Private banks, which make loans to make a profit, are not the only existing model. Since 1919, North Dakota has had a public bank, run by the state. In 2016, the Territorial Bank of American Samoa was founded. For years, advocates in San Francisco have pushed for the city to create its own bank, to divest from businesses and projects that San Franciscans might find objectionable, or to fund urgent needs, like affordable housing development. Jackie Fielder, co-founder of the SF Public Bank Coalition, lays out the details of how such a bank would be formed and what steps are being taken toward creating one.
“We need a public bank because we need to build affordable housing and bring down the cost of affordable housing, we need a public bank to bring us into a green economy by 2030, we need a public bank to bring down the cost of public infrastructure and fix our Muni and fix our other public transit options. We need a public bank to basically be able to make California and San Francisco livable again.” — Jackie Fielder
