City of Seattle
Seattle sought to understand whether establishing a municipally-operated bank could better serve public priorities and vulnerable residents than its existing Wells Fargo contract. HR&A’s feasibility study examined whether a municipally-operated bank could achieve these goals, analyzing precedent models, regulatory frameworks, and financial scenarios while recommending implementation pathways and alternative approaches.
Public banks can leverage low bonding rates to reduce capital costs, provide innovative services to vulnerable populations, and reinvest profits locally. Working with Pacifica Law Group, HR&A conducted comprehensive feasibility analysis examining regulatory requirements, precedent models from jurisdictions like North Dakota, Germany, and Japan, and potential governance structures.HR&A’s financial feasibility analyses evaluated different service models a public bank could employ, assessing both opportunities and challenges. The team addressed regulatory hurdles a publicly-owned banking entity would face and conducted analysis of operational requirements.
Our study ultimately recommended next steps for implementation while proposing alternative models to achieve the City’s public policy goals without establishing a full municipal bank. This comprehensive analysis provided Seattle with evidence-based understanding of public banking’s potential benefits and constraints, enabling informed decision-making about financial services approaches that could better serve residents and public priorities.
