Bank of North Dakota, Only US State-Owned Bank, Holds About $11 Billion in Assets

2.0 · 1d ago · US · FINANCE

The Facts

  • The Bank of North Dakota is the only surviving state-owned and state-operated bank in the US and manages about $11 billion in assets. CNBC only
  • The state legislature authorized the bank in 1919, after the Nonpartisan League, organized by Arthur C. Townley, won power in North Dakota in 1918. CNBC only
  • The bank holds the state's deposits and provides loans, including interest-rate buydowns for agriculture, energy or housing loans. CNBC only
  • Republican officials including Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Sens. Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven (a former bank president) and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum (a former governor) support the bank. CNBC only
  • Roughly a dozen states have had state-run banks in the past; most failed by 1900. CNBC only
Dive deeper · 4 more factsShow less
  • Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Rashida Tlaib led a bill in Congress to make it easier for states to create public banks. CNBC only
  • Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong, who narrowly lost the August Democratic primary to David Crowley, called for a state bank modeled on the Bank of North Dakota in her platform. CNBC only
  • New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, while in the state Assembly, cosponsored a bill to allow municipalities and local governments to create public banks. CNBC only
  • Trump won North Dakota by more than 36 percentage points in 2024. CNBC only

Context

The Bank of North Dakota, created in the wake of the Nonpartisan League's rise, remains the only state-owned bank in the US. CNBC reports it enjoys support from the state's Republican leaders even as 'socialist' is used as a pejorative in the 2026 campaigns.

Democratic and progressive politicians have cited it as a model for expanding public banking. North Dakota officials quoted by CNBC said the bank is a useful financial tool, with Armstrong saying he doubts such a bank could be set up now.

How the Agent Panel Scored This

Independent AI personas each scored importance 1–10; the story's score is a trimmed mean (highest and lowest votes dropped). Vote spread: 0.

2 Informed Citizen This is a feature/explainer about an existing state bank with no new concrete action, only political commentary and proposals by others, so it has limited immediate impact on ordinary people.
2 News Editor This is a feature/explainer about an existing institution with no new concrete event, only background facts, political endorsements, and proposed bills that have not advanced, so it is niche in importance.
2 Business Analyst This feature profile describes an existing institution's size and history plus political endorsements and proposed bills without any new concrete market-moving action, so its economic significance is limited.

Source

← All stories