According to the OECD, financial literacy can be defined as “a combination of financial awareness, knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours necessary to make sound financial decisions and ultimately achieve individual financial well-being”[1].
In short, financial education consists of developing initiatives aimed at familiarizing citizens with financial issues, so that individual financial decisions are made from a sphere of greater knowledge of the financial products and services that best suit their needs.
In recent years, most advanced countries have experimented an accelerated process of development of their financial systems that has led to the creation of a multitude of products and services that are sometimes difficult for end users to understand. For this reason, several organizations have launched different initiatives in order to promote financial education. In particular, the OECD recommended to member countries, “to recognise that financial literacy policies are broadly aimed at promoting the development of healthy, open and competitive financial markets and supporting financial stability; and that financial literacy policies are a necessary complement to approaches aimed at reinforcing financial inclusion and consumer protection within appropriate regulatory and supervisory frameworks, with a view to enhancing financial resilience and well-being”[2].
In favour of this course of action is also the European Commission who “strongly encourages the development of financial literacy and education in EU Member States”[3]. This commitment to financial education has been reflected in multiple activities of the European Commission, highlighting the creation of a database, available through the Internet, in which the different initiatives in the field developed by the member countries of the European Union are collected, among which is the Edufinet project.
In line with the foregoing, Spain has decidedly committed to financial education, as can be seen from the Financial Education Plan prepared by the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (National Securities Market Commission), the Banco de España (Bank of Spain), the Dirección General del Tesoro y Política Financiera (General Secretariat of the Treasury and Financial Policy) and the Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones (General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds).
[1] OECD (2020), Recommendation of the Council on Financial Literacy.
[2] OECD (2020), Recommendation of the Council on Financial Literacy.
[3] OECD (2020), Recommendation of the Council on Financial Literacy.
