The Governor of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Senad Softić, said that the bank recognized the importance of financial education, which, as he stated, is key to further financial inclusion, improvement of financial stability and the overall development of the economy in the country.
Financial inclusion, i.e. access to a wide range of financial services worldwide, is growing intensively, and relevant international institutions, including the OECD, are increasingly engaged in improving education in the field of finance, economics and banking, especially among children and youth.
During the conversation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) delegation, Softić said that the Central Bank recognized the importance of financial education and inclusion, the promotion of which it is extremely committed to, the Bank announced.
Recognizing the importance of financial education, the Bank has been promoting its importance for many years, with a special focus on the younger population, striving to creatively and simply address various topics essential for financial literacy.
As part of financial education, the Central Bank implements the “Educate the Educator” project in secondary schools with the aim of educating students about managing personal finances and banking services and products.
The OECD delegation paid a two-day visit to BiH with the aim of assessing the situation in terms of financial inclusion and literacy of the population in preparation of a document to support the development of financial literacy from the OECD.
Activities in the field of financial literacy are carried out as part of the project “Financial Literacy in Countries Participating in the Dutch Constituency Program”, whose goal is to support countries to raise the level of financial literacy and inclusion by strengthening financial education in order to achieve the prosperity of citizens and small and medium-sized enterprises.
The OECD project will be implemented from 2023 to 2027 and includes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and other states of the Dutch constituency, with financial support from the Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands.