There are two existing models that can serve as inspiration for the Los Angeles Public Bank: the Bank of North Dakota and the Sparkassen in Germany.

a) The Bank of North Dakota. The Bank of North Dakota has a board with three elected representatives who set policy for public service interests and an advisory board of bankers who serve in an advisory capacity.

b) Sparkassen of Germany. The Sparkassen in Germany has three boards, with one-third elected by a regional parliament, one-third made up of employee representatives, and one-third made up of people from the public who have proven economic expertise.
It will be up to Los Angeles’ elected representatives, banking experts, and the people to determine the most effective governance structure for the public bank, taking into consideration the needs of the city and upholding the bank’s social and environmental responsibility mission. One proposal for the Public Bank LA incorporates the Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils into the governance framework.

Michael Brennan, a research at The Democracy Collaborative created a democratic design proposal for the Public Bank LA effort incorporating the participation of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Councils into the governance framework. There are currently 99 Neighborhood Councils in Los Angeles, each serving about 40,000 people. Read Constructing the Democratic Public Bank: A Governance Proposal for the Los Angeles Public Bank.