This coalition researched all of the banks doing business in Oregon and weighed several objectively measurable factors to rate how local the banks and credit unions truly are.

Head on over to the website to see the research, and get all the information you need to start moving your money:

www.oregonbankslocal.org

The State Bank of North Dakota

Our campaign for a State Bank in Oregon is still creating buzz throughout the country.  Our efforts earned a feature story in the October 2011 edition of “In The Times” magazine.  Here’s are some clips from that piece:

“Credit has dried up out there,” says [Jim] Houser, co-chair of one of the state’s small business organizations, The Main Street Alliance. “It is hurting small businesses tremendously.”

“Big banks are not lending in small-town America,” says Barbara Dudley, co-chair of the Oregon Working Families Party. “They are either not lending or lending overseas,” thus slowing economic recovery and job creation.

“We definitely would be able to make more loans” if there were a state bank, community banker Vigesaa says.

To read the full article, CLICK HERE.

View Oregonians for a State Bank in a full screen map

Do you support local businesses and family farms? Add your name here!

I’m happy to report that an hour ago, with a bi-partisan vote of 4 to 1, the Senate General Government, Consumer and Small Business Protection Committee just PASSED the state bank bill.

Our bill now goes to the Senate Revenue Committee for its next test. But before we focus on that, let’s take a moment to thank the folks in Salem who worked so hard to get this done today. Senator Chip Shields and the Legislative Fiscal Office deserve appreciation for working hard, all the way up to the deadline.

Please sign your name to this thank you card, which we will hand deliver to Senator Shields and the Legislative Fiscal Office. Sen. Shields showed real leadership today in shepherding this bill through a difficult process. Though their work often goes unnoticed, the folks in the Legislative Fiscal Office also deserve our respect and thanks–they are swamped right now and they worked right down to the wire to get their report done, which allowed the bill to advance.

But while we didn’t get the vote to advance the bill through committee yesterday, we did score one important victory: we successfully fought Wall Street lobbyists and ensured that the bankers on the State Bank advisory board must represent banks and credit unions with at least 75% of their branches in Oregon.

Why is this important? The brain of the proposed State Bank is its advisory board. We’ve been working hard to ensure it will include a small business owner, a family farmer, and representatives from local community banks and credit unions. However, (no surprise here) the big banks are fighting the idea of restricting the advisory board to local banks. They’ve made several efforts to remove any provision to require local control, but we’ve beat them each time so far.

Ensuring that banks and credit unions on the advisory board have at least 75% of their branches in the state means that when we finally do get our State Bank, Oregonians won’t find board members from Bank of America or J.P. Morgan undermining the state’s best interests. This amendment passed unanimously.

* *

*In the news*
*We’ve gotten some good press lately. Here’s a sampling:* * *
John Sowell, by the Roseburg News-Review:
http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20110418/NEWS/110419801/1063/NEWS&ParentProfile=1055 (* Note: this article shows that the misinformation about the state bank not being constitutional is still out there. We have contacted this reporter to correct his last, incorrect statement in what otherwise was a very good story.)

Blue Oregon, “I Couldn’t Get A Loan For My Small Business, As the Bank Determined I Had No Job”:

http://www.blueoregon.com/2011/04/i-couldnt-get-loan-my-small-business-bank-determined-i-had-no-job/

We also got short but positive coverage yesterday on OPB when they were in the capitol.

*I’d like to say a big thank you to the advocates who went above and beyond for the campaign by writing letters to the editor this week:*
In the Corvallis Gazette-Times, John W. Ross. In the Salem Statesman-Journal, Dave Andrieu. In the Oregonian, Grant Swanson, from Southeast Portland.

