The students in the "Stock Market Simulation" organized by the savings banks are certainly having fun, as suggested by the team names. In the role of investors in the stock market, the student teams "Running Gag Shareholders," "RTX4090-Squad," and "Die drei Musketierchen" are leading in the ongoing stock market game. Since the game started on October 4th, they have increased their fictional portfolio from an initial 50,000 euros to just over 60,000 euros, each growing by more than a fifth, while the Dax index crawled up a meager 4% during the same period.

In the competition "School Banker" organized by private banks, teams like "Fensterbank" and "Soldman Gachs" made it to the podium, surpassing teams like "Nur Minus," "Brennholzverleih," and others. Last year, "Panama Papers" won the final. In several rounds, student teams determined interest rates for various loans and savings, set prices for account management, managed branch operations, or managed an investment fund. In doing so, they competed against other student groups from across the country, gaining playful insights into the nature of banks and competition.

Around 96,000 participants, divided into about 43,000 teams, were counted by the savings banks a year ago. Not only students participate, but also savings bank apprentices or students. In the last round a year ago, the "School Bankers" had 546 teams with around 2,300 students.

Beyond that, the industry is also actively involved: The German fund association BVI provides teaching materials through the "Hoch im Kurs" initiative. Young people learn about handling money, retirement planning, and the functioning of stock exchanges. The Federal Association of German Cooperative Banks (BVR), on the other hand, offers explanatory videos on topics such as inflation, IBAN, and, of course, cooperatives.

It's not just industry associations reaching out to schools. The Bundesbank provides materials on monetary policy for teaching. The consumer centers support projects by students on various topics, including finance, market events, and consumer rights, through the "Verbraucherschule" (Consumer School) initiative.

However, these initiatives do little to change the lack of financial education. The problem runs deep. Practical financial knowledge is only partially reflected in the curricula of the federal states. A study conducted two years ago by the current Bundesbank education expert Andreas Schuler and Tübingen economics professor Taiga Brahm in the "Zeitschrift für ökonomische Bildung" (Journal for Economic Education) showed that schools in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria most frequently teach practical knowledge.

The researchers examined whether schools conveyed knowledge about money, budget planning, savings culture, financial risks, insurance, and consumer rights. Lower Saxony, Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Schleswig-Holstein followed at a distance, with Brandenburg and Hesse also falling in the middle. The laggards in the study were Rhineland-Palatinate and Berlin. In both states, financial education plays almost no role in schools.

Adults also sometimes lack basic knowledge, but there is improvement. For example, almost everyone today knows that inflation is associated with rising living costs, as shown by a survey by the German financial supervisory authority BaFin in 2022. However, only 85% have grasped the basic principle that an investment with high returns is likely to be risky. Three-quarters (74%) can correctly name the effect of compound interest in an example. At least knowledge has improved over the past three years.

The financial industry can only partially fill the gaps. Also, various business associations have been criticized for their involvement in schools. The association Lobbycontrol warned several years ago about conflicts of interest of companies and a dependency of schools.

The responsibility for financial education must be taken up by the states themselves. This is also the view of the industry. "Germany lacks a financial education strategy," complains the German Insurance Association (GDV). "Financial education is the key to understanding our world," warns Christian Sewing, President of the Association of German Banks. There is no question: the initiatives are not sufficient if the topic is rarely present in the curriculum. After all, not all students are as successful as the jesters of the "Running Gag Shareholders" and "Panama Papers."