Unicaja Banco and Funcas (CECA Foundation of Savings Banks and Banks) have renewed the existing collaboration between both institutions to contribute to improving the literacy of citizens in the fields of economy and finance. To this end, they have signed an agreement under which the bank joins the ‘Programa Funcas de Estímulo de la Educación Financiera’ for the period 2023-2024, in the fifth edition of the ‘Funcas Educa Programme’.
The collaboration that both institutions have maintained since 2018 with the aim of promoting the development of activities aimed at increasing the financial literacy of people in Spain has been sealed once again with the signing of the agreement between the Chairman of Unicaja Banco, Manuel Azuaga, and the General Manager of Funcas, Carlos Ocaña.
The Chairman of Unicaja Banco stressed ‘the importance of promoting financial literacy, so that citizens acquire an adequate level of skills to face the financial and economic challenges that will arise in the different stages of life’.
In that line, he highlighted Unicaja Banco’s commitment to this matter, in the exercise of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), maintaining the promotion of initiatives that provide citizens with the skills they need, especially aimed at those who are part of the most vulnerable groups, as it is the case of the elderly and disabled, or, in the current framework of development of digitization, residents in rural areas.
The General Manager of Funcas, Carlos Ocaña, valued the progress that, in terms of financial education, has been made in recent years, stressing that ‘the evaluation and measurement of the real impact of the different initiatives’ have allowed us to confirm the quality of the projects developed. Within the framework of the Funcas Educa Programme, nearly 11 million euros have been allocated for the development of more than 13,000 activities in the period 2018-2022.
The 2023 call is the fifth edition of this collaboration programme with the entities that are member of CECA, aimed at financing projects which help to improve the level and quality of financial literacy in Spain. The entities are developing financial education actions which reinforce their social work and adapt to the needs of citizens, whose habits and relationships with finances have been radically transformed in recent years. The growing use of remote financial services, the need to boost financial inclusion by facilitating access to these channels for the most vulnerable groups, protection in the area of cyber security or investment in crypto-assets are some of the topics which require improving financial knowledge.
Financial education actions
Within the framework of this agreement, Unicaja Banco, through the Edufinet Project on financial education, promoted together with Fundación Unicaja, will continue to carry out different actions, such as conferences, courses, interactive games or electronic publications.
These actions include the launch of a financial education program for senior citizens in rural areas, giving continuity to the ‘Embajadores’ (Ambassadors) initiative, aimed at helping this demographic acquire both basic financial competencies and digital skills. Additionally, course on sustainable production and consumption through circular economy will also be organized.
Similarly, an interactive financial education game will be launched for primary school students, aimed at putting basic financial knowledge into practice, and the Edufinet board game, which will be available soon, will have a digital version so that it can reach the largest possible number of beneficiaries.
Other actions to be highlighted are the organization of the 6th Financial Education Congress; the 15th Financial Olympics and the conferences ‘Financial Education in Sports’, organized by Edufinet and Malaga Association of Sports Journalists, which will feature top-level sports figures; and participation in the SDG Week, promoted by the UN.
Likewise, online content will be developed on issues such as cryptocurrencies, which will be published both in a printed guide and on the Edufinet website, or on sustainable finance, on which videos will also be made.
Funcas and CECA agreed to launch from 2018 the ‘Programa Funcas de Estímulo de la Educación Financiera’ with the aim of contributing to fund financial education activities developed by CECA’s member institutions, either directly or through its related foundations, consolidating existing projects and promoting new ones.
The Edufinet Projet, promoted by Unicaja Banco together with Fundación Unicaja, has been promoting financial education actions for nearly 20 years, currently collaborating with 17 universities and more than ten business entities and organizations, in addition to a work team made up of nearly 80 members, who participate in this task as volunteers. This programme is part of the institution’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its commitment to financial inclusion.
