The American Bankers Association joined a coalition of nine other trade associations in a letter opposing a bill introduced in the California State Assembly that would create a public banking program, BankCal, within the state treasurer’s office that would provide financial services to California residents.
Private-sector banks provide extensive service that eliminates any need for the city of Philadelphia to take on the taxpayer risk of starting a public bank, ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols argued in a Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed yesterday.
In a San Francisco Chronicle op-ed today, ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols warned that California’s municipalities should avoid chartering new public banks under recently enacted state law A.B. 857.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom yesterday signed A.B. 857, a bill that provides a pathway for local government entities in the state to charter public banks.
As it marks its centennial, North Dakota’s public bank does its work through private-sector partnerships.
Christie Obenauer’s family-owned bank had a problem. Based in a rural county in western North Dakota, her community had been dealing with the prospect of population decline, but then the North Dakota energy boom brought an influx of newcomers. “It’s a wonderful problem to have.”
As voters in Los Angeles prepare to vote on a measure authorizing the city to create a government-run bank, ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols in an op-ed urged them to consider whether the benefits of such an institution would outweigh the risk posed to taxpayers. “A scattered business focus, undue political influence and a