On September 22nd, CFSI announced the public launch of the feedback phase for the Compass Principles initiative. The initiative envisions a future in which the U.S. financial services marketplace actively contributes to improving peoples' lives, and delivers sustainable value to all consumers and providers. The long-term goals are to spur competition, motivate ongoing innovation, and ultimately augment the supply of high-quality financial products and services. Become part of the conversation in what constitutes quality in financial services at www.compassprinciples.com. Hear from President and CEO Jennifer Tescher about the importance of the principles, read the Compass Principles white paper, check out the blog written by CFSI staff, and more. Join CFSI's Manager, Innovation and Research, Romy Parzick, on October 13th at 1pm CST for a webinar event outlining the goals for the initiative, the framework and the ways you can get involved. Register here! American Banker: A Plan for Regaining Consumer Trust This month, CEO and President of CFSI, Jennifer Tescher, concentrates on the Compass Principles in her American Banker article. Despite a raft of new regulations and capital requirements designed to protect consumers and strengthen banks, consumer confidence in financial institutions continues to plummet. Nearly 50% of consumers lack confidence that banks live up to their promises and commitments. This lack of confidence reduces product sales and exposes banks to greater competitive threats from the growing number of nonbank innovators. To stop the slide, the banking industry needs to remind people what it stands for and demonstrate that it can provide real value that benefits consumers and the bottom line in equal measure. Nonprofit and Industry Innovators Convene to Spur Underserved Innovation CFSI commences the Financial Capability Innovators Development Lab in tandem with its Innovators Roundtable meeting today, October 4th, in New York, NY. The meeting will focus on catalyzing innovation among financial thought leaders and innovators, all united in a commitment to better serve financially underserved consumers. Attendees will discuss what defines quality in financial services as outlined by CFSI's Compass Principles, learn about applying behavioral economics to consumer finance from Piyush Tantia, Executive Director of ideas42, hear about innovations in mobile financial services from Richard Kang, CEO of Wipit (www.mywipit.com), and network with other innovators and participants. CFSI and Innovators Meet for First Bay Area Development Lab News from: CFSI's strategic partner Core Innovation Capital's Managing Partner Arjan Schütte blogs on important issues affecting underbanked consumers as well as innovative financial services products. This month, read Arjan's blog about CFSI's Compass principles. For more information about Core Innovation Capital, or if you are a company seeking investment opportunities, visit http://www.corevc.com. American Banker Issues "The 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance" and "The 25 Women to Watch" Lists CFSI would like to congratulate Susan Ehrlich, SVP of Next Generation Payments, JPMorgan Chase, and Lynn Heitman, SVP of Retail Payment Solutions, U.S. Bank, as both were recently listed on American Banker's "The 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance" and the "The 25 Women to Watch" lists respectively. The rankings honor the professional achievements, personal tenacity and influence of top-performing female financial executives. Produced annually by the editors of American Banker, the rankings were published in October 2011. Individuals are ranked at the discretion of the editors, based on a range of qualitative and quantitative information. Congratulations to these women for their many accomplishments in the banking and finance fields. Innovators Showcase CFSI Speaking Engagements
Vol. 7 Issue 9
October 2011
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News from the Hill...
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October 2011 Newsletter
Click here to read the article in its entirety.
Click here to read the press release.
On September 22, 2011, Melissa Koide, Vice President of Policy, testified for the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
on the matter of underbanked consumers' access to credit. Her testimony provided insights on the small-dollar credit marketplace and recommendations for public policy. These comments were based on our observations of market practices, with particular attention to consumers' need for small-dollar credit and emerging product innovations with the potential to extend wide-scale credit access to underbanked consumers. Well-structured credit products helps consumers address short-term credit needs and build positive credit histories, critical for employment, insurance, and housing, as well as for longer-term asset building. Quality credit is marketed transparently and priced fairly, and that it is affordable and structured to support repayment without creating a cycle of repeat borrowing.
Click here to read the entire written testimony.
Comment Letter Regarding President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability
The recommendations and insights in this comment letter are based on our research of industry best practices and our experience administering the Financial Capability Innovation Fund, which identifies, supports, and evaluates promising new models designed to promote the financial capability of underserved Americans. The recent financial crisis made it clear that Americans at all income levels are struggling financially and lack the tools, resources, and know-how to successfully manage their money in the short-term and build savings and assets over the long-term. Over the past decade, efforts to improve American's financial capability have focused on providing consumers with basic financial education to improve financial literacy. Other efforts have focused on providing access to safe, consumer-friendly financial products as a path to financial prosperity. There are limitations to an either-or approach, and CFSI believes that we can best promote financial capability and spur positive behavior change and improved outcomes by providing quality financial products in conjunction with timely, relevant, and actionable financial information and education.
Click here to read the letter in its entirety.
If you want to know how our showcased innovators are transforming the financial services landscape to better serve underbanked consumers, check out these recent and archived articles and press releases ...
Posted: October 2011
