Operation HOPE Founder and Financial Literacy Proponent Puts “Silver Rights” on Federal Reserve Agenda

Financial Empowerment Organization Meets With Federal Reserve in an Effort to Ensure That Underserved Communities Keep Access to Financial Opportunities

LOS ANGELES, CA–(EMWNews – August 20, 2008) – John Hope Bryant, Operation HOPE (HOPE)

founder and chief executive officer, who also serves as vice chair on the

U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy (the Council),

discussed today his historic meeting earlier this month with the Federal

Reserve chairman and its board of governors to address the importance of

financial literacy and education and the “silver rights movement” for

America’s underserved communities.

Bryant, with his organization, Operation HOPE, has been a long-time leader

in financial literacy rights for the underserved communities of the United

States, and spoke at length with Chairman Ben Bernanke and the Board about

the need for a comprehensive policy to encourage and teach financial

literacy and its ability to transform the lives of many Americans

struggling to understand complex terms and jargon used in personal finance,

including credit card agreements, and mortgage and loan applications.

“As the ‘silver rights movement’ continues to build momentum, the recent

meeting with Chairman Bernanke only supports the mission critical efforts

of the Council’s work and Operation HOPE’s longtime goals,” said Bryant,

who also serves as chairman of The Committee of the Underserved, a subgroup

of The Council. “I believe our meeting today will be the start of a

historic shift in how America and Americans approach personal finance and

financial literacy. As our current economy shows, ‘silver rights’ is not an

issue of the poor, it affects us all.”

Federal Reserve Board Governors in attendance included Chairman Ben S.

Bernanke, Vice Chairman Donald L. Kohn, Kevin M. Warsh, and Governors

Randall S. Kroszner, Frederic S. Mishkin, and Elizabeth A. Duke.

Operation HOPE and the Federal Reserve

For over a decade, Operation HOPE has worked closely with the Federal

Reserve, beginning the alliance in 1993 with the work of the late Preston

Martin, a national HOPE board member and former vice chairman of the

Federal Reserve. Since then, HOPE has worked with Fed chairmen Alan

Greenspan and Ben Bernanke and other board members, including Joy Hoffman,

group president of the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco, and Alicia

Williams, vice president and community affairs officer of the Federal

Reserve Bank in Chicago.

This long-standing relationship has resulted in a variety of initiatives

that ensure the underserved communities and community members across the

country can have accurate information and reliable access to basic

financial opportunities, such as mortgages and loans for homeownership.

In addition to Operation HOPE’s efforts with the Federal Reserve, other and

future initiatives include the Mortgage HOPE Crisis Hotline

(1-888-388-HOPE) and the 5 Million Kids Campaign, aimed at stemming the

tidal wave of high school dropouts by highlighting the importance of

education in future financial successes.

About Operation HOPE

Operation HOPE is America’s leading nonprofit social investment banking and

financial literacy empowerment organization. With more than 400 private

sector partners, 1500 nonprofit organizations and schools, and 100

government partners in 30 major U.S. cities as well as South Africa,

Operation Hope has raised more than $400 million in its pursuit of

educating, assisting and inspiring the next generation of global

stakeholders. Through international initiatives and its three principal

programs: Banking on Our Future (teaching school children about money),

HOPE Coalition America (Mortgage HOPE Crisis Hotline 1-888-388-HOPE,

financial emergency preparedness and disaster relief), and Walk-In HOPE

Centers (loans, bill pay, computer literacy, understanding banking

principles), Operation HOPE has assumed the responsibility of piloting the

“silver rights” movement towards making free enterprise and capitalism

relevant to all underserved communities.