Banco de Portugal (BdP) governor Mário Centeno defended Tuesday that financial literacy contributes to a more inclusive and less unequal society, helping citizens better absorb any shocks to their personal finances.
“Financial literacy is an essential skill to achieve full financial citizenship”said in an intervention during the closing session of the 2022 Financial Literacy Week solemn session.
The head of the banking supervisor argued that “in times of change in the economic cycle and high inflation, the ability to understand the evolution of the economic and financial situation is even more important”.
In that sense, he emphasized that “citizens are better able to mitigate any adverse impacts on their personal finances, making them more financially resilient”.
Mário Centeno recalled that during times of crisis, economies tend to punish the most vulnerable “disproportionately”, so, he said, the lack of financial literacy exacerbates the impact by increasing their financial vulnerability.
He argued that “financial education is important to foster a more inclusive and less unequal society”.
He further pointed out that promoting financial literacy also benefits the economy and society in general.
“Citizens with greater financial literacy contribute to a more resilient economy,” he said, adding that “the financial system benefits from the existence of consumers who know the characteristics and risks of different financial products and who make choices that suit their needs, contributing to the development of more efficient and stable financial markets”.
Centeno thereby guaranteed that the National Council of Financial Supervisors “is committed to the implementation of the benchmark of financial skills for the adult population of the European Union, which the European Commission published in January”, noting that the development of a European financial skills benchmark for children and young people.
Source: DN
