Marking of Global Money Week and European Money Week
This year again, Hanfa is marking Global Money Week and European Money Week, which will take place from 18 to 24 March 2024. On this occasion, Hanfa’s employees will participate in presentations, conferences, panel discussions, debates and other activities with the aim of raising the level of financial literacy among citizens, as well as informing the public of the scope and work of Hanfa.
Anamarija Staničić, a member of the Hanfa Board, will participate in the event titled “Štedi, uloži i život posloži!” (Save, invest and arrange your life!) in the National and University Library in Zagreb, organised by the Ministry of Finance on March 18.
In cooperation with the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, a series of lectures will be held for secondary school pupils and students. Hanfa representatives will also participate in the activities within the Financial Literacy Week at the Faculty of Economics and Business in Zagreb. Together with the Croatian National Bank and ZSEM students, a student discussion on the topic “Financial fraud in the age of digital finance” will be organised.
Furthermore, Hanfa will also organise a series of trainings in cooperation with secondary and primary schools and the Public Open University Zagreb.
As part of Global Money Week and European Money Week, Hanfa will also present the board game “Desitudo” for primary school pupils. The game is based on the conceptual design developed by a group of the Petar Hektorović Primary School pupils from the island of Hvar, who won the 2022 Hanfa competition “Financial Literacy through Play”. Hanfa has upgraded the game in order to bring pupils of that age closer to financial topics and to make them aware of the importance of personal finance.
Primary and secondary school pupils’ financial literacy survey
In 2023, Hanfa conducted a financial literacy survey in primary and secondary schools involving pupils who participated in Hanfa’s educational activities.
Primary school pupils showed a relatively high level of financial knowledge and behaviour, taking into account the age-appropriateness of the questions. They were more successful at solving basic mathematical problems and expressing their opinions, while less familiar with the concept of budget and the distinction between saving and investing.
Financial behaviour was best assessed in secondary school pupils, but the level of self-assessment of their knowledge was higher than their actual knowledge of financial concepts. Only 23% of the pupils correctly calculated the real interest rate (only 23% of the pupils provided a correct answer). The highest level of responsible financial behaviour was shown by the pupils in relation to purchasing, however, 59% of them believe that money is there to be spent. Half of the respondents answered the car-insurance question correctly, but as many as two thirds of them did not know that it was safer to invest in several stocks than just one, nor that 3rd pension pillar contributions were optional in Croatia.
These results point to the importance of educating pupils about finances with the aim of raising their awareness of the importance of financial literacy and familiarising them with basic financial concepts from an early age.
Chart 1: Primary school pupils’ financial knowledge
Source: Hanfa
Chart 2: Secondary school pupils’ financial literacy components
Source: Hanfa
