@sylviachi.bsky.social Your work is such an inspiration! Thanks so much for sharing 😊

In focusing on local government action, my note seeks to explore how cities can experiment, innovate, and democratize finance where federal or state action may be lacking. 10/10

My note provides a roadmap for the legal issues to address when local governments seek to establish a public bank, focusing on:
🏛 Legal structure
💵 Capitalization strategies
🧑‍⚖️ Governance models
⚖️ Potential challenges (state preemption, costs, and risks) 9/10

But deposits matter too. As depositories, MPBs can provide a democratic node in our system of money and payments, providing a public option for the unbanked/underbanked, simplifying local government cash management, and reinvesting tax dollars in local communities. 8/10

First, loans. As credit allocators, MPBs can make investments that modulate credit in local and state economies for the public benefit under public oversight. They can help finance new projects in affordable housing, green public infrastructure, and community development. 7/10

Today, MPBs can serve as useful policy tools for local governments and local communities seeking to tackle some of our most pressing challenges. MPB balance sheets provide a public option for loans as well as deposits. 6/10

Current MPB models draw inspiration from important historical precedents:
✅ Bank of North Dakota, a state public bank established in 1919.
✅ Tribal public banks, like the Blackfeet National Bank launched in 1987.
✅ Territorial Bank of American Samoa, a territorial public bank set up in 2016. 5/10

While municipal public banks (MPBs) are a new institutional form of finance, they can trace their roots to the long tradition of public involvement in the banking franchise and the important logic of decentralization and diffusion of banking powers in American law and political economy. 4/10

In fact, California already passed a law (AB 857) that makes it possible for local governments to charter their own banks. In 2019, @capublicbanking.bsky.social played a crucial role in passing this first-of-its-kind legislation. 3/10

📈 Interest in public banking is on the rise. Across the country, advocates are organizing to provide financial services to their local communities. Cities like NYC, Philly, and SF have focused on municipal institutions while states like MA, NM, and OR have considered state-level options. 2/10