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What a Public Bank Can Do for Real People
By Oscar Perry Abello, Yes! Magazine. – While there is certainly a lot that’s unique about Hazen, Union State Bank, and Obenauer’s path to becoming a fourth-generation community banker, it is not unusual in North Dakota to find a little bank punching far above its weight. That’s just how banking works in this state, largely because of the century-old Bank of North Dakota, the only state-owned bank in the country.
The Earth-Shaking Potential of Public Banks
By Alexander Kolokotronis, The Trouble. – Public banks do not serve to increase the supply of money and capital; they aim to restructure capital at its very core, by bringing democracy to finance. In the mistaken view, money is essentially private; the wealth of banks comes from individual deposits, which create the money that banks lend out. A network of public banks that competes with private banks could help the underbanked, connecting millions of people to financial services.
Mexico’s AMLO Shows How It’s Done
By Ellen Brown, CounterPunch – While U.S. advocates and local politicians struggle to get their first public banks chartered, Mexico’s new president has begun construction on 2,700 branches of a government-owned bank to be completed in 2021, when it will be the largest bank in the country. At a press conference on Jan. 6, he said the neoliberal model had failed; private banks were not serving the poor and people outside the cities, so the government had to step in.
New York Is Proposing the Creation of a ‘Public Venmo’
By Jordana Rosenfeld, VICE – Lawmakers and activists are proposing a digital payment platform and currency to help millions of New Yorkers without bank accounts. For millions of people in the US, exclusion from the banking system is simply a fact of life. An estimated 14 million US adults don’t have bank accounts, forcing them to rely on exploitative check-cashing and payday loan services that charge high interest rates—and thus, eat away at funds needed for food, rent, and medical expenses. Lawmakers in New York are trying to correct this with a new bill that would create a “public Venmo” system designed to include more people in the formal economy and stimulate local economic growth. If passed, it would create the country’s first publicly owned electronic banking platform, as well as a digital currency that can be exchanged for goods and services within the state.
11 bankers and disruptors to watch in 2020
American Banker – Bankers will want to keep an eye on New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who campaigned on a pledge for a public bank and hasn’t backed off in the two years since. Specifically, bankers will want to monitor developments out of New Jersey’s new Public Bank Implementation Board. The first real step toward a public bank in the state was Murphy’s creation of that task force via executive order in November. Later this year, the 14-member board should deliver a plan for making a public bank happen, addressing capitalization needs, governance and operational structure. The details of the plan could be copied in other states. In California, municipalities now have a framework to create public banks thanks to a bill Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in October.
Las Cruces says it supports a public bank. But what does that mean?
By Michael McDevitt, Las Cruces SunNews – At its first meeting of the year, the Las Cruces City Council voted to support New Mexico exploring the feasibility of a state public bank. A public bank is owned by the government (in this case, New Mexico), funded by taxpayers and accountable to its owner government. State-owned public banks take deposits from state revenues like taxes, fees, fines and interest from investments and make loans to the owner government or governmental entities. Public banks follow the same state and federal guidelines as a private bank. The operations of the bank are run by professional bankers serving a public-driven interest. The revenue earned by the bank goes back to the state and can be reinvested in the state’s priorities such as infrastructure, education or local business.
Public banking sweeps across the country
Public banking sweeps across the country
In the years since the financial crisis, vibrant campaigns for public banks have emerged all across the country. The time for public banks in the U.S. has come.
California Breathes New Life Into Public Banking Movement
By Evan Weinberger, Bloomberg Law – A California law allowing municipalities to create public banks has given energy to lawmakers and activists around the country looking to set up their own local financial institutions in 2020. Much like North Dakota, New Mexico is a largely agrarian state with a population of around 2 million, and little access to big banks. So a public bank that looks like the Bank of North Dakota is the goal for supporters in New Mexico, said Angela Merkert, executive director of the Alliance for Local Prosperity.
Public banker says support is key for state-run bank
By Mike Catalini, AP – New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy wants the state to become the second state with a public bank, and if it has a chance at succeeding, he’ll need to get residents’ support and ensure the bank is not competing with private banks, said the head of the country’s only public bank. Eric Hardmeyer, the president and CEO of the century-old Bank of North Dakota, said in an interview that he’s been watching the conversation about New Jersey starting a public bank for a while and offered some tips to Murphy and others who are planning to set up a public bank.
NJ considers setting up nation’s second public bank
By Mike Catalini, AP – New Jersey would become the second state with a publicly run bank — after North Dakota and its century-old institution. On November 13, alongside organized labor representatives and members of a liberal-leaning think tank called New Jersey Citizen Action, Gov. Murphy signed an executive order creating a 14 member board charged with setting the bank up. The idea is that state deposits currently sitting in large international banking institutions would instead go into the public bank, which could then provide what Murphy described as “below market rate capital” to “creditworthy and socially beneficial projects,” like infrastructure and small business lending, along with affordable housing and higher education loans.
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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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