OREANDA-NEWS. March 17, 2014. Tallinn City Government has proposed a bill to establish a city bank, the Tallinna Uhistupank (Tallinn Cooperative Bank).
 
Deputy Mayor Taavi Aas said at the city's press conference Wednesday that the decision concerns setting up a legal entity called the Uhistuline Krediidiasutus (Cooperative Credit Institution).

"The goal of this foundation is to establish a credit union. We understand that at least 49 other shareholders besides the city are needed. The first job will be to find those 49 co-founders and the bureaucratic process."

Mayor Edgar Savisaar said: "It's an extraordinary step in a number of senses. We find that the result will be to stem the tide of outflow of capital from Estonia. We estimate that compared to the current foreign bank branches, customers will have more opportunity. Services will be cheaper. […] I also think the Tallinna Uhistupank will change the overall attitudes in the financial sector and prove that domestic banking is again possible and can support the economy and offer beneficial solutions for clients."

A hallmark of Edgar Savisaar's administration in Tallinn has been to back structures — a police force, a public TV station, subsidized food stores — parallel to the national level.