CAPITAL ONE AG ABA-Responding to America's Diverse Financial Education Needs.
As we take stock during National Financial Literacy Month in April, let's take a quick pulse check on how Americans are doing in the area of financial wellness.
According to the Financial Health Network, fewer than one in three Americans were 'financially healthy' in 2019, even as the economy continued to grow and unemployment reached a 50-year low prior to the coronavirus pandemic. The percentage of Americans who can pay off all their bills on time did rise 2.2 points, but people are setting aside less money in short-term savings-with 12 percent saying they have less than one week of living expenses saved in 2019, up 1.4 points.
Consumers who lack financial wellness can face bodily health challenges too, especially for women. More than one in five women say their finances cause them a high amount of stress in 2019, compared with 13.2 percent of men. These findings illuminate many opportunities for banks to help individuals focus on their financial wellness.
But to paraphrase Tolstoy, each financially unwell family is unwell in its own way. Here are five stories of how banks of all sizes are tackling these challenges in tailored ways that reflect the diverse financial education needs of different demographics and customers.
Incarcerated women preparing to reenter society
'If there was something someone could have said or done that would have changed the path that led you here, what would it have been?' she asked. Twenty-five prisoners submitted letters in response to that question. Women who had been in and out of prison before consistently noted that resources available when you get out are not sufficient for the transition-and that is when the
'Members of our executive committee visit the prison four times a year and meet with women who have less than six months left in their sentence,' explains
Inmates are commonly identity fraud victims, Adams adds. 'We can start them on the repair of their credit, but it's challenging to continue the process if the inmate doesn't have someone on the outside to help them or if they can't earn computer time on the inside as a special privilege.'
In addition to credit repair, 1st Security volunteers focus on budgeting using mock budgets for a job earning
'We've come to believe that these women deserve a second chance,' says
Seniors uncomfortable with digital banking
Ready, Set, Bank is a series of 44 micro-learning videos from
Migrant farm workers
ChoiceOne is a 14-branch community bank in an abundantly rich agricultural region in
Local farmers struggle to find fast ways to pay these employees. Paper checks were a common way to pay, often cashed at check cashing facilities. This resulted in employees paying high fees and keeping large sums of cash, compromising their safety when crossing the border to return home.
'The foundation of financial literacy with this group is establishing trust,' says ChoiceOne COO
Meanwhile, ChoiceOne provides education sessions for the farm workers post-harvest. More than 100 laborers generally attend. Employees began asking for language and culture training, and voluntary after-hours Spanish classes are now offered once a year. These focus on how to get through a transaction with limited Spanish and understand cultural attitudes.
'We see these employees doing transactions in Spanish and going beyond transactions to learning new words with their customers and getting to know them in new ways,' observes VP and CRA officer
These initiatives have been building for several years. 'An important lesson for us is to be in tune with our customers, listen to what em-ployees are asking for and be creative with our solutions,' says Greenland. 'With our vision to be the best bank in
Minority entrepreneurs
'People who start a business are usually good at something. They're great bakers or electricians or another skill. But the most important thing as your business grows is to be good at business,' says
FBE focuses on building an ecosystem of support to help black and Latino business owners grow their businesses. The program helps these firms access growth capital; large corporate and public contracts via supplier diversity programs; and strategic advice and mentoring, including on technical operational challenges like supply chain management and pricing. FBE's target is businesses at the
FBE is sector-agnostic, says Lloyd. 'We see more community businesses with lower barriers to entry express interest in our approach. A great example is DRB Services, a facilities services business. They came in with
Eastern is an innovator in this space, dedicating dollars and capital to help address the wealth gap by helping minority-owned businesses grow. Lloyd challenges other banks to learn from this model to not just grow businesses but to shrink the racial wealth gap in the
Families affected by medical hardship
When someone receives a cancer diagnosis, he or she faces issues well beyond the medical treatment. Regions invests time, talent, and resources to help families affected by medical hardship maintain financial stability. The bank works with
Many tools are available to branch associates to address difficult topics. In fact, many were conceived and developed by a Regions employee who had cancer and underwent her own medical hardship. These resources include worksheets for developing a changed personal action plan, a legacy planning checklist, a surviving spouse checklist and a Regions Next Step podcast featuring an associate sharing how she used the above resources to take control of her financial legacy when she was faced with the diagnosis of a terminal illness.
'There are so many fantastic literacy initiatives across our footprint,' says
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