PBI Newsletter, 0611 - Public or Private? You decide

                  As the 2011 state legislative sessions across the country draw to a close, it’s gratifying to see that bills were presented in 11 states for either a public bank or a study of such.  Add this to those presented in 2010 and the presence of the Bank of North Dakota and Bank2 (created by the Chickasaw Nation in 2001), and it’s plain to see that public banking is a growing movement.

To keep the momentum going, we are planning a number of initiatives, including publication of the second edition of the “Public Banking in America – Legislative Guide” in September.  One of the items we’d like to include in the guide is a comparison between various public and private banking models on a national, state, city-state, and city level over a several hundred year period.

As always, our progress is dependent on volunteers. Would you like to help develop this valuable resource for state legislators?

Click on the graphic above and take a look at the current data on banking models that we’ve provided as the basis for further edits/additions.  The information may surprise you — in some cases the private banking model has compelling merit (Caja Laboral), in others the public “banking” model is not exactly a traditional depository bank (Reconstruction Finance Corporation)! 

Our aim is to educate policy makers and to communicate the variety of options available, by looking around and seeing what is being done or has been done to create and sustain credit. 

We believe that a network of public banks in the United States will eventually provide affordable credit to businesses and individuals and, in the larger picture, act as a counter-cyclical remedy for sustaining credit.  Just as the Bank of North Dakota is funding long-term projects that private banks shun for quick returns, a network of public banks will fund renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, health care capacity expansion, and education loans and/or grants.  It’s all about communities addressing their needs. 

If you’d like to help spread the word on how other communities have funded their dreams, send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll give you editing access. 
 

Robert Bows
PBI Newsletter Editor
Public Banking Institute

http://publicbankinginstitute.org/