CO-CHAIRS
Stacey Sechrest Carder, Director, Citi Office of Financial Education
Joy Tan, Publishing Director, Higher Education, Asia, Pearson Education

Rodrigo Zorrilla, Managing Director, Co-Head of Markets, Citi Asia Pacific
David Pilling, Asia Editor, Financial Times

The financial crisis has highlighted, among other issues, the damaging impact of inadequate consumer financial knowledge and skills. Distinguished speakers will discuss the extent to which increasing financial literacy levels could affect economic recovery and resilience, and explore the roles and responsibilities of governments, the financial services sector, other financial educators, and members of the public in achieving a more financially capable society.

Jonathan Larsen, Head of Consumer Banking & Global Cards, Asia Pacific, Citi
Samuel Ochieng, President, Consumers International
Martin Wolf, Associate Editor and Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times

Moderated by: Kishore Mahbubani, Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore

Experts from around the world share examples of financial education initiatives designed for people who are particularly vulnerable in times of economic duress, such as youth, older people, social services clients, and the financially excluded.

Sarah Mavrinac, President, aidha, Singapore

Introduced by: Paula Bennett, Director, Corporate Citizenship, Citi Asia Pacific

Following the recent economic downturn, there is greater recognition than ever before of the value of financial education. However, the need far exceeds the funding and other resources being allocated to tackle this issue. Policymakers, donors and financial education practitioners share perspectives on which groups to prioritise and how best to reach them, allowing for current organisational or government resource constraints.

Jeroo Billimoria, Executive Director, Aflatoun
(Presentation - PDF File)
Kathy Landvogt, Social Policy Researcher, Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service, Australia
(Presentation - PDF File)
Corin Mitchell, Africa Director, Financial Education Fund, South Africa
(Presentation - PDF File)
Christina Tan, Representative, MoneySENSE, Singapore
(Presentation - PDF File)

Moderated by: Mark Nieker, President, Pearson Foundation

Tan Bee Wan, CEO, TSAO Foundation, and graduates from the Citi-TSAO Financial Education for Mature Women Programme

Introduced by: Anil Wadhwani, Head of Consumer Markets, Citi Singapore

Financial education is playing an increasingly important role in large-scale campaigns to economically empower poorer communities. Senior government officials – from Asia and Europe – explain how their initiatives account for remote rural areas and underprivileged urban communities, different cultural, linguistic and consumption characteristics, and semi-literate or illiterate population segments.

Mattia Adani, Director for Special Projects, Research and Analysis, Treasury Department, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Italy
(Presentation - PDF File)
V.S. Das, Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India
(Presentation - PDF File)

Introduced by: Natalie Abatemarco, Vice President, Global Community Relations, Citi

The increased interest in financial education has made it even more critical to find effective ways to determine what is actually working. Experts from the education and non-profit sectors share the latest methodologies and tools being used to measure the effectiveness of financial education initiatives around the world, how indicators should be built into programmes, and any additional steps that should be taken to evaluate the social and economic benefits as well as the funder’s return on investment.

Monique Cohen, Founder-President, Microfinance Opportunities, US
(Presentation - PDF File)
Koh Noi Keng, Chair, Citi-NIE Financial Literacy Hub, National Institute of Education, Singapore
(Presentation - PDF File)
Deborah Visser, Senior Program Manager, Success Measures, NeighborWorks America
(Presentation - PDF File)

Moderated by: Brandee McHale, Director of Programs, Citi Foundation

These panel discussions explore innovations in maximising the reach of financial education programmes across different social groups, taking into account the latest communications and networking channels, and growing parallel areas of interest such as climate change.

Diana Taylor, Managing Director, Wolfensohn & Co, and Member, Board of Directors, Citi

Introduced by: Tracey Woon, Managing Director, Head of Global Banking, Citi Singapore

As the world moves towards economic recovery, there is growing interest and demand for programmes that increase financial capability. Yet there is also some concern that previous financial education interventions may not have been as effective as people had hoped. Distinguished panellists consider what the financial crisis has taught us about what needs to done differently in the financial education field to create more financially sustainable societies around the world.

David Gerald, President and CEO, Securities Investors Association Singapore (SIAS)
(Presentation - PDF File)
Margaret Miller, Senior Economist, Consultative Group To Assist The Poor (CGAP)
(Presentation - PDF File)
Diana Taylor, Managing Director, Wolfensohn & Co, and Member, Board of Directors, Citi

Rodrigo Zorrilla, Managing Director, Co-Head of Markets, Citi Asia Pacific
Mark Nieker, President, Pearson Foundation