As Prepared for Delivery on May 29, 2025
I'd like to start off by thanking our colleagues at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the members of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission for today's important conversation on financial education – and just as important, on how we measure the effectiveness of financial education programs.
I’ve got a brief opening statement, then I’ll mention a few things happening at the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).
Many of us were raised such that it’s crass to talk about money; maybe embarrassing as well. And in some circumstances, it probably is. But the reason it’s important for couples and families to have good money habits is because money discussions often aren’t about money itself. They’re about things like keeping families intact, surviving a financial emergency, and pursuing a better life that might involve a risky career change.
And money can be a life and death matter: financial stress is strongly linked to higher blood pressure, to causing heart disease and other cardiovascular problems…not to mention the mental health aspects of financial stress.
Essentially, “financial security” is an amazing product available for purchase via saving and investing. It may be the only product that delivers peace of mind, career opportunities, better sleep and a lower divorce rate. But one reason we’re here today is this product called “financial security” is – even for people making decent wages – competing against the American consumer economy, the world’s undisputed champion of finding ways to get cash out of your wallet.
Regarding our work at NCUA:
We’ve had a series of webinars to help people improve their financial literacy, including last week’s session for Older Americans to discuss retirement planning.
I’m also proud that NCUA just did a small thing that helped homeless veterans have access to financial opportunities. In a recent letter to the Defense Credit Union Council, or DCUC, I reminded the public of what BSA/AML regulations say regarding identification verification. The NCUA did not change a rule or practice.
Rather, I clarified what the current regulations say about an issue that could make more credit unions feel comfortable opening a bank account for a homeless vet who had a VA card but no fixed address. We clarified that the address and contact information of a veteran’s VA case officer is sufficient to open an account. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that NCUA was merely following in the footsteps of the FDIC, which offered similar guidance a few years’ back.
By working with credit unions and those seeking charters, we can ensure more individuals have banking options and access to trustworthy resources that can help them build their financial knowledge. In a recent study by the American Bankers Association Foundation, 38 percent of those surveyed said they learned most about money and financial education from family, 15 percent from school, and 11 percent from social media. But what if you don’t have financially literate family members or you don’t learn about financial literacy in school? While social media offers a great deal of information, how does a person know what and who to trust? The cooperative nature of credit unions lends itself to filling this gap for its members.
Credit unions are one of the original answers to challenges of true financial inclusion. At the NCUA, we encourage credit union expansion in communities that have been historically underserved. The first credit union in the United States was started by French-Canadian mill workers in New Hampshire, who wanted to bank at a place that literally spoke their language.
The same thing is true today: Just last week we granted a new charter to the African Diaspora Credit Union. When we talk about financial institutions working on financial education, the nature of that financial institution can matter a lot. And I think we all agree we don’t want to be one of those countries that just has a handful of large banks. This country, as vast and diverse as it is, needs a wide variety of banking providers.
As of March 2025, NCUA data shows 54 percent of the credit unions we supervise offer financial education to members, with a third offering workshops, and more than half providing financial counseling. These numbers are promising and reflect the cooperative nature of the credit union movement. As non-profit entities, every dollar counts. Credit unions have to make sure the money they invest in these programs result in improved financial literacy and increased financial knowledge for the communities in which they serve.
The cooperative, community-based nature of credit unions naturally facilitates financial inclusion. Effective financial education and literacy programs amplify the positive community impact and provide the opportunity to bring more community members into the banking system.
As members of the FLEC, we are all committed to promoting the essential tools financial education provides to the groups our agencies serve. I’d enjoy hearing more about how we can better measure outcomes, so I appreciate the chance to be here and learn what other agencies are working on. Thank you for your time.