Comments delivered at the panel discussion organized by Cyprus University of Technology. Offering suggestions on how to go about developing a national strategy and why it is important for Cyprus to do so.

1. THE CYPRUS INITIATIVE
A NATIONAL FINACIAL LITERACY STRATEGY
STAVROS A. ZENIOS
UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS
CYPRUS ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, LETTERS, AND ARTS
BRUEGEL
ANDREAS MILIDONIS, GEORGE NISHIOTIS, THEODOSIS

2. WHY CYPRUS NEEDS
A FINANCIAL
LITERACY STRATEGY
 17% high financial literacy
 63% financially illiterate
71% among women, 55% among men
 Among students only 6% correctly answers questions
related to interest rates, inflation, risk, and
 Social issues -gender, youth.
Panayiotis Andreou survey with
CBC

3. WHY CYPRUS NEEDS
A FINANCIAL
LITERACY STRATEGY
 Cyprus ranks very high in terms of financial fragility.
(Demertzis, Domínguez-Jiménez, and Lusardi, 2020)
 Rank among the highest in terms of household debt.
 One out of two households unable to meet unexpected required
expenses.
 Average Cypriot employee will have to work until the age of 72
for retirement adequacy to maintain their standard of living.
(AON Hewitt Cyprus survey, 2019)
 Financial literacy has been shown to be an important
determinant of financial fragility.
(Lusardi, Hasler, and Yakoboski, 2020)
Things are actually worse
Trust
Corruption

4. WHY CYPRUS NEEDS
A FINANCIAL
LITERACY STRATEGY

5. WHY CYPRUS NEEDS
A FINANCIAL
LITERACY STRATEGY  Only 65% of the participants chose to receive free
advice
 Trust is a significant predictor of advice solicitation
Trust and Financial Advice (2015)
Jeremy Burke and Angela A.
Hung
RAND Corporation Experiment

6. WHY CYPRUS NEEDS
A FINANCIAL
LITERACY STRATEGY
Norway
Afghanistan
Cyprus
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
FinancialLIteracy
fromS&PWorldSurvey
Corruption Perception from Transparency International
(higher values indicate lower corruption)
Financial Literacy and Corruption

7. FINANCIAL LITERACY IS LACKING
WITH SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE EFFECTS
FINANCIAL LITERACY CAN HAVE FIRST ORDER BENEFITS

8. UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS
RESPONSE TO THE NEEDS 2020
New course on Financial Literacy
Core for students in Department, elective for rest of University
English version offered next semester for YUFE alliance
Fully subscribed
Resources
(With Andreas Milidonis, George Nishiotis, Theodosis Kallenos)

9. ELEMENTS OF A
NATIONAL
STRATEGY
 U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission (2003)
 Pending financial literacy legislation in the US 2019 session
 Banco de España and National Securities Market Commission
(CNMV) education initiative
 Banque de France coordinate the efforts of institutions,
associations and professionals among general population
 Luxembourg - Financial Game of Life
 Italy – many but chaotic, including Bank of Italy
www.gltfoundation.com/en/women-squared-forfinancial-
inclusion/
 Croatian Debate Society and Bank of Croatia
 Poland -CEDUR (Educational Centre For Market Participants)
 Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Russia-WB, Slovakia, UK,
Australia
 First-time parents, train the trainers, new arrivals.
Best practices

10. ELEMENTS OF A
NATIONAL
STRATEGY  Basic financial literacy
 Investment financial literacy
 Consumer protection
 New channels (e-banking, Revolut)
 New products (Revolut, insurance-tax, pensions-tax)
High school
University level
Adult education

11. THE CYPRUS
INITIATIVE
ON A NATIONAL
STRATEGY
 Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission
 Central Bank of Cyprus
 State Universities
 Cyprus Academy of Sciencs, Letter, and Arts
 Bruegel think-tank
 Engage professional associations
 Certified Financial Analysts (CFA)
 Chartered Accountants
 Banking Association
 Insurance Association
 Engage Ministries of Finance and Education
Why
Who

12. THE CYPRUS
INITIATIVE
ON A NATIONAL
STRATEGY
 Engage all stake holders
 Design a blueprint for a
National Strategy for Financial Literacy
 Curriculum, public lectures, web site, games, debates.
 Train the trainers
 Develop multi-lateral initiatives
 Lobby the Government to adopt it
 Launch on International Literacy Day
Why
Who
What
When