The other variants of Full Reserve Banking include Kay’s Narrow Banking, Kotlikoff’s Limited Purpose Banking, Positive Money and New Economics Foundation’s plans for monetary reform.
Daily Outlook Afghanistan, 11th Jan 2017
Our democracy is broken: here’s a utopian idea for fixing it
Fran Boait, head of Positive Money, favours sovereign money, created by the government after public deliberation.
The Guardian, 9th Jan 2017
MPs are right to question Bank of England’s monetary policy
Positive Money campaigners protest in front of the Bank of England in London, calling on the government and the Bank to abandon QE
The Guardian, 22nd Dec 2016
Cashing in on blockchain technology
Positive money argues such a scenario – in which central banks have control over money supply – could have far-reaching benefits, and be achieved through the means of a central bank digital currency.
World Finance, 21st Dec 2016
“There is no clear change in direction”, comments Fran Boait, Executive Director of Positive Money, on the autumn statement.
BBC Radio London, 24th Nov 2016
‘Give money to people not banks’ say group
Positive Money supporter John Fitzpatrick, from Bournemouth, said: “It’s absolutely unbelievable. While Bournemouth struggles with cuts to local services, the government and the Bank of England are presiding over a policy which makes the rich even richer.”
Bournemouth Daily Echo, 14th Nov 2016
To deal with climate change we need a new financial system
And this idea is already beginning to gain traction: in the UK, the campaigning group Positive Money has generated momentum around it, building on a series of excellent explanatory videos.
The Guardian, 5th Nov 2016
Positive Money protest against the Bank of England’s stimulus programme
Positive Money want to stop the Bank of England’s quantitative easing scheme, which is now creating £425bn of new money. Instead, it wants the government to control the money-creation process.
The Guardian, 3rd Nov 2016
QE makes the rich richer: Positive Money
Fran Boait explains why Positive Money is protesting against the recent moves the Bank of England has taken.
CNBC, 3rd Nov 2016
Why Theresa May is only half right: The real problem with the Bank of England
Rather than pump money into financial markets, economists and campaigners are calling for new money created via QE to be spent through the government into the real economy on either investment in infrastructure, housebuilding, or a cash payment to citizens.
The Newsweek (by Fran Boait), 2nd Nov 2016
UK facing £84bn black hole in finances, according to think tank
The Bank of England’s own research has pointed out that QE increases inequality. What we need to see if we’re going to rebalance the economy is the Bank of England working with the Treasury in order to get a fairer system.
RT, 26th Oct 2016
Monetary policy has an enormous impact on politics. It’s time for a radical rethink
This might sound radical, but currently, it’s considered good if banks create money, regardless of whether they use it to lend to businesses or to blow up property bubbles.
The Guardian (by Fran Boait), 12th Oct 2016
Theresa May might have just started a war with the Bank of England
There is a growing movement that argues the extremely loose monetary policy we’ve seen since the financial crisis is actually doing more harm than good, with the “Positive Money” movement spearheading a move away from quantitative easing and towards fiscal stimulus — the government spending money.
Business Insider, 5th Oct 2016
Fran Boait, director of Positive Money, discusses the new structure of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy decision-making process.
BBC World Business Report, 4th Oct 2016
Scrapping cash: don’t let the banks coin it
Having a privatised currency may appeal to some, but the 2008 crisis is pretty clear evidence that the banks aren’t doing a very good job of creating money. Indeed, they have been seriously abusing their privilege.
Prospect Magazine (by Fran Boait), 15th Sept 2016
Fran Boait, director of Positive Money on Newsnight talking about the future of cash
BBC Newsnight, 7th Sept 2016
Positive Money Campaign Launch – “QE isn’t working” Outside Bank of England
We’re here campaigning to simply say that this newly created money should be spent into the economy, boost incomes, jobs and investments.
RT, 19th August 2016
Banker Who’d Revolutionize Money Says It Can Be Done From Within
Vollgeld’s counterpart in the U.K. is Positive Money, a group that also advocates central-bank financing of government expenditure known as “People’s QE.” A version of that has been backed by Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour party.
Bloomberg, 17th August 2016
Bce: caro Draghi, date soldi a noi cittadini, non alle banche
Per questo motivo il gruppo di Positive Money, in beta anche in Italia, sta lanciando in tutta Europa una campagna perché il QE sia ufficialmente abbandonato in favore di un’alternativa che non ha gli stessi effetti collaterali negativi.
