The Public Banking Institute is hosting the inaugural Public Banking in America Conference in Philadelphia, April 27–28, 2012 in response to the growing demand for monetary and banking reform in the public interest.

The conference will focus on: the role of public banking throughout the world, with special emphasis on: the Bank of North Dakota; the current banking crisis, its causes and solutions; and direction and guidance to those who wish to further public banking in their cities, counties, and states.

Presenters and attendees include state policymakers, legislators, banking professionals, economists, independent business persons, community organizers, and others interested in these critical and timely issues.

Presentations will cover:

• Revisiting the success of public banking in colonial America and throughout the world, including a session on Canada’s successful history of public banking and how it has been suppressed.
• The benefits of city-owned banks, county-owned banks, state-owned banks, university-owned banks, and public land banks.
• The hidden costs of interest, and how this lost revenue can be returned to the public through publicly-owned banks.
• Why a banking system designed to prop up Wall Street’s risky too-big-to-fail banks doesn’t work, not only for people who have lost their jobs and their homes but for those who still have jobs, homes, and money to invest—and why public banking is the solution.
• The history, structure, and governance of the Bank of North Dakota.
• The current movement to establish publicly-owned banks—progress, obstacles, and reports from the field.

The conference kicks off with a welcome reception on Thursday evening (4/26), followed by two full days of presentations and discussions.