It's a 'socialist' bank — and North Dakota Republicans love it

Key Points:

• The Bank of North Dakota, founded in 1919 as part of a populist farmer-labor movement, remains the only state-owned and operated bank in the U.S., managing about $11 billion in assets and enjoying bipartisan support despite the state's conservative politics.
• The bank functions as a "bankers' bank," supporting community banks through participation loans and financing projects including agriculture, energy, housing, and disaster relief, while avoiding competition with local financial institutions.
• The bank played a crucial role in saving the Coal Creek Station coal plant by facilitating complex financing for its sale and enabling its evolution into an energy park with cryptocurrency mining and potential AI data center development.
• Public banking is gaining renewed interest nationally, especially among progressive Democrats advocating for state and municipal public banks as tools to reclaim control over public funds and finance infrastructure, though commercial banks and some critics warn of political risks and inefficiencies.
• The Bank of North Dakota exemplifies a pragmatic blend of populist roots and free-market principles, serving as a model for how public banking can partner with private enterprise to promote regional economic self-determination without embracing full state ownership.