{"id":17399,"date":"2021-01-28T11:36:17","date_gmt":"2021-01-28T19:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=17399"},"modified":"2021-01-28T11:36:19","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T19:36:19","slug":"sf-supe-dean-preston-introduces-legislation-to-create-first-city-run-public-bank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2021\/01\/28\/sf-supe-dean-preston-introduces-legislation-to-create-first-city-run-public-bank\/","title":{"rendered":"SF supe Dean Preston introduces legislation to create first city-run \u2018public bank\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by\u00a0JULIAN MARK<\/a><\/strong> JANUARY 27, 2021 (missionlocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Recognizing the economic hurt that the coronavirus pandemic has inflicted on low-income San Francisco residents, members of the Board of Supervisors are pushing to create a so-called \u201cpublic bank\u201d \u2014 a city-run financial institution that would provide low-interest loans to small businesses and to public-benefit projects, like affordable housing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur banking institutions play a key role in society in exacerbating \u2026 inequities and centering profit over the well-being of our communities,\u201d said Supervisor Dean Preston<\/a>, the legislation\u2019s author. \u201cAs we look forward and chart a path to economic recovery, public banking is a powerful tool to regenerate our economy based on our shared values.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Broadly defined, a public bank is a financial institution run by a city or state government that administers low-interest loans. And the bank would use any profits on future loans or return the money to the city\u2019s general fund, as it would not be beholden to Wall Street or private investors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The public bank loans could be granted to small businesses, for example, or used to fund large projects aimed at the \u201cpublic good,\u201d such as affordable housing or green infrastructure, proponents say. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just how a public bank would be structured, where it would initially receive capital to provide loans, and how low interest rates would be all remain big questions. Preston\u2019s legislation merely establishes a working group composed of banking experts, community members, and city officials tasked with setting the course for the bank\u2019s creation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within one year, the working group would create a business plan for San Francisco to create a lending entity called a \u201cmunicipal financial corporation.\u201d Once that is approved by the Board of Supervisors, the working group would then create a plan to have that financial corporation transform into a fully-fledged public bank in five years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bank would be licensed through a process established by AB 857, a state law legalizing public banks in California, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October, 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout 2020, the Mission has been the center of the pandemic in San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a Tuesday news conference, Jackie Fielder, the cofounder of the San Francisco Public Bank Coalition, said that the intention is to create a bank that works similarly to the Bank of North Dakota, the country\u2019s only public bank<\/a>. Established in 1919, the bank administers loans through small banks and credit unions, providing low-interest student loans, and loans for agriculture and infrastructure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what we want here in San Francisco,\u201d Fielder said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The push to create a public bank in San Francisco appears to have enough votes to pass. In addition to Preston, five others \u2014 Supervisors Connie Chan, Matt Haney, Myrna Melgar, Hillary Ronen, and Board President Shamann Walton \u2014 spoke in favor of the legislation on Tuesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walton said he was committed to making public banking a reality in the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need a city-run financial institution where our assets are invested in things that benefit our communities in San Francisco,\u201d he said. \u201cWe put a lot of money in banks that banks benefit from, and we need to make sure that the investments we make as a city \u2014 and the resources and assets that we have as a city \u2014 go back to the community.\u201d 
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JULIAN MARK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Julian grew up in the East Bay and moved to San Francisco in 2014. Before joining Mission Local, he wrote for the East Bay Express, the SF Bay Guardian, and the San Francisco Business Times. More by Julian Mark<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0JULIAN MARK JANUARY 27, 2021 (missionlocal.org) Recognizing the economic hurt that the coronavirus pandemic has inflicted on low-income San Francisco residents, members of the Board of Supervisors are pushing to create a so-called \u201cpublic bank\u201d \u2014 a city-run financial institution that would provide low-interest loans to small businesses and to public-benefit… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17399"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17399"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17401,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17399\/revisions\/17401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}