U.S. Public Banks, Banks, and NonBanks
At-A-Glance: How Public Banks Excel
public banks are unmatched for improving local economies and benefiting the public
Politicians often ask, “Why do we need public banks? We already have institutions that make loans into the local economy.” But those institutions aren’t nearly as effective at protecting the interests of the people or at generating revenue for public purpose. PBI created this infographic to demonstrate why public banks are unmatched for improving local economies and to make it easy to explain and compare the strong suite of capabilities that public banks possess.
Rollover each rectangle or question mark for more details on that item, or see text of all details below.
The colorful grid indicates at a glance what capabilities are missing from other financial institution types, while the infographic’s rollovers reveal important details for each term and category with links to sources and additional references.
The At-A-Glance infographic is also available to download for presentations or to print for handouts and a poster-sized version to print for exhibits or tabling will be available shortly. Please email communications@publicbankinginstitute.org to request help in adding your group’s logo or arranging printing.
Please note: The rollover details are meant to shed more light on the terms and to answer preliminary questions. Hybrid institutions do exist and capabilities can expand or contract depending on the documents creating any institution. Each topic can open doors to further research.
More Details | How Public Banks Excel
Capabilities (rows)
ownership
The owners of an institution can determine the direction of its operations and who benefits from the profits or revenues. A public bank is owned by the public through a government entity such as a state or a city. In contrast, privately owned banks are owned by shareholders or private individuals. Credit unions are owned by the credit union members.
Charter
A charter is a license to conduct business granted by federal or state regulators. A bank charter grants an institution a key set of powers. Most important among those powers are the ability to accept deposits and the ability to leverage or issue bank credit, typically up to 10x its capital (depending on capital requirements). A credit union charter conveys the same type of powers to credit unions. States hold the right to grant bank and credit union charters. Federal bank charters are granted by the OCC. Federal credit union charters are granted by the NCUA. The Federal Reserve grants master accounts to financial institutions to allow them to engage in the Fed system (bank transfers, access to reserves and the Fed discount window, etc.).
Depository
The first key power of a chartered bank or credit union is its ability to accept deposits. A public bank can accept the deposits of the state or municipality where it is formed. Being a depository is central to the functioning and profitability of the bank, as it guarantees a steady inflow of funds that serve as the liquidity pool used to balance accounts.
Leverage (Issue Bank Credit)
The second key power of a chartered bank or credit union is its ability to create new money as loans (issue bank credit) to circulate in the local economy. This power is often described as the ability to “leverage” capital — in other words, to lend out much more money than the bank has in its capital account. The result is a money multiplier effect. For example, if the capital requirement is 10%, the bank can lend (extend credit) up to 10x its capital. This leverage power has traditionally been known as “fractional reserve lending.” This is a key distinction between banks and nonbanks. Nonbanks simply transfer money when they make loans — they can lend only what they have. Banks create new money when they issue credit. Papers testing this theory have found that bank lending to the real economy, measured in various ways, was the only statistically significant variable explaining nominal GDP growth.
Profits
Banking is one of the most profitable industries. Return on equity in banking averaged in the mid-teens — 15% — for over a decade prior to the passage of the Basel III international regulatory accord. Between 2010 and 2019, U.S. banks average ROE ranged between approximately 5% and 12%. Directing those profits toward the betterment of all instead of into the pockets of a few is a compelling civic minded argument for publicly owned banks. With a public bank, the returns on the good loans and investments in the local economy can be put to use again for more good loans that improve the local economy or build infrastructure. When needed, profits can return to state budgets, reducing the pressure on tax or fee hikes. Over the past 35 years, the public Bank of North Dakota has returned roughly two-thirds of its profits to the state, on average. BND’s return on equity has beaten the U.S. average for over 20 years, averaging 20% from 2001 – 2019.
