Release Number 5183-06

Release: 5183-06

For Release: May 17, 2006

CFTC Commissioner Sharon Brown-Hruska Reported on Mymoney.gov Activities to the Financial Literacy and Education Commission

Washington, D.C. – At the eighth meeting of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC), Commissioner Sharon Brown-Hruska of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Chairman of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission’s website subcommittee, reported the latest enhancements to FLEC’s website – www.Mymoney.gov. Commissioner Brown-Hruska discussed the subcommittee’s last quarter activities as well as the latest Mymoney.gov website statistics.

The enhancements include:

    • incorporation of additional content in several categories in both English and Spanish to assist the public in managing their finances, including the U.S. Small Business Administration’s information on small business retirement savings identified in the National Strategy’s “Call to Action 3-2” and financial content focused for kids;

    • introduction of the “Money 20” interactive quiz to assist the public in identifying areas they may want to learn more about;

    • a downloadable version of the National Strategy for Financial Literacy; and

    • the Treasury’s “Quick Reference Guide” which offers a brief summary of the National Strategy’s tactics and calls to action as well as a list of financial education resources.

Commissioner Brown-Hruska also reported the following FY 2006 statistics.

    • There is approximately a 50% increase in WebPages being viewed in English this fiscal year over last fiscal year as well as approximately a 65% increase in WebPages being viewed in Spanish this fiscal year over last fiscal year.

    Mymoney.gov received over 350 thousand hits on its English site as of April 29th, and almost 13 thousand hits on its Spanish site.

    • Over 233 thousand English publications and over 7 thousand Spanish publications were distributed to the public.

    • The National Strategy for Financial Literacy was downloaded over 31 thousand times since April 4th.

    • More than 3,300 people have participated in the interactive “Money 20” quiz since April 4th.

The goal of the MyMoney.gov website is to provide useful information to individuals who are facing an array of financial situations, such as balancing a checking account, shopping for a mortgage or auto loan, researching ways to pay for a college education, reviewing credit card statements, putting money away for retirement, using safe investment techniques, understanding a credit report, or simply deciding whether to pay cash or charge a purchase. It contains information on how to understand, evaluate and compare financial products, services and opportunities, and assists investors in understanding how to proceed when they encounter difficulties with market intermediaries.

The Financial Literacy and Education Commission was created by Title V of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, signed by President Bush on December 4, 2003. The Commission is composed of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; the Secretary of the Treasury, chair of the Commission, and the heads of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; the Office of Thrift Supervision; the Federal Reserve; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; the National Credit Union Administration; the Securities and Exchange Commission; the Departments of Education, Agriculture, Defense, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and Veterans Affairs; the Federal Trade Commission; the General Services Administration; the Small Business Administration; the Social Security Administration; and the Office of Personnel Management.

Media Contacts
Alan Sobba
202-418-5080

R. David Gary
202-418-5085

Last Updated: March 18, 2007