Policies to get banking oriented to customer benefit rather than profit.  Pointers on how to establish and run a Scottish Central Bank.

A Scottish central bank will need to be set up to oversee the creation of a new Scottish currency. It will be the competent authority providing regulatory oversight of the banking system.

The Scottish Reserve Bank website attempts to clear up many of the deliberate myths surrounding the establishment of a new Scottish currency 

Banking has lost its way, forgetting that it should be serving its customers and not exploiting them. But a mutually-owned People’s Bank can change this.

Video: 2:09 minutes

Common Weal’s submission to the public consultation of the implementation plan for the Scottish National Investment Bank.

A Consultation Submission to the Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee asked for expert submissions on the ongoing work to establish a Scottish National Investment Bank.

― Taking a look at UK debt over the long-term shows that it is historically at a very low level. It is also incorrect to claim that we cannot afford the interest on debt.

― The reality is that there has rarely been a more favourable time for the UK Government to borrow in order to invest in renewing its infrastructure and fostering new industries.

― The SNIB’s overarching mandate should reflect a broader economic strategy developed in a democratic process, controlled by the Scottish Government, and reviewed periodically.

― The core activities of a SNIB should be to support investment in infrastructure and SMEs and to direct investment towards innovation for social and environmental objectives.

― The SNIB should be publicly owned but operated independent as a fully commercial entity, free of day-to-day political interference.

The report makes the case for:

Not-for-profit “People’s Banks” should be established in Scotland’s regions to offer banking services to local people and business.

Local banks would be part of a “People’s Banking Network” to share risk and cooperate on training, marketing and the operation of key services such as payments systems.

The borrowing cap for the Scottish Parliament should be removed or lifted substantially so public expenditure can be used where needed; but, more importantly the Scottish National Investment Bank should be given full dispensation to act as a bank and thus capitalise from sources such as pension funds and lend to the public as well as private sector.  Public procurement should be entirely reprofiled with the public policy goal of supporting Scottish business and achieving the maximum number of manufacturing jobs.

Resilient Recovery. We must emerge from the Covid pandemic in a way that fixes the problems raised by the crisis, fixes the problems evident before the crisis and makes us resilient; a green new deal; a new democracy; a national care service; Land reform; housing revolution; Controlling our own energy; better banking; and a focus on independence,.to future crisis like the climate emergency.