Newsroom

April 30, 2014

CUs touted during financial literacy hearing

May 1, 2014 – The importance of community financial institutions such as credit unions was underscored in testimony given during a House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions hearing Wednesday on using technology to promote consumer financial literacy.

When the CEO of BancVue, a technology and marketing company, was asked about how financial advisors can address fiduciary duty, he said that consumers should be encouraged to consider community institutions such as credit unions. He also said, in his testimony, that BancVue's financial literacy products "are supported exclusively through community banks and credit unions. These institutions provide knowledgeable financial advice and serve their communities – one household, one parent, one child, one teacher, one business at a time – so all of us can achieve our financial goals."

In addition to BancVue, representatives from the Government Accountability Office, Visa, Intuit and WorldofMoney.org testified.

In April, NAFCU released findings of a survey showing that 87 percent of credit union respondents provide financial literacy training to their members. The survey results were detailed the association's latest issue of the Economic & CU Monitor.

Specifically, the report found:

  • Over 87 percent of survey respondents offer financial literacy training to their members, spending an average of 178 hours per month on those programs;
  • The most common beneficiaries of those programs are children (93.1 percent), followed by homebuyers (75.9 percent) and high-risk borrowers (72.4 percent);
  • The most popular type of training offered addresses home buying (82.8 percent), followed by online financial tips (69 percent) and overdraft avoidance (65.5 percent).