Mechanics Bank Celebrates Financial Literacy Month

Mechanics Bank today announced that its schools-based financial education program, Building Your Financial Literacy, is making a positive impact on students understanding critical financial topics.

Building Your Financial Literacy is a web-based interactive course designed to empower young people with the essential skills needed to make sound financial decisions. Mechanics Bank is presently engaged with six high schools in West Contra Costa County at no cost to schools, students, or tax payers.

The web-based program uses the latest in new media technology – simulations, gaming and adaptive-pathing – to bring complex financial concepts to life for today’s digital generation. The high school course offers over six hours of programming with ten subject units based on a variety of financial topics including credit scores, insurance, credit cards, student loans, mortgages, taxes, stocks, savings, 401k’s, and other critical concepts that map to national financial literacy standards.

A FINRA-funded study released in February 2015 found that students who received rigorous financial education in high school demonstrated improved credit scores and a decrease in credit delinquency as young adults, compared to their peers who did not receive financial education.

Building Your Financial Literacy is implemented in a co-curricular basis, providing teachers with a valuable tool to use with students in a classroom setting.

“Educating our youth about establishing and maintaining a good credit track record should be required in all school curriculums,” said Christa Steele, Mechanics Bank President and CEO. “I am personally very passionate about bettering the lives of our youth. I believe Mechanics Bank serves as a strong conduit to financial literacy success in the communities we serve.”

About Mechanics Bank

For more than a century, Mechanics Bank has been committed to helping people build prosperous communities and forging lasting relationships through teamwork, respect and integrity. The $3.4 billion in assets independent bank, based in Northern California, offers personal banking, business banking, trust, brokerage and wealth management services. Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender. For more information, please visit www.mechanicsbank.com, or call 800.797.8324.