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In the News
For Some Minority-Owned Businesses, Their Lenders Are Now Their Defenders
By Emily Flitter, The New York Times – Many C.D.F.I.s, which first came into existence in the early 1970s, evolved out of groups that were formed to help minorities recover from attacks that have occurred regularly throughout America’s history. During the coronavirus pandemic, such groups have been the go-to lenders for minority business owners who could not find a bank to help them tap a federal government aid program.
Mora County Growers’ Co-Op Fills Void
By Molly Boyle, Albuquerque Journal – In the thick of COVID-19, when the phrase “supply chain” triggers anxieties both general and specific, one need look only to the grazing steers and verdant fields of Mora County to see community-supported local agriculture in action. The success of the two-year-old Los de Mora Local Growers’ Cooperative stems from an increasingly commonplace irony in northern New Mexico: a community of growers and livestock producers who found themselves without a grocery store.
Public Banks’ Support to Households and Firms
By Paulo Medas and Elif Ture, IMF, Fiscal Affairs – Given the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic, public banks—if financially sound and sufficiently well-resourced—can temporarily boost their support to households and firms, mainly through (subsidized) loans and loan guarantees. Public banks worldwide exemplified this many times over throughout the pandemic.
In challenged economy, having public banks as U.S. financial first responders would get resources faster to those who need them most
By Mark K. Cassell, Cleveland.com – As profit-maximizing institutions, commercial banks’ primary concern is to promote the interests of their shareholders. It should not be a surprise that commercial banks prioritize their easiest and most profitable customers. There is a better alternative. Cities, counties, or even states should establish public banks, for-profit credit institutions that operate as businesses but are owned by governments.
Colorado is in a health and financial crisis. A public bank is a solution.
By Earl Staelin, Dragan Mejic & Juan Marcano, Colorado Independent – The state of Colorado and nation are reeling badly, with no real solutions in sight. Our ability to control COVID-19 is limited. We can do far more to stop the economic collapse, which otherwise could last for decades. The solution is incredibly simple: create a state of Colorado Public Bank and borrow from the Federal Reserve at its new discount window interest rate of 0.25%.
Another Bank Bailout Under Cover of a Virus
By Ellen Brown, Common Dreams – “The justification of private profit,” said President Franklin Roosevelt in a 1938 address, “is private risk.” Banking has now been made virtually risk-free, backed by the full faith and credit of the United States and its people. The American people are therefore entitled to share in the benefits and the profits. Banking needs to be made a public utility.
Five Proposals to Reshape Banking After Coronavirus
By Oscar Perry Abello, Next City – COVID-19 has inspired ideas about the way our economy could be reformed to be more fair, more transparent and more beneficial. Some of the ideas floating around to change the banking sector are closer to a reality than others. Here are some of the ones we’ll be watching closely as the COVID-19 pandemic drags out into an economic recession and eventual recovery.
How a North Dakota bank gave its state a huge lift in the coronavirus small business program
By Andrew Van Dam, The Washington Post – In the first few chaotic weeks of the Paycheck Protection Program, federal officials and banks throughout the country struggled to get bailout funds to small businesses as layoffs and furloughs climbed into the tens of millions. But there was one exception, a place where loans found their mark more quickly than any other: North Dakota.
Small Banks Play Outsized Role
By Stephen Hamway, Albuquerque Journal – Small, community banks have been punching above their weight in keeping local businesses afloat during the COVID- 19 pandemic, according to head of a trade group for independent bankers. Community banks were responsible for around 50% of the loans, despite housing only 20% of the nation’s assets, providing community banks, including the 34 that operate in New Mexico, a chance to grow by adding new small businesses as customers.
With meat plant closures and meat shortages on horizon, can cattle ranchers survive?
By Christina Carreon, NM Political Report – With New Mexico’s cattle industry enduring a years-long downward trend, the COVID-19 virus presents yet another obstacle in an already challenging time for New Mexico’s farmers. Some ranchers are scrambling to adapt, while some consider selling their ranches as one of New Mexico’s biggest agricultural cash commodities struggles to stay afloat.
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Episode: Everyone deserves a public bank
“I had the good fortune to work on this initiative before Bernie kidnapped all my time. This is one of those no-brainer initiatives that only the 1% could oppose. It has the potential to save the state millions of dollars by vastly reducing the cost of its bonds to improve infrastructure funding. in a public bank, our state funds can be used to build our local economy and our local infrastructure.”
– Paul Gibson
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