TÜSİAD organized a conference on financial literacy and pension awareness

TÜSİAD organized a conference titled “Enhancing Financial Literacy and Pension Awareness in Turkey” on November 13th, 2012, at  Istanbul Sabancı Center. The conference focused on the relationship between financial literacy and pension awarenessand discussed policies to promote pension awarenessand  channel savings into the economy.

The purpose of the conference was to raise awareness oninsurance and pension awareness. Opening addresses of the conference were delivered by; Mr. Tayfun Bayazıt, Member of the Board of Directors of TÜSİAD and President of the Economic and Financial Affairs Committee, Mr. İbrahim Peker, Vice President of the Capital Markets Board of Turkey, and Mr. Burhanettin Aktaş, Deputy Undersecretary of Treasury.

In his speech, Mr. Tayfun Bayazıt remarked on  how  dependency on foreign savings create  pressure on the finance of the balance of payments and the sustainability of  growth. Mr. Bayazıt noted that the integration of Turkey with global capital markets  helpsTurkey to benefit increasingly from the global capital flows  which, in return, contributes to the growth of the economy and enables the inclusion of new social groups to  national production, consumption and financial systems. Mr. Bayazıt stated that as the financial system expands, the financial system deepens around new products, tools and technologies as a result of the inclusion of new consumer and producer groups.  He also highlighted importance of financial literacy and domestic savings in this regard. Stressing the risk of financing growth with foreign savings, whilst there is a structural deficiency of domestic savings,- as it is the case in theTurkish economy-, Mr. Bayazıt said: “However, it is clear that the dependency on foreign savings causes a strong pressure on the balance of payments and the sustainability of the growth.”

Keynote speeches of the conference were delivered by Ms. Annamaria Lusardi, Lecturer in George Washington University and influentialresearcher inthisfield, and Ms.Kamer Karakurum Özdemir, Senior Economist in the World Bank and the author of important  studies on domestic savings in Turkey.

The session on the financial literacy and pension awarenessin Turkey was moderated by Ms. Meral Eredenk, President of the Insurance and Pensions Working Group of TÜSİAD. In this session, Dr. Şule Alan, Lecturer in Koç University, Prof. Dr. Sumru Altuğ, Lecturer in Koç University and Director of the Koç University-TÜSİAD Economic Research Forum (ERF), Prof. Dr. Alpay Filiztekin, Lecturer in Sabancı University, Mr. Ahmet Genç, General Director of Insurance at the Prime Ministry Undersecretariat of Treasury, and Mr. Aydın Haskebabçı. Institutional Communications Director of Capital Markets Board of Turkey made speeches.