Loan Purpose
Loans are ultimately investments. Public banks make those investments into the local economy, including to small and medium sized businesses. Big global banks don’t have this local focus. Their investments chase speculative returns including from derivatives and non-productive uses such as (existing) real estate and corporate buyouts, and the mega needs of global industries. Non-productive lending leads to asset bubbles and crises. Productive lending into local economies leads to sustainable growth and increases in GDP, which can make whole communities and regions grow in a sustainable way. New money created by bank loans for productive purposes is not inflationary, since supply rises with demand.
interbank mkt / Fed window
All banks have liquidity needs to balance accounts at the end of the day. Drawing on their own incoming deposits is the cheapest option. Others include borrowing from other banks in the “overnight market” via the “money market” (a broad category covering repo transactions, short-term CDs, short-term notes, etc.) and the Fed’s new Bank Term Lending Facility or its discount window.
Transparency
How the public’s money is being used and invested should be a matter of public record. As the nonprofit Truth in Accounting states, “Taxpayers and citizens deserve easy-to-understand, truthful, and transparent financial information from their governments. … Without access to truthful, timely, and transparent [financial] information, how can citizens be knowledgeable participants in their governments?” Public banks provide full transparency for public accountability. The public Bank of North Dakota has helped North Dakota consistently rank #2 in Truth in Accounting’s annual assessment of states’ financial conditions, receiving its ninth “A” grade in 2023. While the mega banks where states and cities currently keep their deposits make quarterly standardized financial reports available to shareholders and the public upon request, their decision making on investments and global focus is unaccountable to the public and has often run counter to or been destructive of local Main Street economies, small business needs, and the social or environmental goals of those states and cities. This mismatch drives increasing public interest in creating more transparent and accountable institutions.
Independence
The notion of government-owned banks often raises fears of politicians influencing financial investments for their own short term political gain or agendas. To prevent such influence, public banks are run by independent professional bankers who understand how to balance a public-good mission with the need for profitable returns and prudent investing. Governance firewalls enable input while providing insulation from political pressures.
public input
An institution organized to serve the public interest would naturally benefit from input from the local community. Public banks typically have a public advisory board or other form of public involvement in governance and decision making.
Institutions (columns)
Depositories
Depositories, as the term is used here, are institutions licensed to accept currency or securities deposits.
public bank
Public banks are chartered depository banks owned by the public through a government entity such as a state, city, region, nation, or tribe. They have a mission that serves the public good and they focus lending and investment into the local economy where the bank is located. There is currently one public bank in the U.S., the Bank of North Dakota, which has operated for over 100 years. A second public bank opened recently in American Samoa, the Territorial Bank of American Samoa.
Benefit Corporation Banks
Benefit Corporation / Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) banks are for-profit banks with a legal structure that incorporates a public benefit purpose and mission. There are currently 11 of these banks in the U.S. Their boards have a fiduciary responsibility to the bank’s mission and goals alongside maximizing profits. Benefit corporations are also required to maintain transparency to their stockholders, and to submit regular impact reports regarding their public benefit purpose to their stockholders.
Credit Unions
Credit unions are not-for-profit financial cooperatives owned and operated by their members to provide traditional banking services. Per Investopedia: Members pool their money (technically, they are buying shares in the cooperative) to provide loans, demand deposit accounts, and other financial products and services to each other. Any income generated is used to fund projects and services that will benefit the community and the interests of members. At the end of 2022, there were 4,760 federally insured credit unions in the U.S. — a significant drop compared with 2021. Despite the fewer number of credit unions, the value of assets of these institutions continues to increase. In 2022, total assets of U.S. credit unions exceeded $2.1 trillion.
Local Community Banks
Small and mid-sized depository banks that serve businesses and individuals in a small geographic area. These banks are typically locally owned and managed, and make loans to small and medium-sized local businesses. A healthy ecosystem of community banks is necessary for an economy to have thriving small businesses. Small to medium sized businesses rely on banks for credit. Small banks are more flexible in underwriting start-up loans, most do not require a minimum loan amount, and they tend to approve more loans to small businesses than larger banks. The current trend of small banks merging with or being acquired by nonlocal large banks has led to credit gaps in local small business lending that have not been filled by the rest of the banking sector. Public banks on the model of the Bank of North Dakota can help community banks compete through loan participations and loan purchases, which enable them to fund larger-scale projects. Thanks to its public bank, North Dakota has 6 times as many locally owned financial institutions per person as the national average, holding fully 83% of local deposits versus a national average of a mere 30%.
