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

This paper presents a model for building an unlimited number of houses for social rent on a zero-subsidy basis using the Scottish National Investment Bank.

These houses would be built to extremely high standards of thermal efficiency and on a stable finance model ensuring costs to the tenant are far lower than the private market.

The case is made that this model could be used as a post-pandemic stimulus scheme which will reform and secure the housing and construction sector.

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.

This paper proposes six policy ways to renew the Scottish Government’s domestic agenda through fresh and eye-catching policy transformation after 10 years in power at Holyrood.

― 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.