JA MORE THAN MONEY^™ LAUNCHED TO
TEACH FINANCIAL SKILLS TO YOUNG CHILDREN

(LONDON) HSBC Holdings plc and JA Worldwide^® today launch a $3.4 million, three-year, global programme to teach basic financial skills to children.  JA More than Money^™ will expand globally one of JA Worldwide’s most successful youth financial literacy programmes and involve HSBC staff initially in 15 countries.  This strategic commitment is designed to build upon the breadth and depth of HSBC’s commitment to financial education and its support for JA Worldwide.

JA More than Money^™ will teach students about earning, spending, sharing and saving money and about businesses they can start or jobs they can perform to earn money.  When assessed by an independent evaluator in 2007, results showed conclusively that the seven to 11 year old students who had participated in this curriculum in the United States demonstrated significantly greater knowledge and retention of financial concepts compared to their non-participating peers. 

“According to the UK-based Association of Investment Companies, 93 percent of teachers and parents believe that personal finance should be taught in schools – and half of those believe it should be mandatory.  HSBC’s exclusive support of JA More than Money^™ will allow JA Worldwide to address the fast growing needs of young people in many countries at an age when financial education can make a substantial impact on behaviour in later life” said Sean C. Rush, President and CEO of JA Worldwide.

“As the world faces further economic uncertainty, it is important that we equip our children with the financial literacy skills they need to make wise decisions in how they spend and save their money.  HSBC is committed to improving financial literacy in the countries in which we operate for the benefit of both local communities and our shareholders,” said Simon Martin, Head of Group Corporate Sustainability at HSBC.

With funding from HSBC, JA More than Money^™ will be localised and trialled in 15 countries across five continents in the 2008 – 2009 academic year.  The programme is expected to be rolled out to many more countries in the following academic year.  JA More than Money^™ aims to reach over 100,000 children in its first three academic years.

HSBC and JA Worldwide

HSBC and JA Worldwide have a long-standing relationship. The two organisations have collaborated, for example, for 65 years in the United States and more than 25 years in the United Kingdom, where JA Worldwide operates as Young Enterprise. These links are due to be strengthened further in six regions of the world through the nomination of one of HSBC’s most senior executives to each of JA Worldwide’s Regional Operating Center boards.

HSBC

HSBC Holdings plc serves over 128 million customers worldwide through around 10,000 offices in 83 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of some US$2,354 billion at 31 December 2007, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as ‘The world’s local bank’. For more information, visit www.hsbc.com.