Above Photo: 2018 is proving to be The Year of the Public Bank
In January, we at PBI proposed that 2018 would be the “Year of the Public Bank.” Now midway through the year, we’re delighted to see the idea is indeed proving true. With huge strides forward in so many cities and states — and the tremendous landmark of American Samoa launching the second Public Bank in the U.S. — the energy continues to build for public ownership of the financial institutions entrusted with public funds.
This article in The Progressive, published in February, saw the same potential we did and describes the successes and promising opportunities. It’s amazing to see the progress even since February.
“2018 could be a turning point in the way banking is done in America. The creation of publicly owned banks could save the public millions in fees and interest each year, lead to improved financial infrastructure, and drastically reduce the cost of public projects. …
“As an example of ethical public banking, Revolution LA and many other American public banking movements look to the German Sparkassen system as a model. The Sparkassen is a group of publicly owned savings banks which not only finance 70 percent of German small and medium-sized businesses, but have also been some of the largest financiers of the transition toward green energy in Germany.”