Big global banks
The mega “too-big-to-fail” banks that serve global corporations. As the banking industry consolidates and community banks disappear through mergers, lending to small businesses shrinks. By the nature of financial and profitability calculations, there is a bias of bank lending in favor of the largest possible companies. The larger the bank, the lower the share of smaller loans in its total business loan portfolio, and the higher the average size of loans. Most large banks offer only standardized lending products and require a minimum loan amount. This loss of access to credit for small businesses is a critical problem for local economies. In the U.S., small businesses account for 99.9% of all businesses by number, about half of all employment, 64% of the new net jobs created every year, and 44% of GDP. States and cities, concerned for the current and future health of their local economies, are looking to how public banks can strengthen the banking ecosystem to keep small businesses in business. The investment choices and global focus of the mega banks where states and cities currently keep their deposits have often run counter to or been destructive of local Main Street economies, small business needs, and the social or environmental goals of those states and cities. This mismatch drives increasing public interest in creating more aligned institutions.
Depositories / Nondepositories
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI's)
Per Investopedia: Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are private sector financial institutions that focus primarily on personal lending and business development efforts in poorer local communities requiring revitalization in the U.S. CDFIs can receive federal funding through the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund by completing an application. They can also receive funding from private sector sources such as individuals, corporations, and religious institutions. As of September 30, 2021, the CDFI Fund reported 1,271 certified CDFIs, about half of which (46%) were non-depositories (loan funds and venture capital funds), and half (54%) were depositories (community banks and credit unions).
Nondepositories
Non-depositories, as the term is used here, are institutions or funds created by governments that enable certain financial functions but do not have a banking license (charter), cannot accept deposits, and have greatly limited abilities to leverage capital.
Finance Authorities
An authority, as the term is used here, is a government agency — either federal, state or municipal — formed to manage a public enterprise. A finance authority is an agency set up to enable lending and provide other financial capacities within a specific framework or purpose. They are not depositories, do not have a bank charter, and cannot leverage / issue bank credit to the same capacity as a chartered bank. They can, however, provide a functional intermediate pre-bank step by demonstrating the efficacy of making loans for the purpose of public good. The board of an authority is not elected but appointed, which creates a layer of insulation from political change and pressure.
Revolving Loan Funds
Per the Council of Development Finance Agencies: a revolving loan fund (RLF) is a gap financing measure primarily used for development and expansion of small businesses. It is a self-replenishing pool of money, utilizing interest and principal payments on old loans to issue new ones. While the majority of RLFs support local businesses, some target specific areas such as healthcare, minority business development, and environmental cleanup.
“Infrastructure Banks” or “Green Banks”
“Infrastructure banks” or “green banks” as they currently exist in the U.S. are not actually banks. They do not have a bank charter and therefore are not depositories and cannot leverage their capital / create new money as loans (issue bank credit) to circulate in the local economy. They are revolving loan funds that focus lending on infrastructure projects or environmental mitigation projects. Typical infrastructure projects include electrical grids, bridges, roads, water, broadband, and transportation systems essential to an economy and society. Approximately 23 “green bank” funds currently exist in the U.S. as of 2023.
Many other countries, however, have national infrastructure banks that are actually banks, able to accept deposits, leverage their funds, and create money as credit on their books. A bill currently before Congress — the National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2023 (H.R. 4052) — would create a $5 trillion public bank to lend for infrastructure projects. As the bill currently exists, it would be a depository bank with a bank charter and would be able to leverage 10x its capital for infrastructure lending
More Details by Institution Type
Public Bank
Public banks are owned by the public through a government entity such as a state, city, region, nation, or tribe.
Public banks have a bank charter, which is a license to conduct the business of banking.
