The Public Bank of Los Angeles provides a public option for handling the City’s finances. Los Angeles taxpayers currently pay Wall Street banks over $100 million in fees and over $1.3 billion in interest yearly. This money could instead be reinvested in communities rather than being siphoned by big banks who receive billions in city deposits virtually interest-free. Legally, the banks own and control this money which they have used to finance industries harmful to Angelenos including fossil fuel extraction, immigration detention centers, and weapons manufacturing.

The Los Angeles public bank, capitalized with the deposits that the city now parks in Wall Street banks, will be a key engine for economic recovery—helping people and small businesses rebuild post-pandemic. A public bank can deploy funds quickly and efficiently to provide low-interest loans to small businesses and reinvest in historically marginalized frontline communities.

A public bank provides a public utility that will cut costs while allowing the city to redirect public funds to support investments in community-centered economic development such as: low-income housing, critical infrastructure projects, and clean energy. Support the creation of a city-owned public bank accountable to Los Angeles communities—answerable to the people, not Wall Street.

Click the "Start Writing" button to send this letter to your LA City Council Member and staffers, or draft your own, urging their support for the Public Bank of Los Angeles.

Letter to LA City Council:

I am writing to express my strong support for the formation of the Public Bank of Los Angeles. A public bank will enable our city to address pressing local needs including affordable housing and a just, equitable transition to renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure.

Right now, Los Angeles is dependent on private financial institutions for the administration of public funds and public debt. A public bank will allow the city to leverage public funds, allowing for significantly more money to strengthen the local economy and finance immediate recovery efforts, capital improvements such as hospitals and community clinics to provide accessible healthcare, infrastructure, and education, and long-term, sustainable investments in housing security for working-class families.

A Los Angeles public bank will:

• Fund L.A. Priorities -- A public bank will safeguard and grow the city’s assets through loans to critical city projects and local businesses. Imagine a banking system where money was invested not to continue the degradation created by fossil fuel extraction, but instead drive L.A. forward as the leader in renewable energy. Public banks provide not only the financing, but also the framework to have this transition guided by environmental justice principles rooted in democratic processes.

• Save Money -- A public bank can do what banks do which is leverage its funds up to ten times through loans. This would inject critically needed capital to support small businesses and job growth in the local economy to reduce poverty. Nearly 50% of the cost of all infrastructure projects go towards paying bank interest and fees. If we fund public projects ourselves through a public bank, we can half the cost of infrastructure and double our power to invest in our own communities.

• Strengthen the Local Economy -- A public bank will partner with community banks and credit unions that lend responsibly to localities to increase the availability of credit in areas that Wall Street banks are not serving, especially historically underserved communities of color. A public bank would purchase municipal and other local government bonds to allow for increased services to those who need it most.

A public bank is a vital public good--it is investment in our city and our future. I urge your support and leadership on the Public Bank of Los Angeles.

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