The Promise of Public Banking

Greetings,

Public banks power and stabilize some of the world’s most just and prosperous economies. For nearly a century, The Bank of North Dakota has supplied North Dakota’s businesses, communities and local governments with affordable credit. In 2008, it shielded the state from the worst of the Great Recession. Today, New York is one of dozens of states working to replicate North Dakota’s success.

On Wednesday, May 1st, Senator James Sanders Jr., Chair of the Senate Banks Committee, invites you to The Promise of Public Banking, an expert-led forum held to inform legislators, staff and public advocates of the benefits of public banking for people, communities and our state.

The Promise of Public Banking
10am - 3pm
Legislative Office Building, Room 711-A

 Our forum will consist of two sections, starting at 10am and 1pm respectively. Each presenter will speak for 20 minutes, and for each section, roughly one hour will be available to ask questions.

 In order of their appearance, our speakers are: 

Karl Beitel, Senior Analyst at Harvey Rose Associates. Beitel will discuss the concrete benefits public banks can provide. 

Wolfram Morales, Head of the Office of the Executive President at the East German Sparkassen Federation, will discuss the success of Germany’s public banks. 

Susan Harman, co-founder of Public Bank East Bay, will talk about how public banks can be governed to be accountable to the communities they are intended to serve. 

Stephan Edel, a founding steering committee member of Public Bank N.Y.C., will discuss the vision, goals and makeup of New York City’s public banking movement.

After a brief lunch:

Senator Bob Hasegawa of Washington State’s 11th District will discuss why and how he brought his legislature within three votes of creating a public bank. 

David Jette, financial analyst, co-founder and Legislative Director of Public Bank L.A., will speak about how public banks can benefit communities and the private sector. 

Gwendolyn Hallsmith, Director of Vermonters for a New Economy, will discuss how public banks interact with other public institutions. 

The flyer for our event is attached. Please forward this message to anyone who may be interested in hearing what our experts have to say. And please join us for what promises to be an exciting and enlightening conversation about the future of our state!