Il Fatto Quotidiano, 17th August 2016
Protesters Tell Bank of England Bond-Buying Plan Isn’t Working
The rally, organized by Positive Money, called for alternatives to bond-buying and came just two weeks after policy makers said they would restart asset purchases to help stave off the economic shock from Britain’s Brexit vote.
Bloomberg, 17th August 2016
We mustn’t pay the price for broken economics
Fortunately, opposing voices are starting to come through loud and clear. Last week, 35 top economists (via the Positive Money campaign) wrote to Philip Hammond asking him to support a new form of monetary policy.
The National, 12th August 2016
Govt policy exacerbates house prices
Fran Boait, Executive Director for Positive Money spoke on the report that 1/3rd of working families are a month’s paycheck away from losing homes
Russia Today, 10th August 2016
“The Bank of England is relying on the same failed policies that we’ve seen in the last seven years – low interest rates and quantitative easing – which can only work by encouraging more private sector borrowing.”, Fran Boait, Director of Positive Money
LBC Radio, 5th August 2016
Free Lunch: Money talks louder than a governor’s eyebrows
“A group of economists on Wednesday sent an open letter to the chancellor, advocating money creation to finance government spending on infrastructure or cash transfers to households.” (This letter was coordinated and co-signed by Positive Money.)
The Financial Times, 5th August 2016
Economists call for Bank of England cash handouts to prop up economy
“A group of economists has called on the Bank of England and the government to sanction direct cash handouts – so-called helicopter money – to stimulate the economy in the wake of the EU referendum.” (This letter was coordinated and co-signed by Positive Money.)
City AM, 4th August 2016
Interest rate cut: What did the Bank of England announce today and how will it affect you?
“A group of economists organised by the financial reform pressure group Positive Money this week have suggested that the Bank of England’s money printing should be used to finance government tax cuts for the public or direct cash transfers to households.”
The Independent, 4th August 2016
A post-Brexit economic policy reset for the UK is essential
“Ultra-loose monetary policy has come with harmful side-effects,” write 35 economists in their letter to the Chancellor. The letter was coordinated and co-signed by Positive Money.
The Guardian, 3rd August 2016
Ever wondered how money is created? – Big Money Questions show
Fran Boait, executive director of Positive Money explains how it’s created and whether there’s a different way of making it that would make us all a bit wealthier
Daily Mail, This is Money, 29th July 2016
Brexit Turmoil – Could Public Money Creation be on the cards?
Fran Boait, Director of Positive Money, in an interview on the alternative policy to Chancellor George Osborne’s tax rises and spending cuts: Public Money Creation.
Islam Channel, 4th July 2016
Uncertainty as Brexit still not resolved
“The government needs to think about the monetary policy as a potential tool in the toolkit, if, because of the instability, we go into recession”, says Fran Boait, director of Positive Money
Russia Today, 30th June 2016
In his research paper “Recovery in the Eurozone,” economist Frank van Lerven concludes that “(QE) is an ineffective tool for growing GDP and reducing unemployment.”
Investopedia, 22nd May 2016
Are we sleepwalking straight into another financial crisis?
“A number of campaigns such as Positive Money argue that it’s dangerous to leave the power to create money in the hands of the banks that caused the financial crisis.”
Tea after twelve, n° 4, May 2016
UNE POLITIQUE MONÉTAIRE INEFFICACE
“Dans le premier cas, explique l’économiste Frank Van Lerven, les projets doivent pouvoir être mis en oeuvre rapidement pour être efficaces et leur échelle doit pouvoir varier en fonction de la quantité de monnaie que la BCE est prêté a créer.”
Alternatives Economiques, n° 355, March 2016
Bank Of England: New Laws Could Let Payments Firms Bypass Banks
“Positive Money, a not-for-profit organisation headquartered in London, has campaigned for direct settlement account access to be granted to non-bank financial firms. Ben Dyson, the group’s head of research, said the control exercised by banks over that access is currently holding back competition and could grind payment settlement to a halt if vast debt levels prompt a liquidity crisis in the banking industry.”
Payments Compliance magazine, 25th April 2016
Why younger people can’t afford a house: money became too cheap
“The cause of house price rises is the unrestrained supply of something else: money. Mortgage lending over the same period went up by 370%, thinktank Positive Money’s research shows. It was newly created debt that pushed up prices in a decade of extraordinarily loose lending, which gave birth to a national obsession.”