Public banks are depository banks, which means they can accept the deposits of the government entity that created them. This is a key power of a chartered bank and a key distinction between banks and nonbanks. The public bank’s charter would define whether other depositors such as the general public can deposit money or securities in the bank.
Another key power of a chartered public bank is its ability to leverage capital — to issue bank credit that creates new money as deposits in the accounts of borrowers. Traditionally known as “fractional reserve lending,” this leverage results in a money multiplier effect. For example, with a capital requirement of 10%, the bank can create loans up to 10x its capital, greatly increasing the amount of new money circulating in the economy. This power is a key distinction between banks and nonbanks.
A public bank can retain its profits to increase its capital base, allowing additional productive loans into the local economy, or it can return its profits to state budgets, reducing the pressure on tax or fee hikes. Over the past 35 years, the public Bank of North Dakota has returned roughly two-thirds of its profits to the state on average.
Public banks make or participate with local community banks in making loans that are investments in the local economy, including to small and medium sized businesses. Big global banks don’t have this local or small business focus. Productive lending into local economies leads to sustainable growth and increases in GDP, which can make whole communities and regions grow in a sustainable way.
As chartered banks, public banks are able to borrow from other banks or the Fed via its new Bank Term Lending Facility or its discount window to meet their liquidity needs to balance accounts at the end of the day.
With public banks, how the public’s money is being used and invested is a matter of public record. Public banks provide full transparency for public accountability. The public Bank of North Dakota has helped North Dakota consistently rank #2 in Truth in Accounting’s annual assessment of states’ financial conditions, receiving its ninth “A” grade in 2023.
Public banks are run by independent professional bankers skilled in balancing the public-good mission with the need for profitable returns and prudent investing. Governance firewalls insulate them from political pressures.
Public banks typically have a public advisory board or other form of public input into governance and decision making.
Benefit Corp. Banks
Benefit Corp. banks are owned by their stockholders.
Benefit Corp. banks have a bank charter, which is a license to conduct the business of banking.
Benefit Corp. banks are depository banks, which means they can accept deposits, including deposits from government entities.
Another key power of a chartered bank is its ability to leverage capital — to issue bank credit that creates new money as deposits in the accounts of borrowers. Traditionally known as “fractional reserve lending,” this leverage results in a money multiplier effect. For example, with a capital requirement of 10%, the bank can create loans up to 10x its capital, greatly increasing the amount of new money circulating in the economy. This power is a key distinction between banks and nonbanks.
The profits made by Benefit Corp. banks are distributed to stockholders. Some Benefit Corp. banks have holding companies that reinvest profits back into communities the bank serves.
Benefit Corp. banks have a legal structure that incorporates a public benefit purpose and mission. Their boards have a fiduciary responsibility to the bank’s mission and goals alongside maximizing profits.
As chartered banks, Benefit Corp. banks are able to borrow from other banks or from the Fed via its new Bank Term Lending Facility or its discount window to meet their liquidity needs to balance accounts at the end of the day.
Benefit Corp. banks are required to maintain transparency to their stockholders, and to submit regular impact reports regarding their public benefit purpose to their stockholders. These banks are accountable to their stockholders, although not to the general public.
Benefit Corp. banks are managed by independent professionals.
Benefit Corp. banks typically have community board members.
Credit Unions
Credit unions are owned by their members.
Credit unions hold a credit union charter granted either by the state or by NCUA for federal credit unions.
Credit unions are depositories, which means they can accept deposits, including those from a government entity, if state law permits.
A key power of a chartered credit union is its ability to leverage capital — to issue bank credit that creates new money as deposits in the accounts of borrowers. Traditionally known as “fractional reserve lending,” this leverage results in a money multiplier effect. For example, with a capital requirement of 10%, the credit union can create loans up to 10x its capital, greatly increasing the amount of new money circulating in the economy. This power is a key distinction between chartered credit unions / banks and nonbanks.
Credit unions are not-for-profit companies. Any income generated is used to fund projects and services that will benefit the interests of members and the community.
