California Public Banking Roundup!

The latest updates from cities and regions throughout California working to create municipal banks.

Central Coast – People for Public Banking Central Coast are optimistic that Santa Cruz County may soon issue an RFP for a Central Coast Public Bank viability study.

East Bay – The East Bay Viability Study was approved by Richmond in April 2022, and is likely to be approved by Berkeley and Oakland in September. There have been fundraising efforts by SF Foundation and East Bay Community Foundation who hosted two “convenings” including an introduction to public banking from David Chiu and Eric Hardmeyer—the recording is available here. Gary Findley, the East Bay consultant, has vetted most of the bank board candidates and is working on the business plan.

Los Angeles – The RFP for the Los Angeles public bank viability study and business plan has been issued by the City of Los Angeles’s Chief Legislative Analyst’s office. Consultant responses are due September 2, 2022. Two think tanks, the Berggruen Institute and Jain Family Institute, have assembled five working groups to analyze aspects of the Los Angeles public bank’s business plan: housing, small business lending, employee ownership, climate-centered lending, and the greater financial ecosystem. The report is expected to be completed by early 2023.

Los Angeles County – There are ongoing discussions on the formation of a Los Angeles regional public bank including the County and multiple cities.

Pomona Valley – The Public Bank Pomona Valley study group have met monthly since 2019, hosted online Town Halls, sent quarterly newsletters to our mailing list, supported the efforts of CPBA, and met with local elected officials and civic groups to educate and inform about public banking efforts. Visit bit.ly/76PBPV to find out more.

San Francisco – There have been 5 meetings of the Reinvest in San Francisco Working Group (RWG), community representatives and financial experts charged with developing a public bank business plan for SF. SFPBC is proposing a governance plan to the Working Group, as well as offering input for community engagement with consultants from Contigo who will convene focus groups with various sectors of the community. The bank plan consultant, HR&A Associates, is moving forward on plans for a revolving loan fund that will transition into a public bank by 2028.The latest updates from cities and regions throughout California working to create municipal banks.