WORK WITH PUBLIC BANK EAST BAY:
If you would like to get involved, we have lots for you to do, including advocacy with local organizations, educational events like this one, social media, and more.
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We are devastated to report the untimely death of our Board member, activist and engineer Jake Varghese. Read our tribute to Jake here. Our Revolution East Bay is planning a memorial for Sunday, January 9 at 4:00 pm – we’ll post details on our website when we have them.
Donate to Public Bank East Bay!
We’ve worked closely with Hank Levy, Alameda County Treasurer and Tax Collector, since he was first elected in 2018. He’s running again in 2022, and (even though his website hasn’t fully caught up), he’s including “Developing a public bank to provide access to much-needed funds for those without such access” on his campaign materials. This public acknowledgment of his intentions is a big boost for our goals; being aligned with the County Treasurer is invaluable.
Our viability study, a report mandated by the California Public Banking Act, is in revision stage and will be released soon for approval by the founding members’ governing bodies.
We expect to submit our business plan and charter application to the regulatory agencies in the middle of 2022. That is the last major step in the process of opening the bank doors!
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Six minutes on “The Big Picture: How We Got Into this Mess and How We Get Out of It” with former United States Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.
WHAT IS A PUBLIC BANK?
A public bank is owned and controlled by the people of the city, state, or region it serves. It takes revenue deposits from the governments in its region (and can take deposits from semi-governmental organizations such as EBMUD or BART). Because it is a public entity, rather than a completely profit-driven corporation, it is in a position to both save money and make money for its depositors and — much more important — for the people who live in the cities, states, and regions using the Bank.
Instead of being a retail bank, our Bank will work with local community banks and credit unions to make better, more favorable loans to local businesses, and local individuals. Public banking has several strongholds around the world, including Germany — where public banking profits are largely responsible for the green energy surge — Costa Rica, and Vietnam. Public banks currently hold about ⅓ of the money in circulation in the world.
Learn More: http://www.publicbankinginstitute.org/
The California Public Banking Alliance has published a comprehensive resource booklet highlighting the ideas behind public banking and statewide efforts of the California public banking movement. It neatly organizes many of the overall intentions and purposes of imminent public banks, along with frequently asked questions. Some key points include:
- Statewide list of emergent public banks
- What is a Public Bank? A government owned nonprofit lending and depository institution by/for localized infrastructure and community investments
- Benefits of Public Banks
- 2019 Legislative support for Public Banks via AB 857
- Why Public Banks?
- How Public Banks will work
- We need Public Banks now
- 2021 Legislative support for the California Public Banking Option s via AB 1177
- Frequently Asked Questions … and answers