By Brian Schrader

Photo: County administration building, from Flickr by Tony Webster

November 1, 2021 (San Diego) -- Everything old is new again, and California seems likely to revive an old idea to solve its modern challenges. Public banking isn’t a well-known or often discussed subject, but proponents believe that it might just be the catalyst of much needed reform in California.

In general, there are two kinds of public banks: investment banks and deposit-taking banks. The latter is the kind that most of us are familiar with—those that offer checking and savings accounts—and while there is an ongoing discussion about public deposit-taking banks, it’s the investment banks that are currently getting the most attention in San Diego and in Sacramento.