Knowledge gained from CNB seminar to be applied in classroom

Published: 12/4/2018
Knowledge gained from CNB seminar to be applied in classroom

The CNB continued its activities on financial and economic education of teachers by a seminar for a group of teachers of the Osijek School of Economics and Administration, held on 11 April 2018. The teachers' visit to the CNB, organised as part of the financial literacy project, was aimed at strengthening their knowledge about the CNB's operation and providing them with more information on the personal finance management and other topics that are useful for consumers-users of financial and banking services.

CNB experts gave informative presentations on the Croatian central bank's goal, its tasks, its monetary policy characteristics and the features of the Croatian economy, the environment for the central bank's operation. CNB's efforts to spur lending to the economy by expansionary monetary policy measures, and the results achieved by these efforts, were also explained. Presentations also included information on the set of monetary instruments the central bank uses to achieve its policy goals, with an emphasis on the differences between the monetary policy management and instruments of the CNB and those of the ECB and Fed. In addition, the teachers were informed of the criteria for euro adoption in Croatia, the expected costs and benefits, the dynamics of Croatia's entry to the euro area and economic policies in the context of euro adoption.

A presentation dealing with financial stability emphasised the importance of maintaining the stability of the overall banking and financial systems and expounded on potential risks to this stability and measures the central bank takes to preserve it. The related tasks of supervisors and analysts monitoring system stability indicators were also explained. The teachers were shown an animation illustrating this aspect of the CNB's role, available at the CNB's website, which they thought was an excellent starting point to learn about financial stability.

Data that the central bank collects were used for a presentation on cashless payment operations in Croatia and cashless payment trends, with a focus on mobile banking. The teachers were informed about risks involved in the use of new technologies and the safety of internet and mobile payments. They were advised on the ways in which computers and users' connection with banks can be compromised and on the methods of protection recommended for the use of banking services on computers and mobile phones.

The teachers were also informed about consumer protection measures implemented by the CNB, and its treatment of complaints, with their attention drawn to risks one should be aware of in assuming contractual obligations on loans, deposits, account maintenance and other services offered by credit institutions and credit unions.

The teaches expressed a keen interest in all areas of the CNB operation covered by the presentations and voiced satisfaction with the knowledge gained, especially with the fact that they learned the new information in a seminar, directly from CNB experts. They concluded that they would put the information they learned to good use in their classes and make an effort to organise a visit to the CNB for their pupils, so that they could also learn about the central bank's operation and personal finance management from CNB experts.