Using the controller's 2022 report, Public Bank LA estimated that Los Angeles pays $621 million in debt services and middleman fees. A public bank could redirect those funds toward social projects and "simplify the complex web of affordable housing finance. "A public bank will be designed with the mandate to make targeted wealth to communities that are neglected by Wall Street. "By investing in big, longer-term projects, Humpreville worries that a public bank would not have enough money for the short-term needs of depositors. "The next step has to include the public," Soto-Martínez, who has been a vocal supporter of a public bank, told The Times.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 07, 2023 19:17 UTC