Economy & Business, Volume 11, 2017

Abstract: The definition and the importance of the financial knowledge and the financial awareness arises increasingly in connection with the economic crisis. When we try to analyse the events of the crisis, the most frequently asked question is, that who and what extent are responsible for the events. On the side of banks we should say, that the main responsible actors were the borrowers, who bought the banking products with their insufficient financial knowledge. Are these criticism true, or the banks’ greed is the main reason, as the borrowers think it? The banking products are very diverse and multifaceted, so the choice between them is not easy. The crisis has highlighted the fact, that without a stable financial knowledge is very difficult to navigate in a globalized financial markets. Stable financial knowledge is essential for financial products to avoid the next financial crisis like in 2008. The role of the education system is unquestionable in all levels to acquiring and consolidating this knowledge, but the banks and central banks have an important role in this work as well. Hungarian people are often criticized because of an insufficient financial knowledge, but this problem is not mainly Hungarian, it is a big problem all over the world. The aim of this study is to present the results of a questionnaire survey conducted in Hungary, to measure the level of financial knowledge in connection with the banking products, which are very important to the success in the financial world.