The path to financial stability and success often starts with responsible personal financial behavior supported by access to basic financial services. While most people have access to low-or-no cost financial services through banks and credit unions, 28 million Americans do not have a bank account, the basic mechanism to conduct personal financial transactions. An additional 44 million Americans who do have a bank account still rely on higher cost non-bank financial service outlets such as check cashers and payday lenders to access their money and borrow during times of need. And millions of other fully banked people and families live in chronic financial distress.

A recent study, "Banking on Wealth" released by the Brookings Institute, indicates that there is an enormous opportunity for public and private sectors to work with banks and credit unions to provide affordable financial services to low- and moderate income families with affordable financial services.

CEO is working to help more Americans enter the financial mainstream and get on a path to financial stability and success by:

• Supporting community efforts that advance robust, market-driven approaches to help people access safe, lower-cost financial services, as well as the money management support services they need to develop and
  sustain good personal financial practices.
• Engaging financial service companies, employers, and others in the private sector to develop innovative, market-driven approaches to expand access to safe, lower-cost financial products and services, and help people achieve personal financial goals.

Read more about the importance of this work, and what CEO hopes to accomplish for individuals and families, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed coauthored by President Clinton and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.