Guardian, 12th April 2016
Más dinero virtual para resucitar a la economía europea
“Así ha funcionado el QE hasta ahora, según el economista Frank Van Lerven, de la ONG Positive Money, en su presentación durante las jornadas de la campaña #QeforPeople en el Parlamento Europeo:”
Diagonal, 10th March 2016
What would the world look like if the banks crashed tomorrow?
“Digital cash would be an electronic version of notes and coins, which is different from the money you use on your debit card because of the way it’s created. At the moment, out of all the money we use in the UK, only 3 per cent is in the form of cash. The other 97 per cent is money created by private banks when they make loans, which is in electronic form.”
The Independent, 7th February 2016
Fran Boait, Executive Director of the not for profit organisation “Positive Money” & Share Radio’s regular economics commentator Professor John Weeks discuss whether it’s time to rethink the concept of quantitative easing.
Share Radio, 2nd February 2016
Time for a digital government mint
“Well done, therefore, to Positive Money, which has just published a report arguing how and why official digital currency should be introduced in the UK. The thoughtful and thorough report qualifies as essential reading.”
Financial Times, 1st February 2016
The Citadel Is Breached: Congress Taps the Fed for Infrastructure Funding
“In a December 2015 paper titled “Recovery in the Eurozone: Using Money Creation to Stimulate the Real Economy“, Frank van Lerven expanded on this research, writing:
…using the money to fund a €100 billion increase in public investment would reduce unemployment by approximately one million, and could be between 2.5 to 12 times more effective at stimulating GDP than current QE.”
Huffington Post, 18th January 2016
Keiser Report: Economic Insurgents (E824)
“In this Keiser Report, Max Keiser interviews Fran Boait, Director of Positive Money about Osborne’s ‘fiscal charter,’ the rise of inequality and its causes.”
RT, 17th October 2015
“The Common Weal, Positive Money and New Economics Foundation event was jam packed…”
Common Space, 16th October 2015
Celebrating the Future at Bristol’s New Economy Summit
“A stellar line-up of speakers over the two days included; Michel Bauwens of the P2P Foundation, James Berry from Bristol Credit Union, Fran Boait of Positive Money, Bristol’s Mayor George Ferguson, Tony Greenham of the RSA…”
Huffington Post, 15th October 2015
“Don’t Owe. Won’t Pay.” Everything You’ve Been Told About Debt Is Wrong
“Fortunately, there are deeper and more elegant alternatives to conventional redistributive strategies. I’ll mention two of the most promising: “positive money” and negative-interest currency. Both of these entail a fundamental change in the way money is created.”
Yes Magazine, 20th August 2015
U.K. Activist Group Emerges as Voice for Monetary Reform
“Positive Money’s campaign highlights how in the aftermath of the economic crisis ordinary people have been delving deep into the financial undergrowth to examine the roots of the monetary system.”
Wall Street Journal, 19th August 2015
‘See wealth, think debt that financed it’
Ben Dyson, founder of Positive Money, proposes solutions to the problems presented by private banks creating money by issuing loans.
RT, 13th August 2015
The reality gap in the role of banks
“Ben Dyson, head of research at Positive Money, a campaigning movement, says the mainstream loanable funds view of banks tends to be promulgated in the finance sector, and among bankers themselves, pointing to the standard textbook from the Chartered Bankers Institute as an example.”
Financial Times, 8th June 2015
Reality Check: Could the Greens change how money works?
“Positive Money, a group that argues for reforming the monetary system, says 97% of money is created by banks.
Each time a bank makes a loan, it essentially creates money.
And it is basically up to banks to decide how many loans they create.”
BBC News, 5th May 2015
Can money be a force for good?
“Positive Money is a campaigning organisation that advocates something similar: a sovereign money system in which the central bank would create new money to be spent into circulation via governments.”
Open Democracy, 14th April 2015
Is the Green Party a Single Issue Party?
“This new wave of Green investment will require a new vision for thinking about how money is created into the economy. Ben Dyson and Positive Money have been leading the way in raising awareness of the fact that the ability of banks to create money as debt is doing little except fuel a property bubble.”
Huffington Post, 27th February 2015
Bankerne afgør, om vi skal have finansbobler eller en tørlagt økonomiy
“Den engelske reformorganisation Positive Money viser i bogen ’Modernising Money’, at badekarrets to systemer kan adskilles. Bankerne fratages retten til pengeskabelse.”
Politiken, Denmark, 26th February 2015
What Has Become of the £375 Billion Created by the Bank of England Under Quantitative Easing?
