To mark the release of our new Annual Report, we caught up with our Chair and CEO to hear their 2020 MyBnk highlights and plans for the future.
Asesh Sarkar, Chair MyBnk
“The UK prides itself on being a leader in financial services, yet we have some of the lowest levels of financial literacy in the OECD. Barely half (52%) of 7-17 year olds recall receiving financial education at home or school.
The full economic effects of the global pandemic are yet to come but young people have already been hit the hardest.
We cannot continue creating generations of young adults who cannot budget or make informed decisions. For those who are vulnerable, the margins are just too thin. It drives inequality and blights mental health.
I was therefore honoured to be appointed Chair of MyBnk to help address one of the deepest root causes of poverty. I am grateful to Lily Lapenna MBE, MyBnk’s Founder, outgoing Chair and now Trustee, for building the incredible foundations of a charity who have helped 275,000 young people since 2007.
This year MyBnk, by spend, became the UK’s biggest specialist charity investing in the financial futures of young people. There is considerable work to be done and we have mapped a 2024 Vision to scale reach and impact. We are grateful to the individuals and organisations that fund and support us”.
Guy Rigden, CEO MyBnk
“It goes without saying that this has been an incredibly challenging year for young people and educators.
Yet, despite the disruption caused by Coronavirus, we were able to equip over 20,000 children and young people with vital money skills and knowledge. MyBnk’s experts delivered 5,000 hours of financial education and we opened a fourth location of our youth homelessness prevention scheme, The Money House, in London. Over 60% of the training delivered was with 16-25 year olds in vulnerable circumstances.
We are thankful to funders who granted us increased flexibility to adopt a ‘ready for anything’ approach to the pandemic. We created an exciting suite of virtual programmes, free online home school resources and digital tools to complement and expand our expert-led model. Accredited remote sessions for vulnerable young people have been a standout success.
Cross-cutting themes included gender and race. MyBnk have formed an Anti-Racism Committee to ensure we are an organisation that reflects our participants, employees and values. Analysis of our programmes found young UK females disproportionately lacked financial confidence and suffered anxiety due to money troubles. Our interventions saw them overcome this financial capability gap.
The need for impactful financial education remains clear. With your continuing support, we will help young people make the right choices for their future”.
