As this recent story in The Conversation amply demonstrates, Canada has a lot to learn from other countries in how to develop a larger and more robust network of community and public banks. In many other places, they have played leadership roles in ensuring that families and small businesses got credit support and deferrals during the pandemic. – David Thornley
“There are more than 900 public banks around the world, with combined assets of about US$49 trillion. They are typically owned by governments or public agencies, and many have progressive public purpose mandates due to decades of institutional knowledge and expertise. In our new book, Public Banks and COVID-19: Combatting the Pandemic With Public Finance, we take a rapid-response snapshot of how public banks have responded to the crisis, drawing on case studies in more than 20 […]”
