Money is awarded based on attendance, assistance, and participation. The money may be used to periodically purchase items from the Citi Store (including small household items, personal items, and The Citi Commonsense Money Guide for Real People) or to save for future use. Citi is partnering with Beyond Housing on the savings incentive.
San Diego: Citi and NFTE Hold Press Conference on Entrepreneurship Program
  • On March 5th the Citi Foundation and the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) launched an entrepreneurship program at the San Diego High School of Business. The press conference including a check presentation in addition to the San Diego Mayor's Office presenting a resolution for this collaboration. Roughly 40 students from the program participated in the press conference which was recorded by T.V. Azteca (Spanish Media).
  • This program in designed to improve students' academic, financial and business skills. The program was made possible through a Citi Foundation grant providing training, materials and program assistance in five California communities. It's expected that 70 students will successfully complete the course.
  • The course will cover Small Business Technical Training that includes information on Budgets, Hiring, Permitting, Cost of Goods Sold, Business Law, Financial Statements, Business Planning and Business Philanthropy.
U.S. Financial Education Training
  • To date, over 7,700 employees and non-profit partner staff have undergone training to teach financial education using Citi's Financial Education Curriculum.
  • Over 4,100 people have participated in the online training since the April 2005 website launch.
Europe, Middle East and Africa
 
Bulgaria: Seventh Annual Manager for a Day initiative
  • On March 18th Citi Bulgaria partnered with Junior Achievement (JA) Bulgaria for the seventh annual Manager for a Day initiative, organized under the patronage of the Bulgarian Minister of Finance. This initiative allows high-school students to spend a whole working day with managers from different industries and institutions and get a glimpse of the real duties managers have to perform and the decisions they have to take on a daily basis.
  • Over 190 leading international and Bulgarian companies and government institutions played host to more than 1000 students in 46 towns. Citi Bulgaria welcomed three students with an interest in banking and finance (two in the Sofia main office and one in the Varna representative office). These visits helped the students in their future career choices by showing them what is involved in being a manager at Citi.
Belgium: European Parliamentary Financial Services Forum
  • On March 26th, Dara Duguay, Director of Citi's Office of Financial Education, addressed the European Parliamentary Financial Services Forum (EPFSF), which facilitates the exchange of information on financial services and Europe's financial markets between the financial industry and Members of the European Parliament.
  • The topic of March's forum was "Financial Education and Financial Capability." Duguay discussed Citi's Financial Education efforts in the EU and shared the stage with a representative from ING.
Morocco: Citi Foundation Sponsors Global Financial Education Program, Hosts North Africa Region Training Workshops
  • Hosted by Citi Morocco and the Citi Foundation, the Global Financial Education Program held a North Africa Regional ten day training of trainers in Casablanca March 4-13, 2008. There were representatives from microfinance institutions from Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and France in attendance.
  • The Global Financial Education Program is funded by the Citi Foundation, and designed and managed by international non-profit group, Microfinance Opportunities, in collaboration with Freedom from Hunger, a leader in adult curriculum development and integration of education with microfinance. The program aims to rapidly advance financial education for the poor around the globe, through regional and country workshops that will result in a global network of financial educators.
  • The training uses a cutting-edge curriculum on budgeting and cash flow, debt management, savings, financial negotiation and banking services, as well as best practices in adult education and evaluation.
Poland: Bank Handlowy Marks 100,000 Visitors to Its Financial Education Portal – ZrozumFinanse.pl
  • ZrozumFinanse.pl (UnderstandFinance.pl), which was launched by Citi Handlowy in November 2007, enjoys great popularity among internet users. Since its launch this financial education portal has been visited by more than 100 thousand users. ZrozumFinanse.pl is constantly evolving and changing – in March some changes to the layout and contents of the portal aimed at increasing its attractiveness have been made.
  • One of the most interesting novelties is a strategic game – a simulation of personal finance management. In 30 turns (1 turn is one calendar month), the player manages personal finance to maximize his or her assets, i.e. he or she aims to obtain the highest possible savings balances (term deposits, investment funds), to have movables (e.g. a car) and immovables (an apartment), as well as appropriate financial security (a pension fund, life insurance).
  • The portal is constantly evolving. As far as multimedia are concerned, 13 new presentations, a street survey and films showing practical aspects of selected banking products have been added.
Amsterdam: Aflatoun International Campaign Launch
  • Aflatoun's mission is: Inspiring children to socially and economically empower themselves and become agents of change in their own lives and for a more equitable world. The organization currently has 14 programs with 35 new programs in 25 countries scheduled to start in 2008.
  • From March 16th to 19th in Amsterdam, Citi participated in the International Campaign Launch along with other international organizations and financial institutions to discuss our commitment to global financial education and proven implementation methods throughout the world.
  • Freddy Boom, Chief Country Officer from the Netherlands, provided remarks at the opening reception regarding Citi's support of Aflatuon's mission. Swati Patel, Head of Corporate Citizenship EMEA, spoke on a panel to discuss best practices for working with international foundations. Bryan Lewis, Deputy Director of Citi's Office of Financial Education, spoke on a panel about using global partnerships to make financial education a reality for all children. Sandra Garcia Bringas Albert, Head of Didactic Material and Training for the Banamex Office of Financial Education, spoke on a panel discussing child economic rights.
Asia Pacific
 