“Positive-Money’s aim is to democratize money creation and banking by taking the power to create money from the hands of commercial banks and moving it into the hands of a transparent and accountable body.”
Huffington Post, 17th February 2015
EU better off with ‘helicopter checks’ not QE
If you gave that money directly to people and allowed them to spend it, that would create a recovery much faster than QE,” Dyson told RT.
RT, 22th January 2015
Liability could be issued as zero-coupon irredeemable bonds
“There is no reason that the new liability would have to bear interest, since it could be issued as zero-coupon irredeemable bonds. Unlike government debt, these bonds would not create any financial obligations on the part of the government.”
Letter to Financial Times from Fran Boait, 16th November 2014
Debate over monetary system grows
“If you ask people where money comes from, most of them will say it’s made by the government,” says Ben Dyson, founder of the UK organization Positive Money, part of a growing international movement pushing for reform to the current monetary system.”But the reality is that the government is only responsible for creating three percent of the money…”
Deutsche Welle, 28th November 2014
Growth: the destructive god that can never be appeased
“Amazingly, this consideration begins on Thursday. For the first time in 170 years, parliament will debate one aspect of the problem: the creation of money. Few people know that 97% of our money supply is created not by the government (or the central bank), but by commercial banks in the form of loans. “
Guardian, 18th November 2014
Parliament to debate ‘money creation’, first time in 170 years
“Positive Money has encouraged MPs to ask questions about the “creation” of money in central banks, how it affects the wider economy, including housing and welfare, and how much power Parliament should have over the printing of money.”
RT, 6th November 2014
“Why have we given our greatest social creation – money – over to private, profit seeking companies?”
This was a question posed by Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator of the Financial Times, at the beginning of the event Does Money Grow on Trees? organised by Positive Money and the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales (ICAEW).
Open Democracy, 18th November 2014
Nieuvsuur TV, Netherlands: Concerns about the global economy
Dutch national television broadcasted a report with interviews with Martin Wolf and Positive Money’s Ben Dyson. They both spoke about the need to reform the monetary system.
Nieuvsuur, 13th Oct 2014
Keiser Report: Black hole of debt (E659)
In the second half, Max interviews Ben Dyson, Founder of Positive Money, about the mounting debt and about the monetary ignorance of most members of parliament.
Blue & Keiser Report, 27th Sep 2014
Poll: three quarters of MPs don’t understand how money is made
“The survey, commissioned by the reform campaign group Positive Money, found that 71% of MPs believe that only the government has the power to create money. “
Blue & Green Tomorrow, 19th Aug 2014
“New solutions are emerging to fix our current damaging and dysfunctional money system.”
The RSA, 19th Aug 2014
Making money – the state must reclaim its sovereign rights
“Positive Money have advocated using ‘sovereign money’ to boost the real economy without relying on increasing national and household debt, and further bank lending.”
The Ecologist, 22nd May 2014
Keiser Report: Positive Money (E603)
“In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max Keiser interviews Ben Dyson of Positive Money about what the economy and banking system would look like with positive money.”
Keiser Report, 20th May 2014
Why we can’t leave the power to create money in the hands of banks or regulators
“Since that crisis there’s been a growing call for changes to the way that money is created, particularly from Positive Money.”
Open Democracy, 19th May 2014
Printing Money to Help the Poor
“Another possibility, as suggested by Andrew Jackson and Ben Dyson in their book Modernising Money, would be for the government to issue perpetual bonds that pay no interest, and for the central bank to then purchase these bonds in the required amount.”
Bloomberg Business Week, 8th May 2014
Hyperinflation is born in extremis
“If those who are creating money benefit personally from doing so, then this conflict of interest will lead them to create too much money. This is why relying on banks to create an economy’s money is never optimal.”
Letter to the Financial Times from Ben Dyson, 7th May 2014
Bankers have done a good job of creating money
“The idea cannot yet be called mainstream, but thanks to the work of a couple of economists at the International Monetary Fund, Jaromir Benes and Michael Kumhof, it has developed a considerable following in academia and beyond. In Britain, it has even spawned its own think tank, Positive Money.”
The Telegraph, 2nd May 2014
Strip private banks of their power to create money
“Similar ideas have come from Laurence Kotlikoff of Boston University in Jimmy Stewart is Dead, and Andrew Jackson and Ben Dyson in Modernising Money. Here is the outline of the latter system.”
The Financial Times, 24th April 2014
Inflation: The fraud at the heart of our economy that is destroying the middle class
“Research by Positive Money shows that only about 10 per cent of newly-created money has gone into the kind of consumer goods tracked by CPI. So all CPI does is measure the effects of about 10 per cent of money creation.”
