Pub. 10 2020-2021 Issue 6

O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S — H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S www.coloradobankers.org 4 Nathan serves as Regional Vice President, responsible for leading teams that work with businesses in eastern Colorado and western Nebraska. His primary role is to fulfill client needs quickly and efficiently. He focuses on building relationships that last. In his experience, this is the best way to understand customer needs and to proactively help them meet their financial and life goals. The coalitions help match consumers with financial institutions in their community that offer “certified” accounts: low-cost, basic accounts that meet the Bank On initiative’s National Account Standards, including low or no fees, no overdraft charges, online bill pay and other basic attributes. To date, approximately 24,000 finan - cial institution branch locations in the U.S. offer a Bank On-certified account. By doing so, participating banks offer to demon - strate a commitment to financial inclusion while also adding new customers in the process. To learn more or get involved, go to bankondenver.com and bankonboul- dercounty.com. It’s important to note that while those programs are Denver and Boulder-based, you don’t have to be. Go to: joinbankon.org/certify. Colorado’s Jump$tart coalition is another localized national effort in which banks participate, working to im - prove the financial capability of prekindergarten through college-age youth by providing young people with tools to succeed with money, including budgeting, earning, spending, saving, investing and credit. That happens via support of educator professional development, coopera- tion among coalition members and support of personal financial literacy education initiatives. You can learn more and get involved at colorado-jumpstart.org. While the Colorado Bankers Association serves on boards and steering committees for Bank On and Jump$tart, input from banks and individual bankers cannot be supplanted. These efforts need you. Last but not least, CBA has led the charge to promote financial education in the community and in the class - room for decades. This year, our successful advocate has spearheaded additional legislation supported by other advocacy groups to increase financial literacy standards in secondary classrooms across the state. If passed, it will institute required education around student loans, credit cards, mortgage lending and saving for retirement for districts that already provide financial literacy content to students. As of press time, the bill has passed through its first committees unanimously and appears well on its way to becoming law. Our communities must be made of the resources available to them and their banks’ and bankers’ efforts on their behalf. While the 30 days of April are when we narrow our focus on financial literacy, we know that work takes place year-round. If you’re not already, I encourage you to get involved as early and as often as you can. Our communities look to us bankers to guide them on their journey of personal financial security and success. Let’s make sure we’re ready for them. n While the Colorado Bankers Association serves on boards and steering committees for Bank On and Jump$tart, input from banks and individual bankers cannot be supplanted. These efforts need you. continued from page 3