# FINANCE: BANKING
The money deposited in or borrowed from private banks adds to the power of a global financial system that **undermines local economies** and furthers environmental destruction. Creating local **alternatives** to that system can help reverse the damage – and it’s not as difficult as you might think.
# Banking Actions * [ ] Move your money. (Expand Action)
* [ ] Start a community bank. (Expand Action)
* [ ] Start a credit union. (Expand Action)
* [ ] Start a Rotating Savings and Credit Association. (Expand Action)
* [ ] Policy action: Advocate for public banks. (Expand Action)
* [ ] Policy action: Support fundamental change of the financial system. (Expand Action)
# Voices from the field
* In the talk Real Wealth – A Future We Can Bank On, Ellen Brown, founder of the US-based Public Banking Institute and author of The Web of Debt, explodes several common myths about banks.
* The animated film Money as Debt, by Canadian filmmaker Paul Grignon, illustrates the origins and development of the modern, debt-based money system.
# Policy
* The Public Banking Institute has information on existing laws and statutes governing public banking, as well as legislation proposed in every state and many municipalities in the US.
* The International Movement for Monetary Reform, with member organizations in dozens of countries worldwide, is a good source of information on policy changes needed in particular countries.
# Resources
* The report Banking on Climate Chaos, by a coalition of climate justice organizations, exposes how "In the 5 years since the Paris Agreement, the world’s 60 biggest banks have financed fossil fuels to the tune of $3.8 trillion."
* Community banking and lending systems are a great improvement over the global financial system. But in places where non-monetized exchange is still common, even the most well-intentioned initiatives can draw people out of community-based self-reliance onto the bottom rungs of the global economic system. The article Small Loans, Big Problems: the False Promise of Microfinance, by Helena Norberg-Hodge, explores the pitfalls of microfinance in greater depth.
* Although the formal Move Your Money campaigns have mostly dissolved since the peak of the 2008 financial collapse, the principles behind them still remain valid. Learn about the US-based campaign in the article Move Your Money: A New Year's Resolution in the Huffington Post, and about the UK-based campaign in the article Divest! by Move Your Money UK.
* The study Solidarity finance through community development banks as a strategy for reshaping local economies: lessons from Banco Palmas looks at the potential benefits of community development banks in Brazil, based on the successes of Banco Palmas and its local currency. Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.