Bank on San Francisco

On Dec. 2, 2005, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and City Treasurer José Cisneros invited the presidents of the city's financial institutions to a breakfast at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Their purpose was to challenge the financial institution leaders to launch an unprecedented initiative called Bank on San Francisco. The goal would be to bring 10,000 of the city's estimated 50,000 "un-banked" individuals into the financial mainstream by helping them to open low-cost starter accounts. Newsom and Cisneros urged the bank presidents to see the un-banked as an untapped market -- one that could be served profitably to benefit their bottom line, individual customers, and the San Francisco community.

In September 2006 San Francisco launched Bank on San Francisco, becoming the first city in the country to launch a comprehensive initiative to bring its "un-banked" residents into the financial mainstream. New America Fellow Anne Stuhldreher played a leading role in conceiving and implementing this initiative

A case study describing why and how Bank on San Francisco was started is available below in PDF format. It is written for individuals in other cities who may be considering similar initiatives.