[gregsq]

On the other hand, being afraid of all kinds of public ownership is not helpful. I'd bring national development banks into this. They proved themselves to be very efficient in the twentieth century in places that were at the time in need of development, like Singapore and Australia. The UK even mooted one, through Vince Cable, as a means of growth out of the GFC. Didn't fly in the end for pretty obvious reasons. China's just made one, the Asia development bank, and to the chagrin of the US, has been joined by those same countries who from experience, know that they work.

Australia's largest bank, the commonwealth bank, was public, which you can get from the name. It had a trading bank. For development.