2022-10-12
The Bank of Lithuania has established the Centre for Financial Literacy, which aims to strengthen the financial and economic literacy of the public.
“Lithuania currently still lacks a coordinated approach to financial and economic literacy issues as well as clear leadership. Taking care of the welfare of Lithuanian residents and seeking to bring benefits to society, the Bank of Lithuania established the Centre for Financial Literacy. The Centre will aim to ensure that consumers make rational financial decisions, know alternatives to financial services and choose services by comparing several financial market participants. The Centre for Financial Literacy will also focus on prevention in order to strengthen resilience to increasing financial fraud,” says Simonas Krėpšta, Member of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania.
According to him, a high level of financial and economic literacy is the foundation of a well-functioning state. The aim will therefore be to raise citizens’ understanding of public finances and raise awareness of the impact of taxes paid on the state and personal finances.
The Centre is headed by Doctor of Social Sciences Viktorija Dičpinigaitienė, who has been working at the central bank since 2019. Dičpinigaitienė has devoted many years to exploring the field of pensions and personal finance and considers bringing benefits to society as a daily priority.
“We have already started work at the Centre for Financial Literacy. One of the first tasks is to assess changes in the level of financial literacy in our country and identify gaps. We will seek that Lithuanian residents easily find independent, objective and understandable information about financial products, be resilient to fraudster attacks and understand the impact of economic processes on everyday decisions. We also hope that partnership and joint projects with other institutions and organisations will allow to do to significant work leading to positive changes,” says Viktorija Dičpinigaitienė, Head of the Centre for Financial Literacy.
On 24–28 October, the Centre will join the World Investor Week, which will host a podcast on sustainable finance, Facebook livestream and conversations about the most interesting fraud stories, investment risks, etc. On 27 October, at the Financial Literacy Conference, which will take place at LITEXPO, the Centre for Financial Literacy will invite children to the educational space, and representatives of the Bank of Lithuania will give presentations: “Financial literacy in Lithuania: Where are we and where do we want to be?” (by Member of the Board Simonas Krėpšta) and “Measure twice, invest once!” (by Head of the Centre for Financial Literacy Viktorija Dičpinigaitienė). On 19 November, the Centre will participate in the conference “Women Invest” organised by Verslo žinios and partners.
More information about the initiatives during the World Investor Week will soon be available on the Bank of Lithuania website. The World Investor Week is initiated by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and each year brings together participants from more than 100 countries.