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Principle 12 states that in order for a deposit insurance system to be effective it is essential that the public be informed on an ongoing basis about the benefits and limitations of the deposit insurance system.
To promote public awareness, communication channels are the most important tool to convey deposit insurance institutions’ messages to the public, contributing to enhancing public confidence. Effectiveness in public awareness activity will bring benefits to depositors, credit institutions and the banking system.
Being aware of the importance of public awareness to deposit insurance system, deposit insurance institutions in the world have paid special attention to this and made public awareness strategies, campaigns for each period, each target audience group, each scienarior and each specific message. For such an important role, public awareness raising has been carried out at numerous international forums, conferences on deposit insurance.
Central Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) Taiwan has regarded the goal of raising public awareness as an important element for realizing goals of public policy, effectiveness in various cases in the operation of deposit insurance and fulfilling the protection of depositors as well as social responsibilities of the deposit insurance institution. Public awareness programs need to to be designed diffrently and target audience groups need to be indentified and coordinated in normal situation, financial crisis as well as in the case of cross-border chained bank failures.
Plan on dealing with emergent cases has also included raising public awareness and information system for tackling crises has been designed to deal with emergent cases such as chained crises, bank failures or cross-border failures…..
Malaysia Deposit Insurance Cooperation (MDIC) has designed a communication campaign on public awareness. This campaign was based on specific studies on the traits of the population, the purposes of raising public awareness, the status of the economy and the financial activities of Malaysian banks, the situation of the region and the world to have proper decisions on public relation.
MDIC has put an emphasis on public awareness because according to them, the core factor that make a successful deposit insurer is public confidence. More information the depositors have, better they know about the benefits and limitations of the deposit insurance institution. This has boosted the public confidence on MDIC. MDIC also has the philosophy “ Every depositor has the right to access information on deposit insurance and we (MDIC) will actively go to depositors rather than wait them to come to us”.
MDIC’s public awareness activity has been conducted through various channels such as: newspapers, television, leaflets, annual reports, presentations, training courses for bank staff at some universities, exhibitions, international conferences, on-street exhibitions, free-of-charge telephone lines, website with information presented in 6 languages….These communication chanels may not be new to other deposit insurers but MDIC has applied them successfully by classifying target audience and based on this, designing suitable public awareness programs. However, MDIC has also alocated a decent portion of the budget (about 20%) to this task.
Federal Deposit Insurance Cooperation (FDIC) has deemed raising public awareness as a specially important tool especially during the recession period. To futher raise public awareness, FDIC has diversified its communication forms such as publications, materials, newspapers, television, leaflets, advertisements…Meanwhile, FDIC has also designed special commununication programs for example, on educating the public about finance. Particularly, during the recession period, in order to provide useful information related to the benefits of depositors, FDIC effectively exploited its website. Information about deposits, failed banks, prodedure guidances, client supports have been updated frequently on the website. Via the website, depositors and others have accquired information about banks’ operation, the role and the message of FDIC, thereby information transperency being created and contributing to public confidence promotion.
Promoting public awareness has aimed to make the public know about deposit insurance, based on this, enfluencing the awareness and the behaviors of the depositors, helping the depositors stay calm and make proper decisions, thereby contributing to avoiding chained failures which, in many cases, are caused by undermined public confidence.
As far as the Deposit Insurance of Vietnam (DIV) is concerned, the main principle for designing public awareness promotion programs is aiming at realizing the DIV’s goal of protecting depositors and contributing to enhancing public awareness.
Having considered this as an important task, in order to creat profesionalism and effectiveness in communication activity, the DIV has proactively studied and designed public relation development programs for upcoming time and for long-term period based on studying theories on raising public awareness of deposit insurance, on international experiences, the reality of DIV as well the direction for future.
Propaganda content has been consistent with the goals of the DIV in each period. Besides helping the public to be aware of deposit insurance, at present, communication activity needs to contribute to providing information in order to build the law on deposit insurance in accordance with international practices and the real situation of Vietnam.
For increasing effectiveness, the DIV has diversified its communication forms based on indentifying communication channels suitatable to each target audience group for example, via newspapers, radio, television, internal publications. The DIV’s website has been renewed in both Vietnamese and English languages. This is a helpful channel to provide adequate information on the DIV’s operation and more and more people are visiting the website . However, in the time to come, new forms of propaganda such as: educating the public, organizing contests about deposit insurance….need to be implemented to enhance the level of pubic awareness about deposit insurance.
Raising public awareness about deposit insurance in Vietnam is an important task contributing to exercising the mandate of the DIV. To improve the effectiveness of this activity, it is necessary for DIV to constantly renew itself, study and apply international experiences selectively. Besides, strengthening resources especially, human resource for PR through training and enhancing the staff’s profession in the whole system is the key to realize the DIV’s goal of enhancing public confidence.
References:
- Breaking PR mistery - Frank Jefkin
- “Public Awareness and Consumer Protection—Core Elements and Effective Practices,” Wai Keen Lai director in charge of policies and international affairs, Malaysia Deposit Insurance Cooperation
- 18 Core Principles for Effective Deposit Insurance Systems
- Guidance paper on Public Awareness of Deposit Insurance Systems prepared by the Research and Guidance Committee, International Association of Deposit Insurers, 6 May 2009
- Some other documents.
