At a time when it is more important than ever to equip our fellow citizens with the right budget management reflexes, the ABBL Foundation for Financial Education is pursuing its mission to raise awareness about financial education in Luxembourg. In March 2023, the Foundation organised, in collaboration with the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), a conference dedicated to the challenges of financial education in the 21st century. Finance Minister Yuriko Backes was present. The conference marked the end of the Woch vun de Suen 2023, the Luxembourg "money week".
On this occasion, the results of a study on the financial knowledge, behaviour and attitudes of Luxembourgers were presented, as well as the new version of the national financial education strategy and some of the Foundation's initiatives, including the mobile application Money Odyssey.
Towards more vulnerable, indebted and over-indebted households
There is a real risk that the financial difficulties of the most vulnerable households will grow exponentially:
- Digitalisation exposes us to certain dangers such as online fraud and over-consumption
- The era of easy money is over, i.e. interest rates close to zero or even negative, leading to loans at extremely favourable rates
- The COVID crisis has accelerated the widening gap between the richest and the poorest
- Interest rates, energy prices, commodity prices and the prices of everyday consumer goods are rising
Households will find it even more difficult to manage their day-to-day finances, and the number of households in debt and over-indebtedness is likely to increase.
New challenges for financial education
Minister Backes stressed that financial education must evolve with the changing economic and financial environment. Digital finance and sustainable finance, but also cyber security, will have to be an integral part of our financial education efforts.
The importance of a national strategy for Luxembourg
Flore-Anne Messy (OECD) stressed the importance of implementing a national strategy, establishing an action plan and measuring the impact of the various initiatives listed in the strategy. Sébastien de Brouwer (European Banking Federation) noted that countries that have implemented and led an education strategy have a higher level of financial literacy.
Finally, Annamaria Lusardi, Founder and Academic Director of the Global Financial Excellence Center, stressed that financial education is a vital skill for success and prosperity in the 21st century.
The ABBL Foundation hopes that these messages and the revised strategy will resonate with policymakers.
Would you like to volunteer for one of our Foundation's training initiatives? Please contact us. The preferred languages for our actions are French, German and Luxembourgish.
More info?
Contact Jessica Thyrion, Financial Education Adviser at the ABBL.