What is a
Public Bank?
A public bank is a bank owned by the people through their representative government and operated in the public interest. Banks are a uniquely powerful financial entity, structurally able to lend at lower rates than other lenders. A state bank—controlled by an independent governing board and holding some state funds as deposits—can use this advantage to support sound but neglected lending opportunities in Massachusetts, working with our network of community development financial institutions and small community banks to broaden access to credit and strengthen the state’s economy.
Want to know more? Here is an overview, and here is an in-depth fact sheet. Our longer FAQ tackles more detailed questions about risk and cost-savings, the relationship between the public bank, private lenders, and quasi-publics, the advantages of establishing a state bank as opposed to a loan fund, and how current legislation differs from previous bills.
Campaign News
H.1114/S.736, “An Act to Establish a Massachusetts Public Bank” has been sent to study for this legislative cycle. We thank everyone who testified in favor of the bank.
We will continue to mobilize and strengthen our coalition as we build momentum for administrative efforts and the next legislative cycle. We will be sharing training and informational sessions soon!
We thank Senators Jamie Eldridge, Liz Miranda, Nick Collins, and Joanne Comerford and Representatives Mike Connolly, Antonio Cabral, Natalie Higgins, Sam Montaño, and Danillo Sena for cosponsoring our bill.
Join us!
You can help build the Massachusetts Public Bank! Some ways to get involved:
- Having your organization endorse the public bank bill
- Hosting a representative from our group for an informational session
- Passing a city or town resolution in support of the public bank
- Asking your state Representative and Senator to co-sponsor the public bank bill
- Making a donation to the campaign
Contact us to learn more.
Endorsing Organizations
We are proud to have built a broad coalition in support of our bill, and we are looking to expand it across the Commonwealth. If your organization is interested in endorsing public banking or just finding out more about how a public bank can help build strong and just local economies, please contact us.
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Mothers Out Front,
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Silverbrook Farm Dartmouth, MA |
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Endorsing Organizations
Join our supporters! To endorse S.665/H.1223 and the creation of a public bank for Massachusetts, please fill out this form.
- Black Economic Council of Massachusetts
- Boston Ujima Project
- 350.org Massachusetts
- Alternatives for Community and Environment
- The Boston Foundation
- Boston Workers Circle
- Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee
- Community Economic Development Center of Southeast Massachusetts
- CommonWealth Kitchens
- Cooperative Fund of the Northeast
- Democracy Collaborative
- Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative
- Environmental League of Massachusetts
- Families for Justice as Healing
- King Boston
- LEAF: Local Enterprise Assistance Fund
- Mass Peace Action
- Massachusetts Solidarity Economy Network
- Metropolitan Mayors Coalition
- Mothers Out Front, Brookline
- North American Indian Center of Boston
- Neighbor to Neighbor
- Our Revolution Massachusetts
- Progressive Mass
- Schumacher Center for a New Economics
- Massachusetts Sierra Club
- Silverbrook Farm, Dartmouth MA
Public Banking for Municipalities
The COVID-19 pandemic has left tax revenues down and municipal budgets stretched thin. Municipal leaderships is working 24/7 to establish new best practices to ensure that the community institutions that residents depend on, including schools, first responders, senior centers, libraries, and recreational facilities, are there to meet public needs. Cities and towns are sharing new ideas, programs, and procedures to meet the challenges of these times.
Public Banking for Small Business and Community Development
Nearly 1.5 million people—almost half of Massachusetts workers—are employed by small businesses. But small businesses are not just economically important. The presence of a diversity of service, manufacturing, construction, arts, and agricultural businesses creates a stronger community, with local businesses more likely to support local institutions. A thriving Main Street creates a sense of place and civic pride, and everyone benefits from access to services and jobs.
Public Banking for Community Banks
The mission of the Massachusetts Public Bank is to partner with and strengthen existing Massachusetts financial institutions, not to compete with them. Our bill mandates that the bank “shall seek to complement and support the operation of” Massachusetts banks and other existing institutions, a model based on the 100-year-old Bank of North Dakota’s approach to public banking.
Public Banking for Social and Economic Justice
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.
Public Banking for Farms, Food & the Climate
We don’t think of Massachusetts as being a farm state, but agriculture is an important part of the Commonwealth’s economy, its environment, and its culture. Massachusetts has more than 7,000 farms employing almost 30,000 people. Nearly 80% of the farms in the Commonwealth are either family or individually-owned. Massachusetts residents who shop at farmers markets or look for local produce in the supermarket appreciate the freshness and quality of what they buy, as well as the benefits to climate of eating local and in season.
Latest News
“Public Banking Coast to Coast” online
If you missed November's webinar, "Public Banking: Coast to Coast," you can watch it online here. Attendees came from 39 states and beyond to learn more about how public banks can lower costs, keep dollars local, and finance community needs. You can read through a...
11/19: “Public Banking Coast to Coast” webinar
Curious about the state of public banking and its potential for supporting the public good? Register for "Public Banking Coast to Coast," a national conversation on the growing public banking movement, and how cities, states, and communities are reclaiming public...
Don’t miss our monthly newsletter!
The first issue of our monthly newsletter went out to supporters last week, with a legislative update, profiles of some of our organizing team, and the latest on what we've been doing at the State House and within the national public banking movement. You can read it...