Friends of the Public Bank of Oakland

The Friends of the Public Bank of Oakland was formed by members of Commonomics and Strike Debt Bay Area in August, 2016.

In November, we succeeded in getting the Oakland City Council to instruct the City Administrator to report on the usefulness of a feasibility study for creating The Public Bank of Oakland. Our next goal is to convince the City Council to commission that study as soon as possible, and incorporate it into a business plan for a public bank in Oakland. The City of Oakland, with our organizing help, held a public forum on public banking at Oakland City Hall, on Thursday, February 9, 2017. At this meeting we will be debriefing that forum, and moving in to high gear to respond to the Request for Qualifications that Oakland put forth to obtain information needed to report to the City Council in early March.

After the Administrator's report, we will lobby the Oakland City Council to pass enabling legislation that will create and fund a public bank for Oakland. Our overarching goal is to see a public bank flourish in Oakland while it helps the community, thereby providing an example for other jurisdictions wishing to rid themselves of their dependence on Wall Street banks.