The Independent, 5th March 2014
Should we accept the world’s banks can do what they like?
Discussed by Peter Morici (Economist and Professor, Maryland Smith School of Business), David Fishwick (Bank of Dave), Brenda Kelly (Chief Market Strategist at IG) and Ben Dyson (Founder of Positive Money)
BBC World Service – World Have Your Say, Tue 11th Feb 2014
Change to UK’s money system could solve our long-term economic problems
“If electronic money was created directly by the Bank of England progress would be made, but sparks would inevitably fly.”
Ben Dyson
Guardian, 6th Feb 2014
Positive Money: how to fix the creation of money?
Green European Journal, 4th Feb 2014
Hackney Gazette, 27th Dec 2013
Positive Money – Picking Up the Slingshot
by Fran Boait
“Although it is unnerving to think about, most economists and politicians do not fully understand why the financial crisis happened.”
Strike Magazine, Revolver Issue, Autumn 2013
The housing market: unsustainable asset bubble or ladder to prosperity?
by Fran Boait
Blue & Green Tomorow, 23rd Nov 2013
Ben Dyson: Understanding How Money Works
Ben Dyson, founder of Positive Money tells how his disillusionment with mainstream economics led him to campaign for a proper understanding of how money works as the first step in fixing a failed banking system. [15 min]
Four Thought, BBC Radio 4, 24th Oct 2012 & 21st Aug 2013
This talk by Ben Dyson has been picked up for a ‘Best of 4 Thought’ series and was re-broadcasted on Wednesday 21st of August, at 8pm.
Money has been privatised by stealth
The greatest privatisation in history has gone unnoticed. It’s time to take from the banks the power to produce money. (Article written by Ben Dyson)
Guardian, Comment is Free, 15th Nov 2011
Making banks and financial firms better: five people on the frontline
Interview with Ben Dyson, founder of Positive Money and four other campaigners working towards a fairer financial system.
Guardian, 11th June 2013
Transforming finance: What would a democratic financial system look like? – video
Speakers from the Transforming Finance conference, including Ben Dyson, on what it means to ‘democratise finance’ and how we might go about it
Guardian, 21st May 2013
Yes, banking’s a mess, but be part of the solution. Move your money!
Deborah Orr mentions Positive Money:
“Thanks to the advent of computer technology, the banks simply found themselves able to turn a customer’s desire for a loan into an actual loan. It seems plain, surely, that it is this ridiculous state of affairs, and has to stop. How did this outrageous scam ever get started? The pressure group,Positive Money, explains it well.”
Guardian, 13th July 2012
IMF’s epic plan to conjure away debt and dethrone bankers
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard mentions Positive Money:
“The IMF duo have supporters. Professor Richard Werner from Southampton University – who coined the term quantitative easing (QE) in the 1990s — testified to Britain’s Vickers Commission that a switch to state-money would have major welfare gains. He was backed by the campaign group Positive Money and the New Economics Foundation.”
Telegraph, 21st October 2012
Just think what the UK could have saved if there were more restrictions on banks
“A trillion pounds is a lot of money. If you counted it, one pound every second, it would take you 32,000 years… It is also the amount of money the UK government could have saved if there were more restrictions on banks, according to banking reform campaign group, Positive Money.”
The Independent, 27th November 2012
Why exactly is it so expensive for us to own a home?
“According to Positive Money, who draw on the work of economists such as Steve Keen and the head of the FSA, Adair Turner, it is the banks’ ability to create digital money when they make new loans that has driven the rise in house prices and fuelled the most recent and catastrophic housing bubble.
The founder of Positive Money, Ben Dyson, puts it like this: “In effect the banks, by being able to create money and pump it into these property bubbles have been able to double the cost of a place to live for the average person.”
The Independent, 28th Aug 2012
Britain and banking: Back to the 1830s
“According to the campaign group Positive Money, over 97% of all the money in the UK economy is electronic. Less than 3% of money is in the form of hard cash. That means that less than 3% of UK money has been created by the Bank of England in the interests of the state. The vast majority has been created by private banks in the form of lending, in the interests of their own profit – 97% of the money in this country is essentially debt.”
The Independent, 12th July 2012
Economic Recovery: Modernising Money
Ecologist, June 2013
Can Positive Money help fix a fatally flawed banking system?
Ecologist, 17th Aug 2011
regular column