Conclusion: Copper bullets and the future of public banks and public water in Europe

The state-led investment models of the Keynesian era gave way to corporatized cost-recovery models in the neoliberal era, combined with a faith in private markets to invest in water and sanitation services (WSS) infrastructure. By examining a broad selection of cases in Europe where public banks have been active in WSS financing, it is concluded that public banks can and do make an enormous difference to the future sustainability and viability of equitable public WSS. Sustaining and improving what already exists, and building new and better public banks, would therefore benefit from the following actions. First, better awareness of the role (and existence) of public banks is needed. Second, sustained and systematic research is required on public banks, including in the water sector. Methodologically consistent, comparative, and qualitative field work is necessary for a fuller understanding of how public banks operate in the WSS field, without predefined biases of what a public bank should or should not do.