FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)
May 08, 2007
Citi-Sponsored Dollars & $ense Financial Education Program in Taiwan Aims to Grow in 2007
Taipei – Close to 17,000 high school students are expected to participate in the 2007 Dollars and $ense (D&$) Financial Education program for Teens. Run in collaboration with the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation (TWRF), and funded by the Citi Foundation, this well-established Citi Taiwan campaign (in its fourth year) continues to grow from strength-to-strength said Victor Kuan, Country Business Manager, Citibank Taiwan.
"As the biggest and longest serving foreign bank in Taiwan, Citi has made a long-term commitment to financial education. Thanks to our programs we hope the many students who have participated in D&$ activities, as well as future students, will be equipped to make the right financial decisions. We believe the value of education lasts a lifetime and while we may not all be able to leave a large amount of wealth to the next generation, we can pass on the wisdom and advice required to accumulate wealth."
Since its launch in 2004, D&$ has successfully delivered its responsible financial management messages to 60,000 high school students in more than 100 seminar and forum sessions at campuses across the country. At the start, the program focused on basics such as the difference between economic wants and needs and progressed to include other topics such as bookkeeping, opportunity cost, value-in-time-interest, wealth creation and good credit habits. In addition to seminars, D&$ also features multimedia educational tools such as a “Save for the Future” DVD and other materials.
Speaking about the impact of the program, Sandy Yeh, Chairwoman, TWRF said:
"Many problems in Taiwan today arise from the fact that families and teachers are unable to cover all the education bases. Some teenagers therefore, have missed opportunities to learn and establish the right values and sense of responsibility when it comes to spending and saving.
"Furthermore, we now live in a time where influences from the media and the Internet are very strong. Given this, to help them pave the way to a successful future, providing financial education is vital and D&S plays an important role in teaching good money management basics."
To stay on track with trends and attitudes among teens towards saving and spending, Citi and TWRF enlisted Nielsen Consulting to conduct a survey. Involving high school and vocational high school students in four major regions, 1,742 students were interviewed before and after a D$S seminar (between September 18, 2006 – January 19, 2007). The findings will be used to shape future programs and activities.
The major findings are:
Online Impact
- 52% of students surfing the Internet made friends online. 70% chose to withhold personal information details to protect themselves and a fairly high number (28%) said they answered questions honestly online
Recognition and expectations
- "Being popular and recognized by peer groups" ranked number one in terms of self-recognition. About future expectations, 83% wanted to continue their education to college level. 10% however, had no idea about what they wanted to do after graduating from school
On purchase/savings behavior
- More than 70% agreed that more happiness would result if they planned and were patient in saving and spending
- 45% said they often make purchases without thinking – higher for girls (53%) than boys (34%)
- Overall, 54% said they have had a habit of saving since childhood
Views on credit
- 84% said they had to be responsible for their own behavior, and 90% understood the consequences of poor credit habits
The effect of financial education (A quiz was given to students before and after the campus program to measure impact)
- 20% of the students said they have improved their financial education knowledge by attending the campus course
- The percentage of students who said their financial education was now at a sound level was 41% (after attending the campus program)
- Regarding the effectiveness of lessons, the topics that made the biggest impact were the opportunity cost, single and compound interest, the revolving interest for credit cards and impact of poor credit classes
- Finally, the level of understanding about financial education depended on family background, school education levels and peer group influence
To help students establish correct and responsible financial attitudes and values, Citi and TWRF will focus/promote the following in the 2007 program:
- Because the Internet has become such an important communication and information channel, it’s important to continue to teach how to use the Internet wisely, particularly in chat rooms.
- Peers make a difference, so it’s important (from a parent’s perspective) to identify who their children are mixing with. Parents also need to remind their children about money basics and the importance of being prudent.
- Teenagers need to learn more about the relationship between the quality of credit and interest rate levels.
- Push for financial education to be integrated into the formal education system to allow all students to learn financial management basics. This will help students to become more independent and responsible when spending money.
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Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi's major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Citi Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.