Intesa Sanpaolo proposes an extensive program of digital or online events and initiatives for World Savings Day on 31 October, in compliance with the provisions for contrasting the emergency linked to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, which will involve numerous Group structures in Italy and also in the countries where the Bank is present directly or through its subsidiaries.
The program is entitled The Art of Savings, because saving is an art that requires a skill that is not based only on knowledge, but also on practical experience that is well associated with the creativity necessary to face daily challenges. The idea was launched by the Savings Museum, which made it both an educational and playful mission, with activities for every age group and level of preparation, also and above all for those starting from scratch. This more digital edition also sees the involvement of the museum complex of the Gallerie d'Italia and the Group's Historical Archive.
The Art of Saving or rather The Art of Saving has become an awaited appointment also in Albania (with Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania), Bosnia-Herzegovina (with Intesa Sanpaolo Banka BiH), Croatia (with PBZ), Egypt (with Alexbank), Moldova (with Eximbank), Romania (with Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Romano ia), Serbia (with Banca Intesa Beograd), Slovenia (with Intesa Sanpaolo Bank) and Hungary (with CIB). These are the countries in which the Group's International Subsidiary Banks Division has promoted the event and which every year attracts enthusiastic participation from families, schools and volunteers from the local banks who support the programme.
This year, due to the restrictions for the pandemic containment measures, remote initiatives are being promoted such as online contests, games or campaigns on social networks, but also the new digital format introduced by the Savings Museum: “How much do wishes cost? ” (“The price of our dreams”) aimed at children aged 6 to 10.
Initiatives
Savings Museum
From 26 to 31 October free admission to the Museum for everyone. In addition to the activities reserved for schools: Tuesday 27 October (15-17 pm) presentation of the results of the sample research designed by the Savings Museum and conducted by Episteme "Ability to tolerate and react to the risks of the pandemic". Participants Giovanna Paladino (Director and curator of the Savings Museum), Riccardo De Bonis (Head of the Financial Education Service of the Bank of Italy), Anna Maria Lusardi (President of the Committee for the planning and coordination of financial education activities). Moderator Mariarosaria Marchesano (financial journalist, Il Foglio). On Wednesday 28 October (14 pm) the meeting entitled “Pocket money and advice” on how to deal with the issue of money with children. Speakers include Annamaria Lusardi (Director of the Committee for the planning and coordination of financial education activities), Giovanna Paladino (Director of the Savings Museum), Enrico Amiotti (Vice-President of the Amiotti Foundation). Introduced and moderated by Elisabetta Gavasci Scala (Vice-President of MOIGE – Movimento Italiano Genitori).
Thursday 29 October (18pm) as part of the “1 book in 30 minutes” cycle, presentation of the book “Financial Explained Well” by Mauro Del Corno. The book contains basic notions that anyone can and should master because what happens in a central bank or in an investment room, contrary to what one might think, affects, more or less directly, everyone's life.
In addition, a research was conducted by the Savings Museum of Intesa Sanpaolo and Episteme through the synthetic indices of tolerance and reaction of Italians.:
Training and knowledge help to bear difficulties and to react. Young people and families are the pivot around which the restart of the country can revolve. However, greater economic skills and savings planning are needed. It is the photograph taken of Italians by the Research "Capacity of Enduring and Reaction of Italians in the face of the pandemic" by the Intesa Sanpaolo Savings Museum and Episteme which measured for the first time the synthetic indices relating to the ability to bear and the country's reaction six months after the outbreak of the pandemic.
The research, conducted with 2000 CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing) interviews with a representative sample of the Italian population aged 18-74 by gender, age, geographical area of residence, panel type in the period of September 2020, investigated the attitudes and behaviors of Italians in the face of the ongoing health and consequently economic and social crisis, focusing precisely on two indices: the Endurance Capacity, relating to the management of difficulties starting from the conditions and the fundamental factors that contribute to determining their seriousness and the Reaction, which refers to the relaunch and reformulation of one's life goals: to react by looking ahead and finding a new balance.
Giovanna Paladino, Director of the Savings Museum and curator of the research, commented on the results as follows: “The indices that we have calculated on the basis of this research provide not only an economic, but also a social and psychological vision of the country's ability to face the crisis. Education and financial education prove to be a driving force for stability and resilience together with the ability to save and the support of the family network, which are confirmed as fundamental elements for Italians. The survey shows that an increase in basic economic skills, the involvement of women in the workforce together with an approach to savings consistent with future planning and investment are key elements for restarting the economy”.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Among the main evidences emerges a good resilience of the country in reference to the multiplicity of components that contribute to forming the Endurance Capacity of Italians, above all including the habit of saving and the support of the family network. In fact, the majority of Italians suffered limited or no damage (27.9% suffered slight damage, 21.3% no damage), with the two indices only weakly correlated: while the first depends above all on the material resources that you possess, the second is also determined by personal skills, proactivity and psychological endurance.
