Building opportunity and strengthening local economies across the Commonwealth

A central goal of the Massachusetts Public Bank is to address the inequities that have left many communities, small businesses, small farms and other enterprises without access to affordable financing. The Bank can expand affordable financing in traditionally underserved sectors of the state and help stabilize the economy in this era of COVID-19 by expanding the lending capacity of local financial institutions that serve those sectors.

Black-, brown- immigrant-, indigenous- and women-owned enterprises throughout the Commonwealth face high hurdles to garner the financing they have needed to survive and grow. In better times, they were faced with discriminatory practices and skepticism; in COVID times, 40% of small businesses in the state have gone under. One Mayor noted that he had implored banks in his city to help the struggling minority and immigrant small businesses that are the backbone of his community, only to be told they were “unloanable.” The COVID-fueled recession has only deepened the equity divide and wealth gap.

Black-, brown- immigrant-, indigenous- and women-owned enterprises throughout the Commonwealth face high hurdles to garner the financing they have needed to survive and grow. In better times, they were faced with discriminatory practices and skepticism; in COVID times, 40% of small businesses in the state have gone under. One Mayor noted that he had implored banks in his city to help the struggling minority and immigrant small businesses that are the backbone of his community, only to be told they were “unloanable.” The COVID-fueled recession has only deepened the equity divide and wealth gap.

The Bank will be uniquely positioned to address these disparities given its accountability to the public rather than shareholders. A public bank needs to be sustainable, but its profits don’t have to support payouts to investors, high executive salaries, well-appointed headquarters or trendy advertising campaigns. With lower overhead, it has greater freedom to incorporate social justice and remedies into its financing decisions.

Public accountability, meanwhile, allows for greater oversight of the bank’s practices, monitoring and guarding against racial, gender, and geographic discrimination in its practices. The Massachusetts public bank will have a robust system for public oversight and input with a broadly representative Advisory Committee and an aggressive system for gathering public input.

We welcome the opportunity to talk to you about public banking, our legislation, and how robust public input and a focus on economic development for underserved communities can build opportunities for economic justice and strong local economies across the Commonwealth.

Building opportunity and strengthening local economies across the Commonwealth

A central goal of the Massachusetts Public Bank is to address the inequities that have left many communities, small businesses, small farms and other enterprises without access to affordable financing. The Bank can expand affordable financing in traditionally underserved sectors of the state and help stabilize the economy in this era of COVID-19 by expanding the lending capacity of local financial institutions that serve those sectors.

Black-, brown- immigrant-, indigenous- and women-owned enterprises throughout the Commonwealth face high hurdles to garner the financing they have needed to survive and grow. In better times, they were faced with discriminatory practices and skepticism; in COVID times, 40% of small businesses in the state have gone under. One Mayor noted that he had implored banks in his city to help the struggling minority and immigrant small businesses that are the backbone of his community, only to be told they were “unloanable.” The COVID-fueled recession has only deepened the equity divide and wealth gap.

Black-, brown- immigrant-, indigenous- and women-owned enterprises throughout the Commonwealth face high hurdles to garner the financing they have needed to survive and grow. In better times, they were faced with discriminatory practices and skepticism; in COVID times, 40% of small businesses in the state have gone under. One Mayor noted that he had implored banks in his city to help the struggling minority and immigrant small businesses that are the backbone of his community, only to be told they were “unloanable.” The COVID-fueled recession has only deepened the equity divide and wealth gap.

The Bank will be uniquely positioned to address these disparities given its accountability to the public rather than shareholders. A public bank needs to be sustainable, but its profits don’t have to support payouts to investors, high executive salaries, well-appointed headquarters or trendy advertising campaigns. With lower overhead, it has greater freedom to incorporate social justice and remedies into its financing decisions.

Public accountability, meanwhile, allows for greater oversight of the bank’s practices, monitoring and guarding against racial, gender, and geographic discrimination in its practices. The Massachusetts public bank will have a robust system for public oversight and input with a broadly representative Advisory Committee and an aggressive system for gathering public input.

We welcome the opportunity to talk to you about public banking, our legislation, and how robust public input and a focus on economic development for underserved communities can build opportunities for economic justice and strong local economies across the Commonwealth.