The head of the financial education centres at the Bank of Spain, Roberto España, advocates for a relationship "as balanced as possible" between the discipline of entities and the empowerment of citizens to make informed decisions.
The Bank of Spain advocates for a relationship "as balanced as possible" between the discipline that financial entities must comply with when marketing products and the empowerment of citizens to make informed decisions. This was stated by Roberto España, head of the financial education centres of the institution, during a dialogue titled 'State of Financial Education in Spain', organised by Servimedia and in which Generali also participated, as reported by La Vanguardia.
España explained that the Bank of Spain addresses a dual dimension in the sale of financial products: that entities comply with their obligations to inform and that citizens understand that information. In this regard, he noted that European directives tend towards "very concise information, highlighting fundamental aspects and facilitating comparison with other offers", after a period in which detailed pre-contractual information was required.
However, he warned of a perverse effect of the digital world: when products are contracted online, "we all do the 'scroll', I have read, I accept, because you want to quickly move to the next screen". He also expressed concern about young people who consider 'influencers' a reliable source for financial decisions, as "some are suitable, qualified", but "others are clearly on the edge of fraud".
"It is concerning because there is a paradigm shift in the provision of financial services. They are digitalised, open to the provision of other agents, and this forces citizens to ultimately have more information and more accurate information"
The head of the Bank of Spain lamented that financial education today has "a testimonial presence" in the educational system, without a specific subject in schools and, when it exists, "it is from the third or fourth year of secondary education and is always optional". Therefore, the institution will try to reach teachers with training and materials for them to teach in classrooms.
The educator Pablo Gil, author of the book 'Financial Education for Real Life', considered that currently "the skin is very sensitive" because citizens perceive the impact of inflation on their pockets more due to the rising cost of housing or fuels, and now "you can do a lot of good" with financial education. Gil warned that "people act as if 'this is not going to affect me', and as they do not plan for it, when the time comes to make a financial decision, they make it almost without criteria. And the difference between making decisions with criteria and without criteria makes your life comfortable or a real obstacle course".
Regarding the role of banking, Gil predicted an imminent "radical change" due to the strong competition to attract customers. In that scenario, traditional banking "either changes its objective and starts working a bit more for the customer or it will remain in the background". He also described it as a "colossal mistake" to create ideologies around financial education and emphasised that it should be equally important for a vulnerable group as for those with a comfortable economic situation.
This year's Financial Education Day will focus on how to achieve greater profitability from savings, in line with the European Commission's plans to channel part of the resources that citizens keep in deposits towards productive investments. The slogan is 'Save. Invest. Advance.', with the aim of embedding the idea of saving beyond what is left over each month, creating an emergency cushion and investing the rest. The celebration involves the Bank of Spain, the CNMV, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business as the main promoters, with activities in numerous Spanish cities.
From Generali, its commercial director of Financial Products, Pablo Lozano, acknowledged the challenge for companies to adapt the information about their products to make it understandable and also for citizens to know their financial situation and plan accordingly. Beatriz Sigüenza, from the Balia Foundation, requested that vulnerable groups are not left out of financial education, and Sabina Lobato, from the ONCE Foundation, encouraged participation in the solidarity race for financial education and inclusion organised together with the association of financial establishments.
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