Report to Society 2025

Social

Financial education

Strengthening education for sustainable development

One of the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030” (SDG 4). This is because education empowers people to make financial and sustainable decisions and to take responsibility for their own actions and their social impact.

In 2025, the Savings Banks Association (DSGV) was honoured with the ‘National Award’ for its long-standing commitment to education for sustainable development, alongside 40 other initiatives, for its educational programme ‘Finanzbildung für alle’. The award, presented by the German UNESCO Commission and the Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, recognises how the financial education institutions ‘Geld und Haushalt’ and ‘Sparkassen-Schulservice’ strengthen the financial literacy of children, young people and adults through a diverse range of programmes, by linking the financial, environmental and social aspects of sustainable development and communicating them across generations.

The jury emphasised that the ‘Finanzbildung für alle’ programme does not treat sustainable economic management in isolation, but rather integrates it across a range of educational programmes – both within and outside schools – as well as through lectures, guidebooks and digital formats. Through collaboration with more than 1,250 charitable organisations and educational partners, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is being promoted on a nationwide scale. Cooperation at local, national and international levels strengthens the exchange of ideas and the further development of ESD.

Over 1 million
consumers use the services offered by ‘Geld und Haushalt’ every year.

Through organisations such as the ‘Geld und Haushalt’ advisory service and the ‘Sparkassen-Schulservice’, the Savings Banks Finance Group has been taking responsibility for financial education in Germany for decades. Its involvement in Global Money Week 2025, a worldwide OECD initiative to promote financial education amongst young people, ties in seamlessly with this. During the campaign week in March, the ‘Sparkassen-Schulservice’ organised free online talks under the title ‘Smart spending – avoiding debt’, which were attended by around 1,600 young people aged between 13 and 17. The events provided practical advice on budget planning, contractual rights and debt prevention – topics that are particularly relevant in a digital consumer world characterised by influencer marketing and quick financing offers.

Around 1.2 million
children and young people benefit from the Savings Banks’ programme ‘Sparkassen-Schulservice’ each year.

“Through our educational programmes, we provide young people with practical tools to manage their money safely and avoid debt traps. Financial education must be relevant to everyday life – that is exactly what we aim to convey through our talks,” emphasises Karolin Schriever, Executive Board Member for at the Savings Banks Association (DSGV). That is why all financial education programmes are deliberately accessible and tailored to the target group’s everyday lives: they address real-life situations, offer practical tools for financial planning and thus strengthen resilience against debt traps.