The Counting House in Marienburg, a powerful bank of the Old World
A bank is a business that provides a safe haven for individuals' currency and supplies credit and investment capital to merchants and craftsmen to carry out new transactions or grow their revenues. Banks are present in most cities and towns of the Old World and beyond and represent a cornerstone of the growth of a "middle class" in the Old World in recent centuries. Banks are also used to safely store precious items and currency in a vault for later use or to grow one's profit through the acquisition of interest on deposits.[1a][2]
The use of banks allows citizens to store funds for future use. The wealthy may find it worth a trip to the bank where they can decide whether to increase their fortunes by investing it with a reputable banking institution or to stash it somewhere less secure.[4a]
The wealthy and members of the nobility can place their money in a banking house's vaults. Their money will be reasonably safe and will accrue interest over time as the bankers lend it out to other borrowers, though this also puts these assets at risk if the bankers make poor investment decisions.[4a]
Banking Fees[]
Popular in towns and cities of the Old World, this method of taxation is despised and unavoidable. The rates charged by banks vary, but generally, a deduction is made from any amount deposited or withdrawn from a bank. Within the Empire, the charge is currently a crown for the emperor, a shilling for the bank, and a penny for the clerk for each ten crowns handled. Promissory notes and letters of credit often qualify for two to three times this rate.[1a]
Marienburg Banks[]
With a position that makes it a focal point of trade in the Old World, Marienburg has also become a centre of almost unbelievable wealth. Whether from taxes and tariffs or the middleman's cut, the profits from trade have made the merchants of Marienburg influential in places far-distant from the cold and windy Wasteland.[5b]
With surplus gold overflowing their counting houses, the heads of the merchant houses serve as bankers and creditors for noble families all over the Old World. When kings and Elector Counts need to raise mercenary armies, they often turn to the bankers of Marienburg for ready cash. These debts in turn give the ruling Directorate of Marienburg influence over the policies of lands far-removed from their own. And, in an emergency, they can afford to pay for anything they need, even someone else's army.[5b]
The ten families that comprise most of the Directorate of Marienburg are not only made rich through the profits of trade, but in recent centuries they have become the bankers to the rest of the Old World. When the Tzar of Kislev, for example, wanted to raise an army to clear the Goblins from the Belyevorota Pass, he had two choices: raise taxes or borrow the money. Faced with the prospect of a peasant revolt at increased taxation, he instead floated a loan with House van de Kuypers of Marienburg large enough to pay for the entire campaign.[5a]
Notable Banks[]
- Altdorf Bank - Bank of the Empire (controlled by the Order of the Griffon).[2]
- Arkat Fooger's Counting House - A counting house and renowned bank in Marienburg.[5c]
- Karaz-a-Karak Bank - A banking house controlled by the Dwarfs (The Oathbearers).[2][Note 1]
- Lothern Bank - A banking house controlled by the High Elves (The Shining Guard).[2][Note 1]
- Karak Eight Peaks Bank - A Dwarf bank now under the control of the Greenskins of the Bloody Sun Boyz tribe.[2][Note 1]
- Fist of Malekith Bank - A banking house of the Dark Elves (controlled by House Uthorin).[2][Note 1]
- The Inevitable City Bank - A banking house controlled by the forces of Chaos (The Raven Host).[2]
- Vela's Banking House - Bank of the de Vela family of Tobaro. There are rumours that the bank's coffers are often used by Prince Tibaldus Marsarius de Vela to silence political dissidents.[3a]
Notes[]
- Note 1: These banks were intended for the cities cut from the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning MMO, and therefore belong to an alternate timeline and do not exist in the canon Known World.
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Old World Armoury (RPG)
- 1a: pp. 14-15
- 2: Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (PC Game)
- 3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: The Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Companion (RPG)
- 3a: pg. 81
- 4: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Rulebook (RPG)
- 4a: pg. 196
- 5: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Marienburg Sold Down The River (RPG)