Credit unions make loans into the local economy where they are located. Productive lending into local economies leads to sustainable growth and increases in GDP.
Credit unions are able to borrow from the NCUA Central Liquidity Facility or from the Fed via its new Bank Term Lending Facility or its discount window to meet their liquidity needs to balance accounts at the end of the day.
Federally insured credit unions are required to file quarterly standardized financial reports to the NCUA regulatory agency. These reports are made available to the public by request. Credit unions are accountable to their members, although not to the general public.
Credit unions are managed by independent professionals.
Credit unions have member-elected boards run by local members.
Local Community Banks
Local community banks are typically privately owned with local owners.
Local community banks have a bank charter, which is a license to conduct the business of banking.
Local community banks are depositories, which means they can accept deposits, including those from government entities.
Another key power of a chartered bank is its ability to leverage capital — to issue bank credit that creates new money as deposits in the accounts of borrowers. Traditionally known as “fractional reserve lending,” this leverage results in a money multiplier effect. For example, with a capital requirement of 10%, the bank can create loans up to 10x its capital, greatly increasing the amount of new money circulating in the economy. This power is a key distinction between banks and nonbanks.
The profits of a local community bank benefit its owners. Local community banks are typically privately owned with local owners.
Local community banks typically make loans to small and medium-sized local businesses. Small banks are more flexible in underwriting start-up loans, most do not require a minimum loan amount, and they tend to approve more loans to small businesses than larger banks do. In the U.S., small businesses account for 99.9% of all businesses by number, about half of all employment, 64% of the net new jobs created every year, and 44% of GDP. Productive lending into local economies leads to sustainable growth and increases in GDP.
As chartered banks, local community banks are able to borrow from other banks or the Fed via its new Bank Term Lending Facility or its discount window to meet their liquidity needs to balance accounts at the end of the day.
Local community banks are required, as are all banks and savings associations, to make quarterly standardized financial reports to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC). This data on type of loans made, assets, liabilities, etc. is used in monitoring the condition, performance, and risk profile of individual institutions and the industry as a whole. The FFIEC makes this data available to the public by request. While these financial reports are available, decision making on investments is unaccountable to the general public.
Local community banks are managed by independent professionals.
While local community banks are typically locally owned and community focused, there is no formal public involvement in governance and decision making.
Big Global Banks
The big global banks are owned by their shareholders. The largest shareholders of every mega bank include the behemoth asset management firms BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street, while holding company Berkshire Hathaway is the largest shareholder of two of the biggest U.S. banks.
Global banks have a bank charter, which is a license to conduct the business of banking.
The big global banks are depository banks, which means they can accept deposits, including deposits from government entities. Due to the size of most government accounts, states and cities are faced with few options other than to deposit most of their revenues among these mega banks, despite evidence of major scandals. The exception is North Dakota, whose state revenues are required by law to be deposited into the publicly-owned (and thriving) Bank of North Dakota.
Another key power of a chartered bank is its ability to leverage capital — to issue bank credit that creates new money as deposits in the accounts of borrowers. Traditionally known as “fractional reserve lending,” this leverage results in a money multiplier effect. For example, with a capital requirement of 10%, the bank can create loans up to 10x its capital, greatly increasing the amount of new money circulating in the economy. This power is a key distinction between banks and nonbanks.
The profits of global banks benefit their globally based shareholders. The largest shareholders of every mega bank include the behemoth institutional investors asset management firms BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street, while holding company Berkshire Hathaway is the largest shareholder of two of the biggest U.S. banks.
Big global banks don’t have a local focus. They lend to global industries and for speculative purposes, e.g. in derivatives, existing real estate, and leveraged buyouts. Non-productive lending leads to asset bubbles and crises. There is also a bias of lending in favor of the largest possible companies. The larger the bank, the lower the share of smaller loans in its total business loan portfolio, and the higher the average size of loans. Most large banks offer only standardized lending products and require a minimum loan amount. This loss of access to credit for small businesses is a critical problem for local economies. The investment choices and global focus of the mega banks where states and cities currently keep their deposits have often run counter to or been destructive of local Main Street economies, small business needs, and the social or environmental goals of those states and cities. This mismatch drives increasing public interest in creating more publicly aligned institutions.
