ABA Banking Journal - September 2007 - (Page 7)

briefing Why money sense INSIDE BRIEFING Sleight of Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Snapshot: What the 1st half tells us. ABA Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 8 p. 10 p. 13 is a top priority The subprime mess is one reason to improve financial literacy B ack when he was a branch manager at Baltimore’s Provident Bank, Gary Geisel had a customer approach him and say, “How could I possibly be overdrawn? I still have checks left!” More recently, a young woman—the daughter of one of his officers—received notification that she was approved for a college loan and asked her mother, “Does that mean we have to pay it back?” “That gives you an idea of the challenge we have with financial literacy,” says Geisel, now CEO of Provident, the largest independent bank in Maryland with assets of a little over $6 billion. He notes that the average high school student lacks the basic skills to balance a checkbook, and that the majority of Americans do not regularly review their credit report. Geisel is one banker willing to get on a soapbox about the importance of financial literacy. Actually, he can stand on any one of three soapboxes at present: bank CEO, current chairman of the Maryland Bankers Association, and as a nominated member of the ABA board of directors. Geisel (pronounced with a long “i”) has always had an interest in education, and for a time wanted to teach. Ironically he “flunked out as a math teacher,” as he says. Toward the end of his four-year college program, when he became a student teacher for the first time, he realized that the classroom wasn’t for him as he struggled to “teach algebra to kids who didn’t care and weren’t interested.” He went on to get an MBA in business and took up banking, which proved a much better fit. Geisel says many banks and their associations individually do a lot to help improve financial literacy, but he believes the efforts are fragmented. “We need to do a better job,” he says. By Bill Streeter, editor-in-chief Less-informed consumers=more regs Far from an altruistic quest, Geisel’s interest in the subject is very down to earth. He cites two motivations for a more coordinated approach: avoiding unwanted consumer compliance laws and improving customer retention. Regarding the first point he asks, referring to bank trade groups, “How much of our time is spent putting out fires in Congress or the state legislatures that in some manner start with a less-informed consumer?” ABA BANKING JOURNAL/SEPTEMBER 2007 7 www.ababj.com/subscribe.html http://web.provbank.com http://web.provbank.com http://www.mdbankers.com http://www.ababj.com/subscribe.html

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ABA Banking Journal - September 2007

Contents Editor's Column Briefing: Why Money Sense is a Top Priority Briefing: Sleight of Mind Briefing: Snapshot: What the First Half Tells Us About the Second Half Briefing: ABA Resources ABA Chairman’s Position Briefing: Get Away and Get Ahead: ABA's Banking Leaders Forum Community Banking: Trim the Fat: Winning the "Battle of the Buck" Community Banking: Pass the Aspirin Cover Story: Meeting the Challenge of the "Unbanked" Bank Marketing: Don't Miss the Boom! On the Job: Time to Power Up Your Presentations? Insurance Sales: The Art & Craft of Cross Selling Tech Topics: The Price is Right? Tech Topics: Security: Protect Information First Tech Topics: Hackers for Hire? You Bet'cha Tech Topics: Case in Point: Tellers Scan, Too, at First Federal Compliance Clinic: Adverse Action Clarified The Economy Banker’s Mart To Advertise/Index of Advertisers

ABA Banking Journal - September 2007

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