Tallinn Mayor Floats Municipal Bank Plan
Tallinn Mayor Edgar Savisaar said the city is planning to set up a municipal bank, which would more socially fair.
He told municipal newspaper Pealinn today that banks in Estonia make more than the annual wage of 100,000 people without giving much back.
Savisaar said if the 444 million euros private banks in the country earned in profit last year were to be divided between 74,000 children, then each would get 500 euros per month.
Rising banking costs have not turned into better services, he said, adding the nation needs a banking sector where the clients' needs outweigh the interests of the bank.
A solution to more "socially fair" banking would be a co-operative bank created by the Tallinn local government, which would serve other municipalities, businesses that belong to the them, and the state, state institutions and Estonian residents.
He said the bank would also boost local businesses with loans.
In recent years Tallinn has set up a municipal police force and opened markets and a shop under the control of the local government.