I’m off to Ireland tomorrow to participate in the Kilkenny Festival and to help with the movement there for a network of publicly-owned banks. The Public Banking Forum of Ireland sent a quite promising report on developments that I thought I would post in the meantime, titled Exploring the Sparkassen Model of Local Savings Banks in Ireland with the Savings Bank Foundation for International Cooperation (SBFIC). It can be read here:
Sparkassen Model in Ireland Oct (1)
(I had a bit of trouble loading it; if it doesn’t come up, there is much similar information on the PBFI website.)
Filed under: In the News | Tagged: Irish banking crisis, public banking |
WEB OF DEBT BLOG 
Sorry, the original link didn’t work. Hopefully it does now!
Unfortunately, here in western Canada, more & more credit unions are being co-opted by the banking system with more directors being drawn from local (conservative & self-serving) businessmen.
CEOs & management are being recruited from middle management of large banks, so they too have little interest in the traditional social & co-opratve goals of the CU movement as they award themselves bigger & bigger salaries & bonuses, like their ex bank colleagues.
Excellent overview of progress to date in Ireland,So the Irish people are “doing it ” for themselves,
Interesting to note the principles of such a bank with a 200yr history.The Sparkassen Public Bank has a turnover of €1,100 Billion and 70% of the German SME market the real backbone of any economy.
The regional principle, local expertise and SME competence,not profit maximisation, together with a public mandate and No speculation (Ganbling)This model is worth further detailed examination.
I thought the World Bank made Ireland ditch 25,000 good government jobs to get one of their loans to keep their economy a float?
Sorry to hear this. Get yourself onto the board of your Credit Union asap.
Easy to say but difficult to do as boards are controlled by insiders & money.
Dear Ellen,
Thank you for the Sparkassen model.
Have a good trip.
Keep up your good work!
You be well.
Yours, Reed Kinney
Wow==they actually loan out money that people deposit in savings instead of making it up out of thin air. I have heard that the big private Deutsche Bank is trying to nix the Sparkassen??
Banks always create money out of thin air (by journal entry). They do not loan out savings. Never have and never well
Why. Because saving are the banks liability (its our asset but the banks liability). And its impossible to loan out a liability.
Just saw this on a trivia, pics site. Did not know this is how Golden Gate Bridge was financed. “Little federal or state money was used to build the bridge. Most of the financing came from bonds sold by the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District. Despite being in the midst of the Great Depression, voters in the district’s six counties in 1930 approved a $35 million bond issue that required them to put their homes, farms and businesses up as collateral. The resounding approval by a three-to-one margin reflected the faith of local citizens in the long-term economic benefit of the project. The construction bonds were retired in 1971. – See more at: http://see.place/post/some_things_you_may_not_know_about_the_glorious_golden_gate_bridge#sthash.RVxESk9X.dpuf“
Ireland are part of the EU and Euro. I’m unsure if their EU masters will allow this?
And they have already given away their most valuable asset (monetary sovereignty when they joined the Euro). Isn’t this an attempt to shut the stable door after the house has already bolted?
actually it is Brussells ??? which wants to undo the Sparkasse
RJ………there is some truth in what you say, but there is a future to be determined……….