Supporting the Creation of a San Francisco Public Bank

After soliciting extensive input from community members, city officials, banking experts, and business stakeholders, HR&A developed a Business and Governance Plan for the City of San Francisco’s public bank to support affordable housing, small businesses, and green investments.

The banking ecosystem in San Francisco, like many cities across America, has historically failed to serve everyone and leaves significant gaps in the capital available to develop and preserve affordable housing, support small businesses, and ensure the rapid adoption of decarbonization technologies. An HR&A-led team helped the San Francisco Reinvestment Working Group (RWG) identify unmet financing needs and craft a Plan with tailored lending products to fill these banking gaps. As part of our analysis, we determined the viability of a public bank and developed detailed pro forma financial statements and governance plans to guide the City’s efforts to establish this new entity. In September 2023, the City’s Board of Supervisors voted to adopt the Plan, positioning San Francisco at the vanguard of the growing public banking movement with a critical step towards the establishment of California’s first municipal public bank.

HR&A Advisors led a team consisting of banking experts Gary S. Findley & Associates and community engagement consultants Contigo Communications to define the vision, mission, and structure of the public bank with an emphasis on transparent and community-driven operation and details on a range of products and services to promote economic equity across the city. Throughout the process, we engaged a variety of stakeholders including community members, small businesses, nonprofits, housing and environmental justice advocates, financial experts, City agencies, and more to gain insights around what services would be most impactful from a public bank. With this inclusive approach, the City has a robust roadmap to create a public bank that will help address financial needs and more equitably serve the needs of lower-income, BIPOC, and marginalized communities who have been excluded from access to reliable, affordable capital for far too long.

Explore

Check out the full San Francisco Public Bank Business and Governance Plan and Viability Study 
San Francisco Board of Supervisors Unanimously Accept Plan to Implement the First Municipal Bank in the Nation

Press

San Francisco Green-Lights Nation’s First City-Run Public Bank — KQED
What’s next for San Francisco’s public bank plan — Axios
San Francisco given go-ahead to start creating nation’s first municipal bank — CBS News Bay Area
Proposed S.F. public bank gets first review by supervisors — San Francisco Chronicle

Photo via: Shen Pan