 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
| Citi Foundation grants form a significant part of Citi's community investment in Asia Pacifiic. |
| More |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Citi Taiwan focuses on financial education, youth education, environmental protection, community development, and employee volunteerism |
| |
|
 |
| Business Presence |
Citi has been in Taiwan since 1965, providing a comprehensive range of financial services including corporate and investment banking, consumer banking and private banking. In 2007, Citi acquired the Bank of Overseas Chinese and expanded its coverage to 66 branches across Taiwan, and now has 5,800 employees.
|
|
|
| Citizenship History |
 |
The annual Citibank-United Way Fundraising Campaign is one of Taiwan's most important public fundraising events. Over the past 13 years, it has raised NT$800 million (US$24.7 million) accounting for 30-40% of United Way Taiwan's www.unitedway.org.tw total funding and benefiting more than 400 non-profit organisations across Taiwan.
|
|
|
Since 1998, Citi Taiwan has given grants worth more than NT$30 million (US$1 million) to support youth financial education programmes, including: the Kids Wealth Foundation programme with If Kids Theatre Company www.ifkids.com.tw which has taught more than 50,000 primary school students about good money management habits; the Dollars and $ense programme with the Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation www.twrf.org.tw which has helped 100,000 teenagers to become more financially responsible; and the Citi Online Financial Education Program with EduCities www.educities.edu.tw and National Central University www.ncu.edu.tw which has reached more than 40,000 students and trained more than 700 teachers.
|
|
|
| Increasing Financial Discipline among Young Adults |
| Citi joined forces with Taiwan's Financial Literacy and Education Association (FLAEA) www.finlea.org.tw in 2007 to increase the financial capability of people who are about to graduate from university and enter the workforce, especially those who did not study finance or business. |
|
As a first step, FLAEA and the Department of Statistics at Chengchi University of Taiwan conducted a survey to gauge the financial literacy levels of students based on a survey by the JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy in the U.S. The survey found that most Taiwanese students lacked sufficient knowledge of personal credit and debt management, taxation, insurance, and investing.
|
|
| Citi and FLAEA used the findings to design the Young Adults Financial Literacy Program with Citi Foundation funding of NT$3.2 million (US$100,000). The format consisted of two-hour lectures that were offered several times at eight universities and all attending students had to pass an exam to receive course credits. Financial |
|
|
 |
|
|
A student from Chengchi University asks about insurance in one of the classes offered as part of Citi's Young Adults Financial Literacy Program.
|
|
| experts were trained to deliver the curriculum including topics such as Financial Planning, Credit Cards, Personal Loans, Debt Management, Saving, and Investing. |
|
By the end of 2007, the programme had reached 1,600 students majoring in nonfinance/business subjects. The course has had a positive impact on students' financial management knowledge, with some students increasing their pre-lecture series survey scores by as much as 20 points.
|
|
In addition to the on-campus classes, a Financial Goal Setting & Planning Competition encouraged students to come up with financial goals, analyse their financial status and make plans to achieve their goals. This allowed them to put into practice their personal financial planning and money management knowledge.
|
|
"Majoring in Literature, I had very limited access to financial knowledge, was scared of numbers, and never tried to take business classes before," said Wan-tsen Liu, a 21-year-old student at Chengchi University. "Now I'm aware that finance is in every aspect of society and it's a life-long lesson to learn how to use money effectively." Liu also reported that she now regularly thinks through the alternatives before spending money.
|
|
Hung-yu Lin, Associate Professor, Department of Business Administration, Jinwen University of Science and Technology, said, "In our education system, most finance-related classes focus on theory and are quite unrelated to real life." Associate Professor Lin recommends that the programme be incorporated into the General Education Course at his university in the future.
|
|
Citi employees were actively involved in developing the teaching materials, delivering the lectures, and reviewing budgets submitted as part of the Financial Goal Setting & Planning Competition.
|
|
Given the programme's success in 2007, Citi and FLAEA are planning to expand the Young Adults Financial Literacy Program's reach by 50% in 2008.
|
|
|
| For more information about Citi Taiwan and its citizenship activities, please go to: www.citibank.com.tw |
|
|
|
