A detailed report from the UK’s New Economics Foundation published earlier this year explains in detail the main power of banks: the creation of money. It breaks down the prevailing myth that banks have stockpiles of money that they lend. Instead, the reality, they explain, is that “banks ... do not have to acquire funds in the first instance before making loans.”

Even more importantly, the authors point out that a large proportion of banks’ profits are underpinned by their control over the money supply. In this way, banks control an essential piece of public infrastructure. The report describes the strong case for the public taking back some control over the creation of money.

Left: Tim Canova, professor of Law and Public Finance at Nova Southeastern University's Shepard Broad College of Law, Candidate FL 23rd Congressional District; Right: Helena Norberg-Hodge, Producer The Economics of Happiness, Author Ancient Futures, Founder and Director of Local Futures

In the latest "It’s Our Money with Ellen Brown" podcast, Ellen talks with law professor Tim Canova. Whether a flood, fire, hurricanes or a failed financial system, the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury have the means to address big financial challenges in a variety of ways – if they want to. Recent devastations challenge our understanding of how to pay for recovery, but when we look back to our not-so-distant past, answers emerge in a clear and encouraging way. Ellen’s guest, Law Professor Tim Canova, is an expert on banking, finance and the Federal Reserve, and candidate for the Congressional seat of Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida. [listen]

The next episode of "It's Our Money" will be broadcast live on Wednesday, Nov 2 at 3pm EST / Noon PST. [Listen live.] We've been told that marketplace productivity is irrefutable evidence of economic efficiency and a precursor to consumer happiness. But that meme is a self-serving axiom designed to consolidate wealth, power and systems control into the hands of global corporations. Ellen’s guest, Helena Norberg-Hodge, is the producer of the award-winning documentary The Economics of Happiness and author of Ancient Futures. 

photo by Tiffany Von Arnim

Municipal banks continue to take strong strides forward in major cities in the wake of successes made by the divest movement. In Seattle earlier this year, indigenous activists successfully pushed the city to end its relationship with Wells Fargo due to the bank’s financing of the Dakota Access Pipeline and its long list of scandals. Now Councilmember Kshama Sawant is calling for a $200,000 budget allocation to fund a Public Bank feasibility study. Sawant's proposal says studying a municipal bank is "especially timely" because of the Wells Fargo divestment.

How you can help Seattle pass this proposal...

Courtesy The Guardian

Owen Jones in The Guardian posts a blistering attack on the British private banking system that pulls out all the pillars propping up any rationale that private banking is a good thing. Decisive examples build the case there is no reasonable alternative to public ownership, now supported by half the British electorate.

The Guardian:

“Our finance system is rigged in favour of a crisis-ridden City to reap profits for individuals. It’s time these institutions worked for the good of communities. Britain’s privately run banks have proved a disaster for everyone except their shareholders. The only good alternative is public stakeholder banks, run by workers, consumers and local authorities, with an obligation to defend the best interests of our communities. Privately owned banks have proved a catastrophic failure – for our economy, our social cohesion and our politics. There is surely no alternative to public ownership.”

Continuing with our media expansion efforts, PBI has relaunched our Twitter account. Expect to see breaking news, useful resources, and retweets from allies around the world. Please follow us @PublicBanksNow, retweet and share.

The grassroots group Public Bank LA has launched a petition on Change.org in support of Los Angeles City Council interest in creating a Public Bank of Los Angeles. You can show your support for the efforts in Los Angeles by signing the petition.

In the latest “It’s Our Money with Ellen Brown” podcast Ellen talks with law professor Tim Canova. Whether a flood, fire, hurricanes or a failed financial system, the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury have the means to address big financial challenges in a variety of ways – if they want to. Recent devastations challenge our understanding of how to pay for recovery, but when we look back to our not-so-distant past, answers emerge in a clear and encouraging way. Ellen’s guest, Law Professor Tim Canova, is an expert on banking, finance and the Federal Reserve, and candidate for the Congressional seat of Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida.

This movement for Public Banks is growing rapidly and so PBI is expanding our media reach to help lead and support these shifts. To start, we’ve launched two new Public Banking Institute video channels on Vimeo and on YouTube. Please subscribe / follow.

These channels will feature short, sharable videos we're producing, include insightful interviews with Chair Ellen Brown and other thought-leaders, as well as collect useful videos from around the web that help tell the Public Banking story and show its progress.

The recent forum in Oakland that featured Wolfram Morales of Sparkasse, the German Public Bank network, prompted an excellent write up in Sharable with plenty of great quotes. Read and share.

"A public bank can really create community wealth in ways other institutions are not capable off," said Gregory Rosen, the founder of High Noon Advisors, a local consulting firm with experience in clean energy investing. "It can help people of different backgrounds and income levels come together, for the good of the community."

After watching the repeated scandals of Wells Fargo, some members in Congress have had enough. A new bill gives power to the Fed to shut down megabanks. On Oct 4, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services Maxine Waters (D-Ca), introduced The Megabank Accountability and Consequences Act, reported in HousingWire.

“There are people who have literally concluded that these megabanks are above the law,” Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Al Green (D-Tx), said.