As chartered banks, global banks are able to borrow from other banks or from the Fed via its new Bank Term Lending Facility or its discount window to meet their liquidity needs to balance accounts at the end of the day.
Global banks are required, as are all banks and savings associations, to make quarterly standardized financial reports to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC). This data on type of loans made, assets, liabilities, etc. is used in monitoring the condition, performance, and risk profile of individual institutions and the industry as a whole. The FFIEC makes this data available to the public upon request. While these financial reports are available to shareholders and the public, the decision making on investments and global focus of the mega banks is unaccountable to the general public.
Big global banks are managed by independent professionals.
There is no public input into the governance and decision making of global mega banks.
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)
Ownership of CDFIs varies by type of institution.
Depository CDFIs hold a bank charter or credit union charter.
Depository CDFIs do not have the capacity to accept state or municipal government deposits.
Depository CDIFs have the key power of a chartered bank: its ability to leverage capital — to issue bank credit that creates new money as deposits in the accounts of borrowers. Traditionally known as “fractional reserve lending,” this leverage results in a money multiplier effect. For example, with a capital requirement of 10%, the bank can create loans up to 10x its capital, greatly increasing the amount of new money circulating in the economy. This power is a key distinction between banks and nonbanks.
How profits or retuns of CDFIs are distributed varies. Some CDFIs are for-profit venture capital funds or development banks whose profits benefit the owners / shareholders. Some are nonprofit credit unions or loan funds and income generated is used to fund projects and services that will benefit the interests of members and the community.
CDFIs specialize in serving economically distressed communities and low- to moderate-income individuals and businesses in them.
Depending on the type of institution, depository CDFIs — chartered banks or credit unions — are able to borrow from other banks, from the NCUA Central Liquidity Facility, or from the Fed via its new Bank Term Lending Facility or its discount window to meet their liquidity needs to balance accounts at the end of the day.
CDFIs are required to be accountable to their target markets, which is usually achieved by community representation on boards of directors or advisory boards.
CDFIs are managed by independent professionals.
CDFIs typically have community representation on boards of directors or advisory boards.
Finance Authorities
Finance authorities are owned by the public through a government entity.
Finance authorities do not hold a bank or credit union charter.
Finance authorities are non-depositories — they cannot manage state or municipal government deposits — although their capital funding comes from the government.
Finance authorities cannot leverage capital / issue bank credit as chartered banks can. The power to leverage capital — to issue bank credit that creates new money as deposits on the bank’s books — is a key distinction between banks and nonbanks. Nonbanks simply transfer money when they make loans — they can lend only what they have. Banks create new money when they issue credit, resulting in a money multiplier effect.
The profits or returns of a finance authority return to the public, typically through reinvestments that benefit the public good.
Finance authorities are set up to enable lending and provide other financial capacities (e.g. low-cost, taxable or tax-exempt financing including issuing bonds or letters of credit) within a specific framework or purpose that benefits the community such as promoting economic development or providing additional credit to co-operatives, small businesses, or entrepreneurs of color.
Finance authorities lack a bank charter and therefore cannot borrow from other banks or the Fed to meet day-to-day liquidity needs.
Finance authorities, as government agencies, are transparent and accountable to the public.
The board of an authority is not elected but appointed, which is seen to provide a layer of insulation, allowing municipal authorities to undertake certain long-term projects and raise and spend money without having to face voters.
Finance authorities typically have advisory boards with community representation.
Revolving Loan Funds
Revolving loan funds are owned by the public through a government entity.
Revolving loan funds do not hold a bank or credit union charter.
Revolving loan funds are non-depositories — they cannot accept or manage state or municipal government deposits.
