Advocates outline public-banking case to Fresno council; emphasize housing, climate and small-business lending

Speakers from the Central Valley Urban Institute, the California Public Banking Alliance and affiliated advocates presented a 10-minute workshop to the Fresno City Council outlining the purpose and mechanics of a locally owned public bank under the California Public Banking Act.

Presenters said a public bank is a municipal-owned financial institution that would hold city deposits, leverage those deposits to make local loans, and reinvest earnings back into community priorities rather than sending profits to private shareholders. The presenters described public banks in global and U.S. contexts, citing North Dakota’s century-old state bank as an example of a publicly owned bank that partners with local lenders and returns surplus to public coffers.

Key points from presenters: - A public bank would generally be a wholesale or "bankers’ bank" for public deposits and would not operate as a retail, customer-facing bank with branches or ATMs. - Deposits of public funds could be leveraged through lending to expand affordable housing, finance climate-resilience projects and support small-business loans; proponents said a dollar deposited can be leveraged into a multiple of lending power through standard banking leverage. - The California Public Banking Act (signed in 2019; regulations finalized in 2022) provides the legal framework for cities to create public banks; the presenters noted a multi-year organizing effort by local and statewide allies.

Speakers named during the workshop included Eric Payne (Central Valley Urban Institute), Trinity Tran (California Public Banking Alliance) and Rick Gerling (public-banking advocate and former economics professor). The presenters said initial steps would include capitalization, securing FDIC/DFPI approvals, and structuring partnership lending with local banks, credit unions and community development financial institutions (CDFIs). They said public banks must meet all standard banking regulatory requirements and argued the model can respond quickly to local disasters and financing needs because decisions are made locally.

Council members thanked presenters for the overview; no formal city action was taken during the workshop. Presenters offered to work with city staff and community partners on next steps should the council request analysis or feasibility work.

Ending: Presenters encouraged follow-up analysis and invited the city to consider feasibility, capitalization scenarios and partnership models for a locally governed public bank.