European savings banks' commitment to growing
financially informed citizens
The European Savings Banks Group is proud to co-organise again this year
the European Stock Market Learning, as part of our commitment to enhance
financial skills of European citizens.
Over the past decades, the initiative has massively extended and now
reaches out to more than 250,000 students each year, in Austria, France,
Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Sweden.
The financial crisis has shown how essential it is for everyone to
understand how financial markets work, the sort of products being offered
and whether they fit a citizen's individual situation.
We believe that your participation in the European Stock Market Learning
will help you gain insight into the functioning of financial markets and
their major players, through "learning by doing". We are convinced that
this will contribute to your ability to master your personal finances and
support your plans for the future.
Europe's savings and socially committed retail banks have a longstanding
history of dedication to corporate social responsibility focusing on
citizen communities through their strong regional distribution networks.
By fostering real-life enjoyable financial experiences and thereby
enhancing such skills, Europe's savings banks contribute to developing
democratic citizenship. They emphasise the importance of acting
responsibly with due consideration to the general interest, to other
people and to the planet and not exclusively for the maximisation of
profits. Thus, the European Savings Banks Group members have fittingly
chosen to focus in this new edition on "city" in line with the 2011 UN
topic of the year.
On behalf of all the European Savings Banks Group members I wish all
European Stock Market Learning contestants a very fruitful and enjoyable
participation in the 2011edition.