Also, on April 13th, Jared Gardner from Oregonians for a State Bank gave a talk, “Building a Resilient Local Financial System,” at PSU’s Institute for Sustainable Solutions. I can’t tell you how much useful information is packed into this lecture; it’s like taking a crash course in everything that’s been going on in the financial world over the past several years, and why the state bank is so important. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zI2wqK9jyI

1PM, Salem:
Senate Committee to vote on state bank proposal (SB 889), State Capitol, Hearing Room B

4PM:
Rally with MoveOn.org and US Uncut
Bank of America on 390 High St NE at Center in downtown Salem

We’re protesting the fact that Bank of America–which is sitting on billions of dollars in deposits from Oregonians, and has only made two small business loans in Oregon this year–paid no taxes in 2010. Steve Hughes, state director of the Oregon Working Families Party, will be speaking at the rally about our campaign for a state bank to put our money to work in Oregon.

Monday, April 18th

1:00 pm: Senate Hearing on the Ted Wheeler’s “virtual” state bank proposal (SB 889) State Capitol
900 Court Street NE, Salem, OR, Hearing Room B

4:00 pm: Rally with MoveOn.org and US Uncut
Bank of America on 390 High St NE at Center in downtown Salem, OR

This April 18th at 1pm, the Senate Committee on General Government, Consumer and Small Business Protection is holding a work session and a vote on SB 889. We need to be in front of the committee and make sure our state Senators are listening to the taxpayers, not Wall Street.

At 4pm, in celebration of Tax Day, we’re meeting at Bank of America in downtown Salem with MoveOn.org and US Uncut to protest the fact that BoA—which is sitting on billions of dollars in deposits from Oregonians, and has only given out two small business loans in Oregon this year—paid no taxes in 2010. Our own Steve Hughes, state director of the Oregon Working Families party, will be speaking at the rally.

If you can, help us deliver a 1-2 punch to Wall Street on Monday, April 18th: first, in the work session; then, we take it to the streets!

If you’re in Roseburg, stop by at Round Table Pizza, 2040 NW Stewart Parkway at 6PM. Oregon Working Families Party State Director Steve Hughes and Main Street Alliance Coalition Coordinator Dan Lombardi will be delighting, entertaining, and possibly eating pizza.

Both events are free and open to the public.

To the right, you can see some of our 100+ supporters packing the room during the Senate Hearing, wearing neon green stickers reading “Invest in Oregon, Not Wall Street.”

Here’s some of the testimony we heard:

Andrea Malmberg, a cattle rancher from Union, OR stated that she’s having trouble expanding because, despite her profitable ranch and consulting businesses, Big Banks claim that she has no job.

Mahlon Vigesaa, president and CEO of Centerpointe Community Bank, told us about the small businesses he wants to help, but can’t.

Sarah Brown, owner of Diggin’ Roots Farm, said that although she and her husband qualified for sizable mortgages and loans, the second they mentioned the word farm, the banks changed their tune.

Jose Gonzalez, president of Tu Casa Realty in Salem, told the legislators how the credit crunch is affecting the ability of small businesses he knows to expand and create more jobs across the state.

Even a former hedge fund manager, Bobby Schultz, testified how much this is needed in the state.

It was also great to see the media take notice!

• In the Eugene Register-Guard: “Bills to create state finance board come into limelight. Proponents say it would stimulate economic recovery by unlocking state financing for Oregon businesses.”


Rep. Phil Barnhart, sponsor of HB 3452, speaks to state bank supporters before the hearing.

• Also in the Eugene Register-Guard, a great Op-Ed by one of our supporters, Scott Frost: “An Oregon state bank is the answer for struggling farmers.”
• The Salem Statesman Journal published “Legislature hears two bills that would alter lending”
• And the Associated Press ran an article, “Ore. ponders investing state funds in local firms,” that appeared in Forbes, Bloomberg Business Week, Yahoo! Finance, and papers around the state

Thanks for such a great day, everyone! If you’d like to see more photos from the day or add your own the the pool, please visit our new Flickr group.

Don’t forget: this week, we’re holding forums in Roseburg, and Bend. Please visit http://oregoniansforastatebank.org/take-action/ for more information.