Financial Education and Beyond: Investing in the New Generations for a Better Future

The cultural development activities of Banca Popolare di Sondrio have always focused on the needs of its home territory, where the bank has its “head, heart, and roots.” The objective has been to promote and highlight the many cultural and social aspects of the area, as well as its natural beauty and the resources that inspire human creativity.

Among cultural activities proposed by the bank, special and ongoing attention is dedicated to young people who – with their minds on the future and their enthusiastic projects – will be tomorrow’s workers and consumers and will have a considerable influence on the economy and society as a whole.

Many of the numerous initiatives organized by the bank over the past year have been dedicated to them, especially those that emphasize the need for a sustainable economy and the sensible use of money and its careful management.

In the spring of 2015, Banca Popolare di Sondrio worked together with other partners to promote “EconomiaAscuola – A lezione di cittadinanza economica” (economic citizenship in the school), an event organized by the Fondazione per l’Educazione Finanziaria e il Risparmio (Foundation for Financial Education and Savings) that was dedicated to more than 400 students in the province of Sondrio and their teachers. The day, divided between information and fun, covered many aspects:
• the sensible use of money (ordinary and extraordinary expenses, the difference between necessary and superfluous spending, the importance of savings);
• how to become sustainable citizens (adopting a responsible approach to oneself, to others, and to the surrounding environment);
• the value of money (work, income, and human capital within the economic cycle of a family);
• what lifestyle and consumption patterns to adopt (the role of individual and collective responsibility, legality in
the economy, what the newspapers say versus what happens in everyday life).

This special day sought to make an indelible impression on the young participants and, hopefully, orient their future attitudes and decisions.

“Invito a Palazzo” (Invitation to the Palace), an event held under the patronage of the Italian Banking Association, took place in October 2015. This was an occasion for Banca Popolare di Sondrio to open a number of prestigious buildings to the public, including the branch at Passo Stelvio and the adjoining Carlo Donegani Museum. The museum collection includes various precious items, placed side by side, that were left behind by the Italian and Austrian soldiers who died in the local mountains during World War II, demonstrating the futility of war and representing an invitation for peace and the exchange of culture, ideas, and knowledge. Moreover, in the Stelvio National Park, at 2,600 meters, the bank organizes an  annual Mass to celebrate “the Madonna of the Snow, Queen of Peace, Custodian of Creation,” during which the congregation is invited to reflect in an intimate and spiritual way – assisted by the stark beauty of the alpine surroundings – about the tragedy of the Great War and about peace in a world still torn by strife.

Driven by its cooperative and socialcultural spirit, Banca Popolare di Sondrio opened the “Luigi Credaro” Library in October 2007 in the presence of the Minister of Education at the time, Giuseppe Fioroni. This library is dedicated to an illustrious local educationalist, parliamentarian, and senator (1860–1939), who also served as the Minister of Education.

The “Credaro” Library is justified by the need and desire of the bank to make its massive and precious collection of documents and books more widely available. This wealth partly derives from a number of generous donations made by customers and shareholders and, more particularly, from major bequests of funds, archives, and personal libraries of important economists, sociologists, and academics.

Given the unique nature of the assets held and the items collected, this is a specialist library of general social importance whose duties include the conservation of our heritage. More specifically, the library makes vast knowledge available to users, with most of the books being dedicated to economic, financial, and legal matters, while also offering a public reading service, inter-library loans arranged together with prestigious universities, and a document delivery service.

The rooms housing the “Luigi Credaro” Library also provide a cultural space that integrates – rather than competes – with other libraries in the city and the province, seeking to broaden opportunities and boundaries through the targeted use of new IT and digital technologies: numerous university and other students visit the library every day for individual or collective study purposes.

Each year, the bank marks “World Savings Day” with initiatives for the general public, but especially for young people and students. Banca Popolare di Sondrio considers it both useful and a necessary duty to remind people about “saving” and encourage them to think about what it means. Last year, this day was honored by the authoritative presence in Sondrio of Professor Francesco Sabatini, a high-profile personality, famed linguist, philologist, lexicologist, and honorary chairman of Accademia della Crusca.

In some sense, savings and culture go hand in hand. Summarizing with regard to savings, they certainly involve sacrifice but also generate benefits for the individual saver and the community as a whole. The same is true for culture, which is acquired by study, commitment, and hard work that involve costs and going without: the benefits can be found, however, in the future personal and working life of the individual. Invited by Banca Popolare di Sondrio, Professor Sabatini first talked to students and teachers on the subject of “Italian is the key to our brain” and then held a conference entitled “The Italian language is not a telephone wire. The mother tongue and the others”, which was well attended by the public.

The intensive cultural activities of Banca Popolare di Sondrio also include two special directions that have been followed successfully over the years: the preparation of cultural, historical, and naturalistic publications that are gifted to shareholders at the annual general meeting; and the holding of public confeences and conventions that have featured more than 100 speakers over the past 40 years, including some of the most authoritative exponents from the worlds of politics, economics, culture, journalism, sports, and the performing arts.

Banca Popolare di Sondrio likes to consider itself a bank that plays an important role as an intermediary, not so much in favor of its own territory’s culture, but more in terms of the circulation of culture within the territory.