Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Visa Convene National Summit on Financial Education

Award-Winning Journalist and Best-Selling Author Jean Chatzky Moderates Expert Panelists, Including Former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley

CHICAGO, May 1, 2007

Helping to shine the national spotlight on practical solutions to the problem of financial illiteracy, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and Visa USA today convened an all-star cast of educators, policy makers and financial education advocates at a Financial Literacy and Education Summit.

Held live and via webcast at the Chicago Fed, this Summit was part of 'Money Smart Week,' a week-long series of events created by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to help consumers increase their financial awareness and understanding.

"We must make financial literacy a national goal," said Joe Carberry, senior vice president, Visa USA. "We must challenge ourselves to provide access to financial education to every student in every state, county and community across America. It is simply too important to be left to chance, and has been too long overlooked."

"The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is pleased to team up with Visa to host this Summit about a critical issue that impacts all of us personally, and has important implications for the broader economy," said Michael H. Moskow, president & CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. "'Money Smart Week' is a perfect venue to bring together members from the policy community, the non-profit community and the private sector to participate in this unique, national discussion," added Moskow.

Personal finance expert Jean Chatzky helped moderate two expert panel discussions. Ms. Chatzky is a best-selling author who appears regularly on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "The Today Show," as well as the host of a daily radio program on Oprah & Friends (XM 156).

The first panel, which included former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley, examined the key challenges in promoting financial education at the federal level and the question of whether financial education should be a high school graduation requirement. The second panel highlighted innovative approaches to and best practices in personal finance learning.

Other panelists included former FDIC Chairman William Seidman, Operation Hope Founder John Hope Bryant, Ohio State Treasurer Richard Cordray, Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, Executive Director of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy Laura Levine, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Senior Education Specialist Steve Malin and 2002 Teacher of the Year Chauncey Veatch.

"This Summit provides a unique forum for the public and private sectors to exchange ideas and continue working together to ensure that financial learning starts at an early age, beginning at the dinner table, and is carried through in the classroom," said Ms. Chatzky.

"Today, millions of young adults are going off to college or joining the workforce without a rudimentary understanding of personal finance," Carberry added. "At Visa, we believe that the solution must involve a broad partnership of parents and teachers, business and government - all working together. Each group plays a crucial role in advancing financial literacy. And all must act."

Last week, Visa USA announced a new educational partnership with Ms. Chatzky in which she will collaborate with Visa to promote financial literacy nationwide. Ms. Chatzky will help develop new financial education curriculum and interactive resources geared toward teachers, students, women and parents. She will also participate in a number of outreach activities, which include moderating today's Summit, around Visa's two, free and online financial education programs Practical Money Skills for Life (www.practicalmoneyskills.com) and What's My Score (www.whatsmyscore.org). This partnership announcement builds on Visa's more than a decade-long commitment to financial education.

The two-hour Summit began at noon Central time. Interested viewers can watch the Summit webcast in its entirety at: www.practicalmoneyskills.com/summit2007

About Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the nation's central bank. The Chicago Reserve Bank serves the Seventh Federal Reserve District, which encompasses the northern portions of Illinois and Indiana, southern Wisconsin, the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and the state of Iowa. In addition to participation in the formulation of monetary policy, each Reserve Bank supervises member banks and bank holding companies, provides financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. government, and monitors economic conditions in its District.

About Visa USA
Visa USA is a leading payment brand and the nation's largest payment system, enabling banks to provide their consumers and business customers with a wide variety of payment alternatives tailored to meet their evolving needs. Visa USA is committed to increasing the choice, convenience, acceptance and security of Visa payments for all stakeholders in the payment system - members, cardholders and merchants. Through its 13,382 member financial institutions, more than 510 million Visa-branded cards have been issued to cardholders in the United States.

Visa products currently generate more than $4 trillion in sales volume worldwide. Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the world. In addition, Visa/Plus is one of the world's largest global ATM networks, offering cash access in local currency in over 170 countries. For more information, visit www.visa.com/media .

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