Our purpose:

Building a Bank for the East Bay

We are actively looking for a green energy expert to join our proposed Bank Board. Read our position announcement.

For this and other progress (including a spiffy new public banking video) and an excellent public banking infographic, check out our recent activity page and our press release.

Public Bank East Bay hopes to open by 2024 or early 2025, and will be a transformative institution that keeps our money local, allowing local governments to divest from Wall Street and reinvest its profits back into our community. Public Bank East Bay’s initial loan policies will support affordable housing development, provide support for small businesses (especially for marginalized entrepreneurs), finance the renovation and electrification of existing buildings, and help cities and counties refinance their municipal debt.

Investing with care

support affordable housing

The East Bay is experiencing a housing crisis of extreme scale. In Alameda County, more than 50,000 households don’t have access to an affordable home and more than 8,000 people are homeless each night. The Public Bank East Bay will be instrumental in providing flexible and long-term financing for the pre-development and preservation of affordable housing as well as financing for community land trusts, accessory dwelling units and other innovative housing projects.

Create equity & ECONOMIC JUSTICE

Decades of redlining through governments and financial institutions have left the BIPOC community and other low-income marginalized groups without access to the capital they deserve and need. 44% of black households in California today are unbanked or underbanked and entrepreneurs of color are 15-25% more likely to get denied credit than comparable white business owners. We need a public bank that has equity as a core value and prioritizes lending to underserved communities to relieve some of the historical burden carried by communities of color.

Address climate change

Municipalities cannot wait for a paralyzed federal government to come through. We must increase local funding for initiatives that will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions immediately. The cities and counties of the East Bay are already committed to large-scale building electrification and solar installation programs, but need financing to cover the up-front cost of these planet-saving projects.

Meet the Collaborators & Endorsers

Collaborators-in-action on historic transformations For East Bay Investments & Financing

Advocacy

builds relationships with community groups, financial institutions and city governments.

Communications

assists other committees with content creation and promotion.

Fundraising

develops our organization’s budget and raises funds for our business plan.

 Position Announcement

Candidate for the Founding Board of Directors

The opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity to shape the vision, character and direction of one of the first public banks in the US in 100 years. Board members will be responsible for overseeing the investment of public money transparently and for the benefit of all community stakeholders. The Board, in collaboration with the Bank’s senior staff, will set investment policies and have an important voice in ensuring that the activities of the bank align with mission and values in the Bank’s charter. Board members approved by state and federal regulators when the Public Bank opens will receive modest compensation for their role.

We propose a Board of 15 Directors: approximately 5 representatives of the founding cities and county, 5 community finance/banking experts and 5 community representatives with subject matter expertise in the lending areas of the Bank. The exact size and composition of the Board will evolve in further discussions with regulators, government stakeholders and with the development of the Bank’s business plan; however, we are committed to having a majority of Board members be voices for the community, and that not everyone has to have a banking or finance background. Our primary goal is to ensure a diverse Board whose members will represent and advocate for the underserved and under-represented people in our communities. 

Your background

• You live or work in the East Bay or have strong affiliations with an East Bay-based organization.

• You are passionate about creating economic justice and addressing unmet financial needs through innovative banking solutions.

• You have a good understanding of the current landscape of green energy financing in the East Bay, including grants and loan programs for solar, residential & commercial building electrification, electric cars etc.

• You understand the scale and scope of the existing demand for green energy financing in the East Bay (including electrification), who is currently financing green energy in the East Bay, where the financing gaps are, including the legal landscape.

• You have access to a network of industry professionals in the green energy space.

The role

• You will be part of the group of proposed founding board members that oversees the completion of the business plan, the submission of the charter application to the regulators and the startup of the bank operations (currently expected in 2025).

• You will participate in board director trainings, public facing events promoting the Bank, meetings with public officials, regulators and other stakeholders.

• You will support the development of lending programs and policies in your area of subject matter expertise, leveraging your network where needed.

• You will undergo a rigorous vetting process by state regulators that includes the full disclosure of personal finances, background checks etc. Historical issues such as old bankruptcies may not be downchecks, but disguising anything that the regulators uncover, no matter how old or minor, will disqualify candidates. The regulators will also be looking for protection from unlawful insider transactions and apparent conflicts of interest. 

Time Commitment

• In the current startup phase we expect a time commitment of at least 5h/month. This includes monthly board meetings and participation in at least one additional committee.

• In the first year of bank operations we expect a higher time commitment of approx. 2h/week, which will reduce over time.

• We expect members of the founding board to serve for at least 3 years from the time the bank begins operating.

Application

If you are interested, please complete this application form or send an email with your resume to publicbankeastbay@gmail.com.

Board candidates will be compensated with a stipend of $500/month during the startup period (paid quarterly) and we expect they will paid more once the bank is operating.

Note: The final composition of the Bank’s Board will be determined by the California State Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, following rigorous and thorough scrutiny of every applicant’s financial, legal and other background. We intend to include you in a qualified, diverse pool of prospective applicants, who will all be vetted in advance by the Friends of the Public Bank East Bay to minimize issues raised by the DFPI.