SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved an ordinance that moves the city closer to creating the first public bank in the U.S.
The Reinvest in SF ordinance, authored by Supervisor Dean Preston, creates a working group of community leaders and financial experts who are being charged with coming up with a business plan and a timeline to submit to the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation for approval.
“The pandemic has laid bare the deep disparities that exist along social, economic, and racial lines,” Preston said. “As we chart a path to economic recovery, we need to look beyond corporate banks that prey on our most vulnerable communities.”
According to Preston, a public bank would allow the city to reinvest millions of its revenues toward initiatives that support working San Franciscans, including economic recovery, affordable housing, green infrastructure and small business loans, the local CBS affiliate reported.
Members of Working Group
Of the nine seats on the working group, three will be held by experts with financial institutions, four by community representatives and one each by representatives from the city’s Controller and Treasurer’s offices, according to Preston’s office.
Organizers, including previous supervisors, have been advocating for a public banking system in San Francisco for nearly a decade, CBS News noted.