Fleet Unveils Financial Ed Program

FleetBoston Financial has announced a $30 million education initiative aimed at helping consumers make smarter decisions about their finances, including buying a home."Smarter Decisions with Fleet" is a back-to-basics program that includes a 10-point plan to address "the growing national concern about inadequate financial understanding," the company said. The plan includes, among other things, the development of educational materials on topics such as household budgeting, buying a home or a car, and saving for investment; seminars throughout the Northeast on similar topics; and partnerships with nonprofit and community organizations to provide financial education training and seminars. "Personal debt is rising at nearly double the rate of inflation, the country is flooded with home foreclosures and a record number of personal bankruptcies, and our national savings rate remains at historical lows that are also low relative to those of other industrialized nations," said Anne Finucane, Fleet's chief marketing officer. "The turbulent economy explains part of the problem, but another major part is the erosion in the level of financial understanding." Fleet can be found online at http://www.fleet.com.