28-07-2010
The BBVA Bancomer Financial Group has joined efforts with the EBC (School of Banking and Commerce) through the signing of a collaboration agreement that will give young people access to the Personal Finance Workshops under the “Adelante con tu futuro” (Forward with your Future) program, so that students about to enter the workforce can learn the skills to build their financial culture.
Present at the signing were Javier Prieto Sierra, President of the EBC; Uriel Galicia Negrete, BBVA Bancomer Director of Financial Literacy; Silvia Singer, Director at the Interactive Museum of Economics (MIDE); Ricardo González, Director of the EBC’s Reforma Campus; and Fernando Diosdado, Chairman of the EBC Student Association.
Both institutions will collaborate to give students the necessary economic and financial tools in line with the country’s economic situation and the academic needs affecting the dynamics of daily life, where financial literacy is linked to decision-making through savings and financing to acquire goods and services.
Uriel Galicia Negrete, Director of Financial Literacy at BBVA Bancomer, explained that the importance of financial literacy in Mexico stems from the fact that in the next 20 years, nearly 32 million people will be economically active, and, as such, will demand the use of financial services; they should be prepared to become constant savers and responsible borrowers.
One important aspect of the agreement with the EBC is granting young people who are studying economics and business the opportunity to provide their own social services as instructors of the “Adelante con tu futuro” Program Financial Literacy Workshops. These students will receive approximately 80 hours of training with BBVA Bancomer specialists, as well as teaching materials developed by the financial institution together with MIDE, and will be responsible for sharing this project with the entire university community, teachers, administrators and their families as they carry out an average of 400 hours providing others with basic financial knowledge.
The executive emphasized that the objective of the financial institution’s work to create programs to encourage financial literacy was to help the population better manage its economy and to show that the financial services used should always be to the customer’s benefit.
As of today, the “Adelante con tu futuro” Financial Literacy Program has 20 classrooms in the14 major cities of the country; each classroom can hold up to 20 people. It also has 9 mobile classrooms that can hold up to 21 people that can be taken to the offices of the different businesses. Likewise, it has 9 mobile equipment units for up to 20 people that can be assembled in any training classroom. Moreover, its helpline can be reached at 01 800 3888761 (FUTURO1), and its website www.adelantecontufuturo.com.mx gives the option of taking the personal finance workshops through LMS, the Monterrey Distance Learning Platform. The Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Workshop will soon be incorporated. In 2009, more than 110,000 people participated in the “Adelante con tu futuro” Program’s Financial Literacy Workshops, and gained basic financial knowledge in the areas of Savings, Retirement Savings, Credit Cards and Credit Health. Also, 509 people have taken advantage of the Mortgage Loan Workshop launched on October 20th.
