Children aged 10 to 13 were taught about investments, the bank said in a press release sent to Delano on 15 July. The session covered “what kind of investment opportunities exist for teenagers and what risks relate to different investment options; stock exchange, shares and bonds, what is the process of buying and selling of securities.”

Eight and nine year olds “discovered the ways to organize their pocket money, plan expenses, make purchases and save aside for a dream,” according to the bank.

Altogether 60 youngsters participated.

Yulia Reuttskaya, marketing director at EWUB, stated in the announcement:

“We hope that after the lessons some financial topics and terms will become clearer for the children, they will begin to ask the right questions to [their] parents and they will have a desire to learn more. With the knowledge they will be able to make smart decisions to manage their finances.”

It was the second year that the bank hosted the classes. Anna Kramer, who gave a lesson on bank cards, told Delano in an email following the event:

“It is interesting to observe how during the lesson the attention of children switches from financial to ethical issues. Last year, there was a heated discussion about whether it is ethical to take interest if you lend money. This year, analysing situations about bank card’s fraud, the conversation shifted to discussing the motives that encourage people to cheat.”

Andrey Gronin, who taught the “budget and life hacks for shopping” segment, wrote:

“It is always exciting to discuss the big dreams of children, why they want to save up money. If last year the vast majority of participants determined the game console as their financial goal, this year they dream of a dog, cat or improvements of their room. Probably it is because the game consoles were already bought for everyone during the quarantine.”

The sessions were held via Zoom, due to covid-19, on 4 July and 11 July.

EWUB, founded in 1974, specialises in private and corporate banking, particularly for clients active in the Benelux and former Soviet regions. According to its latest annual report, it held €671m in assets and had “over 100 permanent employees”, as of 31 December 2019.

EWUB is one of several Luxembourg institutions that provide financial education courses for children on a regular basis.