e20 - Local Banking to Help our Communities

Monopolies Killed My Hometown

There's a been a lot of banking discussions in the last few months - the Silicon Valley Bank run, Credit Suisse, RBC looking to buy HSBC. There's so much talk about banking and how it fits into our communities. I see local and community banking as a piece of the infrastructure that is necessary for a healthy community, especially the business community. As the banks have merged to become larger, the local decision making and understanding of the local business community has been removed. Every business is the same, but every business is also different. More local understanding of businesses can increase the access to capital available for small businesses and in communities. Credit Unions can be a source of this local banking infrastructure, but they are consolidating themselves to compete with the large banks. One option for the Federal Government to consider - Postal Banking.

Links from today's episode:

• Why almost everyone failed to predict Silicon Valley Bank's collapse
• Depositors pulled $75 billion from Credit Suisse as it veered toward collapse
• Why Canada Needs Postal Banking, CCPA Report
• A bank for everyone, Support Postal Banking
• New Credit Union Is the Largest In New Brunswick
• Canada Post and TD enter strategic alliance to expand access to financial services for Canadians
• Japan Post Bank