Last year, the City of Los Angeles paid $170 million in banking fees and $1.1 billion in interest to big banks and investors. Banks have leveraged our tax dollars to finance harmful industries including private prisons, fossil fuel extraction, and weapons manufacturing. In 2017, the City of Los Angeles divested its funds from Wells Fargo, which was fined billions of dollars for creating illegal customer accounts, has a history of discriminating against Latino and African-American home buyers, and finances industries harmful to Angelenos.
Local community banks are too small to manage the city’s funds, but Wall Street is not the only alternative. Banking as a public utility is a proven model worldwide. Public banks keep money local and cut costs by eliminating middlemen, shareholders and high-paid executives.
During the 2008-09 Recession, the century-old public Bank of North Dakota safeguarded taxpayers’ money and helped finance a statewide economic boom, while Wall Street banks needed billions in taxpayer bailouts. Charter Amendment B clears a path for Los Angeles to declare its independence from Wall Street.
A public bank would safeguard and grow the city’s assets through loans to critical city projects and local businesses. The bank would be answerable not to politicians but to an independent board of governors comprised of residents. Its mission would be to serve Angelenos.
Los Angeles must take the first steps to explore the creation of a socially, economically, and environmentally responsible city-owned bank. A public bank will ensure that L.A. tax dollars are invested in a way that measurably improves the community.
Measure B received 44.15% of the votes with 430,488 Angelenos voting yes to a public bank, an astonishing achievement from a grassroots, volunteer-run campaign with little funding.
After the Measure B campaign, we have focused 100% of our efforts on building the California Public Banking Alliance coalition and leading the AB 857 campaign.
Visit californiapublicbankingalliance.org to learn more about our 10-city strong coalition and AB 857, our California State Assembly bill to create a pathway for cities, counties and regions in California to set up their own public banks. Authored by Assemblymembers David Chiu (San Francisco) and Miguel Santiago (Los Angeles), this 2019 session bill enables the Department of Business Oversight to issue state banking charters to local government agencies.
Public Bank Los Angeles is endorsed by Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson and supported by L.A. City Council. Public Bank LA is endorsed by a broad intersection of over 100 community organizations including labor, social justice, environmental, democratic clubs, and leaders including: Los Angeles County Democratic Party, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), Communication Workers of America (CWA), American Postal Workers Union (APWU), Labor Council For Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) LA, Alliance for Community Transit Los Angeles (ACT-LA), SoCal 350 Climate Action, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), Mayor Eric Garcetti, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Senator Kevin de León, Bill McKibben-Co-Founder of 350.org and Our Revolution National.
Socially and environmentally responsible municipal public banks are endorsed by both the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, representing 2.4 million registered Democrats, and the California Democratic Party, representing 8.7 million registered Democrats.
View our full list of endorsements!
YES! The Bank of North Dakota, the only existing publicly-owned bank in the U.S., is more profitable than Goldman Sachs, has a better credit rating than JPMorgan Chase, and was the only state not deep in red ink as a result of the 2008 financial crash.
If you are part of an organization and would like to endorse our movement to create a Los Angeles public bank, please fill out our Endorsement Form.
Public Bank LA means YES to rebuilding and regenerating our communities, YES to supporting local businesses, and YES to protecting our environment.
Yes on B Flyer Front. Yes on B Flyer Back.
Visit California Public Banking Alliance for our latest press.
CPBA Press Release - California Public Banking Alliance sees its momentum continuing
Medium - This Fall, Measure B was Defeated, but Public Banking is on the Rise.
Occupy - Defeats and Victories for Public Banking, Cooperative Economics in 2018 Election
The Nation - Today Americans Determine Our Political Future
ABC 7 News - Measure B Would Allow Los Angeles to Create a Public Bank
The Real News Network - Will Public Banking Free LA From Wall Street?
Capital and Main - Los Angeles’ Measure B Is a Moonshot Aimed at Creating a Public Bank
Knock LA - Public Banks Are Less Risky Than Wall Street
The Real News Network - LA Voters to Consider Creating Nation's First Municipal Public Bank (Video)
Occupy.com - Banking on the Future of Los Angeles: Why we need Measure / Charter Amendment B
Los Angeles Times - L.A. Voters Will Decide Whether to Eliminate a Barrier to a Public Bank
Bloomberg - Los Angeles Weighs Bringing Its Wall Street Cash Home
Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp - A New Way to Stop the Big Banks (Video)
Los Angeles Times - Why Los Angeles Should Start a Bank
Who.What.Why - Banking on the Public Option: Will LA Lead the Way for People-Owned Banks?
Huffington Post - What If Banks Were Publicly Owned? In LA, This May Soon Be A Reality.
Los Angeles Times - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's L.A. fundraisers were more about raising consciousness than money.
Los Angeles Times - Next step for L.A. public bank: Ask the voters for permission
Next City - Taking Back Agency and Accountability for the Banking System
Progressive.Org - A Movement for Public Banking Gains Momentum
- Build affordable housing, ease the homelessness crisis.
- Finance infrastructure including: water projects, roads, bridges, and schools.
- Invest in small business development.
- Drive the renewable energy revolution and build climate change resilience.
- Deliver student loan debt relief.
- Serve the needs of the unbanked and underbanked populations.
- Funding projects through a public bank can save 50% on interest and fees that would normally be extracted by Wall Street banks, doubling the power of our tax dollars.
- Taxpayer dollars will no longer be held in institutions participating in shadow banking and other irresponsible Wall Street gambling.
- Governed by a transparent Board of Directors and an anti-corruption ethos, and guided by standards and policies focused on accountability and responsibility.
- Taxpayer dollars held in the public bank will not be invested in fossil fuels, private prisons, immigrant detention centers, the war machine, or other destructive industries.