SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – A growing majority of San Franciscans want to lower their cost of living and are supporting the creation of a public bank aimed at funding affordable housing, small businesses, and climate initiatives, according to a report from the San Francisco Public Bank Coalition.
The coalition said millennials and Gen Z voters, struggling with rising rents, student debt, and stagnant wages, see a public bank as a tool to build an economy that “works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.”
The report argues that the widening wealth gap in America is worsened by discriminatory banking practices that exclude Black and Latino borrowers. NPR reported that between 2017 and 2020, City National Bank “avoided marketing and underwriting mortgages in majority Black and Latino neighborhoods in Los Angeles County,” according to the Justice Department.
Major banks such as Wells Fargo have faced repeated scandals for consumer abuses. In 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that Wells Fargo was fined $1 billion by federal regulators for pushing products on customers without consent and misusing client funds.
According to the SFPBC, 67 percent of likely San Francisco voters support establishing a public bank—an initiative that would make San Francisco the first city in the nation to create a municipal bank to reinvest city funds into affordable housing, climate sustainability, and small business development.
The group said 69 percent of voters were even more likely to support the bank if its first investments went toward renewable energy, followed by affordable housing and other public projects. Voters, the report noted, want a financial institution that reflects their values and vision for the future.
Supporters envision a bank that prioritizes renewable energy, reduces fossil fuel dependence, and invests in public transportation. The Rainforest Action Network found that, since 2016, major banks have financed more than 2,100 companies across the fossil fuel industry “with no regard to the consequences on people and the planet.”
The California Department of Justice’s climate change research underscores the urgency of reform, noting that as of 2025 the state continues to face devastating wildfires, droughts, and ocean pollution. It warns that drinking water is “particularly vulnerable to climate changes and rising sea levels.”
The DOJ report adds that Californians already experience the worst air quality in the nation, with low-income communities suffering the greatest health burdens. Residents in these areas, it said, face shorter life expectancies, higher rates of childhood respiratory illness, and food insecurity.
The SFPBC maintains that public banking represents a break from the “tumultuous relationship between private bankers and citizens,” pledging that it would uphold racial, economic, and environmental justice.
Voters who support the proposal, the coalition said, are advocating for affordable housing, community health, and a stronger local economy grounded in sustainability and equity.
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