Banking Independence Day 2025

Public Bank East Bay invites you to Banking Independence Day 2025. Come break bread with us, learn about public and community banking, and connect with like-minded folks. Substantial finger foods will be served.

Deep budget cuts, financial instability, and political volatility are threatening the health, safety, and economic well-being of our communities. This current moment demonstrates in the starkest of ways the importance of strong and resilient local financial systems.

Journalist and author Oscar Perry Abello (whose new book The Banks We Deserve traces the history and potential of local, inclusive banking) will speak about the book, after which Alameda County Treasurer Hank Levy and Richmond City Councilmember Claudia Jimenez will join local community experts on the intersection between banking and their work to explore how public banks can democratize capital, create affordable housing, support small businesses, and advance clean energy initiatives.

Friends of the Public Bank East Bay (PBEB) is a grassroots-led initiative to create California’s first public bank and is part of a growing national movement for locally owned, mission-driven finance that puts community needs ahead of private profits. It is endorsed by more than 25 local elected officials and more than 70 local nonprofits, unions, grassroots organizations, and political groups.