Topic: Bank Of North Dakota

Private banks operate under a mandate to maximize shareholder profit, which often leads them to favor large hedge fund loans over small business lending. This short-term profit seeking exploits the public interest and prioritizes a financialized economy over real-world productivity. While 25% of banks globally are publicly owned, the Bank of North Dakota remains the primary model for public banking within the United States.

Public banking maintains a nonpartisan appeal, as evidenced by the success of the Bank of North Dakota in a deeply conservative Republican state. The bank was founded by the Nonpartisan League, a farmer-led movement that sought to protect local agriculture from out-of-state banking and railroad cartels. The primary goal remains keeping state money within the local economy to fund regional infrastructure and industry.

Ellen Brown details the success of the Bank of North Dakota, the only state-owned bank in the U.S., which maintained a budget surplus throughout the 2008 crisis. She notes that 40% of banks globally are publicly owned, particularly in BRIC nations and Germany. The German Sparkassen model is praised for its mandate to serve local businesses, proving more profitable and stable than the Wall Street model by focusing on community development rather than speculative gambling.