However, Italians seem to lack above all the driving force behind individual commitment and the motivational support that comes from having life goals to achieve: a sitting country emerges, with a weak vision of the future and few dreams, as measured by the reaction index. (For the majority of Italians, equal to 53.3%, the pandemic has not produced any additional stimulus for the realization of personal projects. Even thinking about the future, Italians declare themselves ready to face economic sacrifices more as a response to concern for the context , 21.6%, than for the realization of a dream or the achievement of a goal, 8.5%.).
The possession of a good training (educational qualification) and the knowledge of the basic concepts of the economy are a driving force for a high endurance capacity and a high reaction capacity. Those who equip themselves with interpretative tools are able to deal with economic difficulties more successfully and show a greater spirit of adaptation and flexibility. (Those with a university degree, awareness of their material abilities and knowledge of concepts such as interest rates, inflation, risk diversification have a Tolerance Index greater than 7.3 points (49.7 vs 42.4 of the Italian population) and a Reaction Index greater than 13 points (60.7% vs 47.7).
The young are the exceptions, who appear to be aware optimists. Despite having faced the difficulties associated with the pandemic, they emerge as the segment most ready to face the future. In fact, they have the best endurance capacity and the highest reaction potential, thanks to education, optimism, desire to carry out projects, economic resources available and support from the family network. (The Endurance Index is equal to 44.6 points, while the 35-54 year olds total 42.7 points and the 55-74 year olds 41. As regards the Reaction Index, the 18-34 year olds total 55.4 points, while in the 35-54 year olds the Index drops to 52.5 and for 55-74 year olds it stops at 40 points)
Families with children remain a determining factor in the life of the country: despite the economic difficulties that have reduced their capacity to bear, they reveal themselves to be endowed with an important reactive force, not only thanks to the support and support they are able to offer, but also because inside there is a large reservoir of resources and stimuli useful for fueling the reaction capacity of its members. (The Endurance Index of families with children is equal to 41 points, the value rises to 43.7 for families without children and 46 for singles. Their Reaction Index instead is equal to 49.5, against 42.7 for families without children and 46.4 of singles).
Women outnumber men in terms of ability to react, but their low presence in the labor market, lower income and lack of knowledge of basic economic concepts make them less able to tolerate. (The Reaction Index for women is equal to 48 points, while for men it stops at 47.4. For women graduates with children, the Index reaches 53.6 points. The Tolerability Index is instead equal to 42.1 points, against 42.7 of men).
The analysis of the employment gap between women and men does not seem to lead to the reduction of the gap: a substantial part of housewives declares not only that they have freely chosen to take care of the home and family but above all that they do not intend to enter the world of work not even at the end of the pandemic. The possibility of an increase in the endurance capacity of the female universe is thus linked to the choice of whether or not to seek employment. (28.8% of women freely chose to take care of the home and family. Those unwilling to enter the world of work even at the end of the pandemic are 40.7% of housewives/inactive.)
Even if we analyze the level of physical and psychological health of Italians, it seems that the pandemic has not produced any evident effects. The perception of a deterioration in one's health is in fact not widespread. Only a minority of Italians recognize that they came out of the lockdown debilitated, especially on a psychological level: among them young women and the other-educated. (67.4% of Italians enjoy good physical health and 66.2% good psychological health. Only 11.8% complain of physical deterioration following the pandemic, but the figure rises to 19.8% if we consider the psychological level. Among the segments most under stress are women under 35 (psychological deterioration in 26% of cases) and among the highly educated (23.9%).
Financial literacy is confirmed as a difficult terrain for Italians, especially young people and women, but it leads to positive repercussions on the capacity to tolerate. Interest rate, risk diversification, inflation are the three basic concepts of the economy whose knowledge the participants in the research were questioned about. Only 43.6% of Italians are familiar with all three concepts and women and young people are the least financially literate segments. (Only 35.6% of women and 29.4% of under 35s know all three economic concepts, unlike 52.2% of men). Those who know all three economic concepts show that they have a greater capacity to bear (with a value of 46 points, compared to the 42.4 of the Italian population, and a greater capacity to react (with a value of 51.2 points, compared to the 47.7 of the national average ).