Philippines: Inaugural Financial Health Day for Citi Employees
  • Hundreds of Citi Philippines employees attended the first Financial Health Day on February 28th and had many opportunities to improve their financial fitness. Held at Citibank's headquarters in Manila, employees were invited to sign up for one-on-one consultations with financial experts from Citibank and some partner institutions. In addition, presentations covering a range of topics were held including "How to make a budget and stick to it", "The importance of financial planning", "How to know if you are adequately insured", and "A crash course on investment products".
  • One of the guest speakers was Dr. Queena Lee-Chua, a multi-award winning educator, writer and columnist, who incorporated many realistic case studies, simple charts and useful plans into her talk. Employees also had the chance to complete an online survey to measure the health of their personal financial situation, and everyone received a copy of Money Sense magazine.
  • "We were delighted to see the big turnout and high level of interest and look forward to introducing similar campaigns for employees around the country later this year. While we realize that building a sound and secure financial future takes more than one day to achieve, we hope that the health day was a good starting point for many," said Mark Jones Country Business Manager, Citi Philippines.
Taiwan: Outstanding response to Citi's Young Adult Financial Literacy Program
  • The winners of a personal financial planning essay competition received scholarships at a special ceremony on March 6th, marking the finale of Citi Taiwan's inaugural Young Adult Financial Literacy Program.
  • Launched in September 2007, the program was offered on nine campuses either as a two- credit class or a seminar, and more than 4,000 university students participated in the program's lectures, seminars, and personal financial planning essay competition. The program is co-sponsored by Citi Taiwan and Taiwan's Financial Literacy and Education Association, and funded by the Citi Foundation.
  • The first prize winner was from National Chiayi University and the four runner-ups were from National Taipei College of Business, National Cheng Kung University, National Taiwan Normal University and National Chengchi University. Tze-kaing Yang, the former Deputy Minister of Finance and a board member of Taiwan's Financial Literacy and Education Association, and Anita Su from Citi Taiwan, presented the scholarships.
Indonesia: Citi extends reach of Global Financial Education Program
  • On March 14th, Citi announced a grant to double the reach and impact of the Global Financial Education Program in Indonesia. First launched in 2007, this initiative teaches Indonesian microentrepreneurs basic financial management skills so that they can grow and manage their small enterprises more effectively. They also learn how to secure and utilize low-cost credit loans from cooperatives, people's credit banks (BPRs) and microfinance institutions.
  • Funded by the Citi Foundation, the Global Financial Education Program training is run by the Management School of the Faculty of Economics of University Indonesia (LMFEUI). In addition to the "Basic Financial Knowledge and Skills" and "Savings: You Can Do It!" three new modules will be added this year - "Credit Management: Manage with care," "Bank Services: Know your choices" and "Financial Negotiation: Talk with confidence".
  • "In 2008, our goal is to involve more people and communities in Sumatra, Bali, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Yogyakarta, Bandung and Surabaya, and we hope to double the 150,000 participation rate from 2007," said Dr. Budi W. Soetjipto, LMFEUI's Managing Director. Also new in 2008 will be a trainer assessment initiative and an impact survey involving microfinance clients.
Korea: Citi and KAIST Hold ‘Excellent Financial Paper' Competition
  • The inaugural Citi-KAIST Excellent Financial Paper Competition was held on March 18th at the KAIST Graduate School of Finance in Dongdaemoon-gu, Seoul. This is part of a program sponsored by the Citi Foundation and run by the KAIST Graduate School of Finance to foster talent for the finance sector through training, scholarships, and mentoring.
  • The contestants were judged on topicality, creativity, and the strength and structure of their argument. Six graduate and undergraduate students were given awards for the best papers, followed by a scholarship award presentation ceremony. Of the 140 papers submitted, 100 (40 graduate students and 60 undergraduate students) were selected as scholarship winners.
  • Other highlights at the event included a special lecture by Kyung-Soo Kim, President, Institute for Monetary & Economic Research, Bank of Korea, as well as the start of a mentoring program focused on financial sector career development with 18 experts from Citi Korea, KAIST and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).
Japan
 
MESE (Management & Economics Simulation Exercise)
  • MESE is a computer-simulated program, in which teams of students make production and marketing decisions for an imaginary product. The program, funded by Citi Japan and the Citi Foundation, was developed by Junior Achievement and is conducted by JA Japan.
  • The final match was held on March 16th. Eight teams of 16 students were gathered from all over Japan to Citigroup Center in Tokyo. The match was fought through 10 rounds from the morning to the evening. Finally, two students from "Fukuoka", the southern part of Japan won the game. These two students were awarded a NY trip and about $1,000 in cash. They will visit the Citi New York office during their summer vacation.
Mexico
 
Financier For A Day In Guadalajara
  • On March 12, Financier for a Day was held for the first time in Guadalajara, Jalisco for students from several high schools in partnership with Guadalajara University.
  • The students learned from Banamex Western Division Officers the experience and knowledge needed to be a successful financier. The event was rewarding for the students and the Banamex volunteers.
Suma Por La Educacion
  • The Banamex Office of Financial Education participated in the 6th International Education Congress – "Assessment: The Way to Educational Quality"
  • From March 4th to 6th didactic materials such as the board game "Decisiones de pe$o" (Big Deci$ions), the books "La contabilidad es cosa de juego" (Let's Play Accounting) and "Mi propio negocio" (My Own Business), and the module "Organizo mi bolsillo y las finanzas personales" (Organizing my Money and Personal Finance" were presented and demonstrated to the participants.
Latin America
 
Ecuador: Citi Supports Young Managers with "Banks in Action" Program
  • In Quito Ecuador, several determined 17 and 19 year-old young adults were the winners of the IV Interschool Banks in Action Contest, in which 650 students from 14 schools from Quito and Guayaquil participated during 2007. This contest was carried out internationally through software developed by Junior Achievement Worldwide, with the support of the Citi Foundation. The program simulates bank management and decision-making activities. The success or failure of the business/bank will depend on the decisions made by the students.
  • The team of three enthusiastic "quiteños" (from Quito City) represented Ecuador in the Latin-American Tournament "Banks in Action," which took place in Panama in November.