Vermont moves forward on public banking!

by Matt Stannard on January 20th, 2014

A new report released by advocates for a state bank in Vermont supports legislation introduced in the Senate to grant banking authority to the Vermont Economic Development Authority.

The study, which explored the economic impacts of a public bank in Vermont, was conducted by the University of Massachusetts and the University of Vermont and funded by the Donella Meadows Institute.

According to its findings, if state government cash on hand were used by VEDA and the Vermont Housing Finance Agency to loan to businesses and homebuyers, the state could see more than 2,500 new jobs and infuse $192 million into the state’s economy.

“Those are some significant impacts, so I think it’s worth taking a more detailed look at what a bank would involve, how it would be structured and the benefits for the state of Vermont,” said Gwendolyn Hallsmith of Vermonters for a New Economy, an informal group backing a Vermont state bank.

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Vermonts has a population 622,000 people.

Read full article here on The Public Banking Institute Website