The Third Annual “Invite a Banker to my Class” Event is a Rousing Success

The French Banking Federation (FBF) conducted another successful “Invite a Banker to my Class” event for Year 5 and 6 primary school pupils. It was held during European Money Week⁽¹⁾, which took place from 27 to 31 March 2017.

In 2017, nearly 200 classes and over 5,000 pupils around the country learned about how to manage a budget and use payment instruments. Since the programme was launched in 2015, nearly 10,000 pupils have participated in the “Invite a Banker to Class” event.

150 guest bankers, delegated by the FBF’s regional committees, took part as representatives of the banking industry, with the written approval of the headmasters and in accordance with an ethics charter excluding the pursuit of any commercial interests.

Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, Chief Executive Officer of the FBF, kicked off “Invite a Banker to my Class” on 27 March 2017 by visiting a school to conduct a financial education workshop. The workshop was organised as a game that answered the children’s questions and provided practical explanations on the use of banking services.

Recalling her experience, she said “I was thrilled to be the guest banker of the Year 5 class at a Saint–Denis (93) primary school. It was a very special learning experience I was fortunate to share with the 25 pupils and their teacher. The game organised for the “Invite a Banker to my Class“ event teaches how to manage a budget or use payment instruments, or simply what questions we should ask ourselves before making a purchase, using real everyday situations as examples. I was very impressed with the children‘s enthusiasm and strong math skills!“

This is the only financial education programme subject to an impact measurement. ANSA (French non-profit solidarity agency) evaluated the impact of the programme this year based on a panel of 7-10 classes. It will publish its report in autumn 2017.

For almost 15 years, the French Banking Federation has developed a financial education scheme that has been highly acclaimed by non-profits, called “Les clés de la banque” (Keys to Banking). Over 4.6 million visitors consulted the www.lesclesdelabanque.com website in 2016 and 700,000 mini-guides were distributed.

⁽¹⁾ European Money Week is an initiative led by the European Banking Federation since2015 (www.europeanmoneyweek.eu)

Succès pour la 3ème édition de l’opération J’invite un banquier dans ma classe

Benoit DANTON

bdanton@fbf.fr

+33 (0)6.73.48.80.40