Dear Readers,

The month of April is Financial Literacy Month and the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) has taken the opportunity to challenge District consumers to become more educated on financial issues.

Many of us have been reading the news about the number of homes that have been bought by subprime loan products, not only in the District but also around the country. The numbers are cause for concern. In the national capital region, about 11 percent of all mortgages are subprime, according to The Urban Institute. (In the nation, it is 3 percent.) In the District, about 5 percent of all mortgages are subprime, with the largest concentration of these mortgages falling in Wards 5, 7 and 8. Some people have said it was the consumers’ lack of awareness and financial literacy in these matters.

To that end, DISB has been taking its financial literacy and education seminars to the public. For the month of April, DISB will be hosting consumer-education seminars on mortgage lending, saving and investing. Every Wednesday from noon to 1 pm, DISB will host a series of brown-bag seminars, “Money-Saving Wednesdays” at its office at 810 First Street, NE, Suite 701. The topics are Making Saving a Habit (April 4), Five Keys to Investing Success (April 11), ABCs of Saving for Education (April 18) and Planning a Worry Free Retirement (April 25). During the seminars, attendees will be able to sign up as DC Savers where they can set savings goals and put aside small amounts of money until they have reached that goal. Several District banks have signed on to the program by offering savings accounts to DC Savers at no cost for 12 months.

Further, the agency will host a more comprehensive seminar on the ABCs of Saving for Education at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 910 G Street, NW, Main Lobby, on April 26, from 3 pm to 4:30 pm. There will be special emphasis on elementary and high school education, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, 529 plans, the tax benefits of assorted savings plans and how to balance education savings with saving for retirement and other goals. Additionally, DISB will be giving various presentations before AARP chapter meetings around the city during the months of March and April. And District residents should be on the look out for workshops and seminars on mortgage lending.

All of these are within the agency’s goal for 2007 to reach out to more District consumers, to highlight our consumer-education efforts in the fight against fraud, as well as to provide a groundswell of knowledge and information. When consumers are knowledgeable, they can be more responsive, confident and safe in the marketplace.

In this month’s newsletters, read about some of the community presentations the agency has made, the fallout of the subprime loan mortgage market, dealing with the upcoming tax season, the ease with which you can become a millionaire legally, a consumer fraud alert, several insurance-related announcements and a whole lot more.

As always, we hope you will find something in our newsletter pages that keeps you coming back for more.

Happy Reading!!

DISB Office of Communication