Revolving loan funds cannot leverage capital / issue bank credit as chartered banks do. The power to leverage capital — to issue bank credit that creates new money as deposits on the bank’s books — is a key distinction between banks and nonbanks. Nonbanks simply transfer money when they make loans — they can lend only what they have. Banks create new money in the local economy when they issue credit, resulting in a money multiplier effect. A revolving loan fund is, as the name suggests, a self-replenishing pool of money that uses the interest and principal payments on old loans to issue new ones. Some RLF programs do work in conjunction with private finance to leverage the capital needed for the fund’s purpose.
The profits or returns of a revolving loan fund return to the public typically through reinvestments that benefit the public good. It is a self-replenishing pool of money, using interest and principal payments on old loans to issue new ones.
Revolving loan funds (RLFs) are typically seen as gap financing measures primarily used for development and expansion of small businesses. While the majority of RLFs support local businesses, some target specific areas such as healthcare, minority business development, and environmental cleanup.
Revolving loan funds lack a bank charter and therefore cannot borrow from other banks or the Fed to meet day-to-day liquidity needs.
Revolving loan funds are transparent and accountable to the public through the government entity creating the fund.
Revolving loan funds are managed by loan administrators.
Revolving loan funds typically engage a volunteer committee that can consist of accountants, lawyers, bankers, educators, and local business owners with diverse backgrounds to approve loan decisions.
“Infrastructure Banks” or “Green Banks”
“Infrastructure banks” or “green banks” may be owned by the public through a government entity or be a quasi-public public/private mix.
The often-used terms “infrastructure bank” and “green bank” are misnomers, since as these institutions currently exist in the U.S., they do not hold bank charters. As nonbanks, they lack important powers that come with a bank license. Many other countries, however, have national infrastructure banks that are chartered banks.
Currently existing “infrastructure banks” and “green bank” in the U.S. are non-depositories. They do not have a bank charter — despite the word “bank” in the term — and thus cannot accept deposits from states or municipalities. Many other countries, however, have national infrastructure banks that are actually banks, able to accept deposits. A bill currently before Congress — the National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2023 (H.R. 4052) — would create a $5 trillion public bank to lend for infrastructure projects. As the bill currently exists, the new institution would be a depository bank with a bank charter.
Currently existing “infrastructure banks” and “green banks” in the U.S. do not have bank charters (despite the term “bank” in the name) and cannot leverage capital / issue bank credit as chartered banks can. The power to leverage capital — to issue bank credit that creates new money as deposits on the bank’s books — is a key distinction between banks and nonbanks. Nonbanks simply transfer money when they make loans — they can lend only what they have. Banks create new money in the local economy when they issue credit, resulting in a money multiplier effect. “Infrastructure banks” and “green banks” are revolving loan funds, self-replenishing pools of money that use the interest and principal payments on old loans to issue new ones. Many other countries, however, have national infrastructure banks that are actually banks, able to accept deposits, leverage their funds, and create money as credit on their books. A bill currently before Congress — the National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2023 (H.R. 4052) — would create a $5 trillion public bank to lend for infrastructure projects. As the bill currently exists, it would be a depository bank with a bank charter and would be able to leverage its capital for infrastructure lending.
The profits or returns of an “infrastructure bank” or “green bank” return to the public typically through reinvestments that benefit the public good. It is a self-replenishing pool of money, utilizing interest and principal payments on old loans to issue new ones.
“Infrastructure banks” or “green banks” focus lending on infrastructure projects or environmental mitigation projects. Typical infrastructure projects include electrical grids, bridges, roads, water, broadband, and transportation systems essential to an economy and society.
“Infrastructure banks” or “green banks” lack a bank charter and therefore cannot borrow from other banks or the Fed to meet day-to-day liquidity needs.
“Infrastructure banks” or “green banks” vary widely on the level of public transparency.
“Infrastructure banks” or “green banks” can be managed by state agencies or by nonprofits. Some are “quasi-public” entities with independent governance structures, and some others are fully independent entities without formal ties to the state.
“Infrastructure banks” or “green banks” vary widely on the level of public input.