Increasing financial literacy and knowledge
Increasing financial literacy and knowledge in society is an important aspect of responsibility. The promotion of saving and financial wellbeing has been at the core of Savings Banks’ strategy for 200 years. We work on this in our daily meetings with customers as well as in various development projects. We implement sustainability and responsibility through action. Continuous financial education and good learning materials are needed in our changing world. In the Savings Banks Group, we also share energy efficiency tips and offer competitive energy loans, for example. As a social influencer, the Savings Banks Group wishes to do its part and help people of all ages take care of their finances and build their financial future on a sound basis, based on correct information and with a systematic approach.
We believe that everyone has a chance for a more prosperous future, even if there is still some way to go. We focus on personal advice and the creation of digital content for various situations and needs in life related to finances.
Read more in our guide to parents on the use of money by children and young people (in Finnish)
Spreading of financial wellbeing is part of responsibility
At Savings Bank, we use a tree to model financial wellbeing. Financial wellbeing is like a tree – it absorbs nutrients through its roots. The roots of the tree symbolize not only money but also people’s values and attitudes. They influence the way people manage their finances. These behaviours are often inherited from one’s home, and the person may be unaware of them. People also need certain basic knowledge and skills to manage their finances appropriately. When a tree is in a good state of wellbeing, it has green and healthy leaves. This means the individual or household has enough money and does not feel stress about their finances. The components of personal finances include income, expenses, assets and debt. A strong tree can withstand external pressure. Such pressure can emerge from economic cycles or movements in the investment markets. People’s finances can also be affected by life changes, such as a divorce, the death of a loved one or the arrival of a new family member.
Savings banks collaborate with educational institutions and pensioners’ associations
In March 2022, Savings Bank participated in the Global Money Week awareness campaign, which was organised for the first time in Finland. Global Money Week provides Finnish lower and upper secondary school students with ready-to-use teaching content that helps them build important financial literacy skills. In 2022, we also started using TikTok, a social media platform that is popular among young people. We created TikTok content targeted at young people with the aim of turning financial confusion into financial understanding. We worked together with various influencers to raise young people’s awareness of, for example, defaults and indebtedness, to explain absurd money concepts in plain, easy-to-understand language, and to encourage open discussion about money among young people.
As in the previous years, local Savings Banks continued their efforts to promote financial wellbeing among people of all ages. For example, they cooperated with educational institutions and pensioners’ associations. For example, Aito Säästöpankki signed a three-year cooperation agreement with the SASKY Municipal Education and Training Consortium in 2022, under which the bank will provide the consortium’s students with “My first euros” financial literacy materials. In autumn 2022, Aito Säästöpankki also conducted a “Financial Literacy for Young People” tour in collaboration with the Pirkanmaa Junior Chamber. Secondary education institutions in Tampere and the neighbouring municipalities were visited as part of the tour.
Since 2019, Nooa Savings Bank has offered overall financial coaching to the customers of all banks. The financial coaching concept covers professional advice, blogs, webinars and free tools for financial management and investment. More information is available online (in Finnish). In 2022, Nooa Savings Bank also provided financial coaching to the employees of various companies. The aim was to improve people’s ability to cope with the demands of work and prepare for the future, and to make financial literacy part of the occupational wellbeing culture of companies. More information is available online (in Finnish).