CEO MAKES CASE FOR FINANCIAL EDUCATION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Ramon Looby, CEO and President of Maryland Bankers Association, believes that young people should be taught financial education as part of their school curriculum. PHOTO PROVIDED BY RAMON LOOBY.
Ramon Looby, CEO and President of Maryland Bankers Association, believes that young people should be taught financial education as part of their school curriculum. PHOTO PROVIDED BY RAMON LOOBY.

 CEO makes case for financial education for young people

BY TIA CAROL JONES

Ramon Looby believes that young people should have financial education. He believes having a financial education would have a positive impact on communities of color.

Looby, the CEO and President of Maryland Bankers Association, was introduced to the world of finance through the stock market game. He is the first African American to hold those titles with that organization.

Looby started in governmental affairs and external affairs. His job at the United States Chamber of Commerce gave him the opportunity to work on issues surrounding business and finance. From there, he joined the Consumer Data Industry Association. There, he got a chance to sink his teeth into the finance industry.

“Credit reporting agencies really help to facilitate the financing of things, the risk management of things, how things go in the economy,” he said.  Looby had an opportunity to work with people from different states and different countries at CDIA. He was also exposed to the World’s Consumer Credit Reporting Conference -- government agencies, companies and other stakeholders who came together to learn and talk about what was important in credit reporting. It wasn’t something Looby had ever done before. Then, he went to work at Bank of America, dealing with wealth management, securities business and consumer and commercial banking. Looby has had the opportunity to leverage what he learned.

Looby has been focused on bringing diversity into the finance and banking industry. He believes there are multiple things that need to happen to bring about diversity in finance and banking. He has been partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities to figure out ways to improve talent pipelines. At Coppin State University, Looby is focusing in on the need to partner with member institutions to provide financial education to the students there.

Earlier this year, Looby and the Maryland Bankers Association, along with the Maryland Council of Economic Education, wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post that talked about the importance of financial education in public schools in Maryland. Looby believes that creating a curriculum of financial education for public schools can work, not just in Maryland, but nationwide.

“The return on this investment is a lifetime of being better informed, better positioned, being able to really have the discernment and necessary skills to think about how you want to achieve your financial goals. We know that better educated consumers make better decisions that have a real lasting impact,” he said.

To Looby, financial literacy is having enough knowledge to make good choices on varying items in the marketplace and leverage it to make a decision that will have a positive impact years later. Part of financial education is understanding the issues around financial fraud.

In the op ed, there was a part that talked about the consequences of financial illiteracy – not sticking to a budget, or taking out credit cards, can lead to bad credit.

“I am focused on ensuring there are more opportunities for folks who come from communities like mine to reach leadership opportunities in the sector and to have better exposure to what those careers are. We are making sure that our banks and our bankers are supported in this time of recovery,” he said.

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