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The Golden Bank


Alistair Stark

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During my umpteenth re-read of AFfC, I noticed that in a chapter where Cersei is holding court to hear out pleas, she gets very annoyed with the Iron Bank when merchants appear and petition for the Crown's help with the Bank. Because Cersei refuses to pay off the Iron Bank, they have gone around Westeros to collect debts and cease all new loans, causing an economic turmoil.



Meanwhile, Cersei muses to herself about creating a new bank, The Golden Bank, in Lannisport.



My question is, do you think the Iron Bank would not be too happy with a Lannister-backed competition to a market they essentially own?



I think that if Cersei did go through with The Golden Bank, I'm pretty sure the Iron Bank would be infuriated. I'd see them hiring goons or Faceless Men to go and sabotage work efforts and prevent the Bank from opening up. I don't think they'd go right for the throat (Cersei) and would make sure that nothing gets traced back to them.


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I think Cersei has more to worry about them wanting her gone for failure to repay. Seems like that might come back to bite her long before any maffiaesque anti-competitionary behavior. I was sort of under the impression that there were other banking organizations in planetos, just that the iron bank was the biggest. I might be making that up though, can't remember any specific text support for it.


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I think Cersei has more to worry about them wanting her gone for failure to repay. Seems like that might come back to bite her long before any maffiaesque anti-competitionary behavior. I was sort of under the impression that there were other banking organizations in planetos, just that the iron bank was the biggest. I might be making that up though, can't remember any specific text support for it.

You're right, it's the biggest AND most powerful bank, there's others but the IB dwarfs them.

Or they might piss themselves laughing at Cersei's attempt to open up a bank while in some serious debt.

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I think the Iron Bank have given up all hope of retrieving their money from the Iron thrones current incumbents. It stands to reason that sabotaging any attempts at a Golden Bank would only benefit Stannis, who they now support, so I can definitely see the IB taking a more pro-active role against the Lannister. Maybe Harys Swyft will return short a head.


There are definitely references to other banks in Essos, IIRC Myr, Pentos and Lys are all mentioned as having banks/moneylenders. Westeros on the other hand seemingly has none, and I agree the IB would dislike a rival opening in an area they seemingly have huge influence over.


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I think the Iron Bank have given up all hope of retrieving their money from the Iron thrones current incumbents. It stands to reason that sabotaging any attempts at a Golden Bank would only benefit Stannis, who they now support, so I can definitely see the IB taking a more pro-active role against the Lannister. Maybe Harys Swyft will return short a head.

There are definitely references to other banks in Essos, IIRC Myr, Pentos and Lys are all mentioned as having banks/moneylenders. Westeros on the other hand seemingly has none, and I agree the IB would dislike a rival opening in an area they seemingly have huge influence over.

Theres the seeming 'bank of littlefinger' that the antler men were using

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As others have mentioned there are plenty of other banks, and banks are not the only loan originators.




The Crown is more than six million gold pieces in debt, Lord Stark. The Lannisters are the biggest part of it, but we have also borrowed from Lord Tyrell, the Iron Bank of Braavos, and several Tyroshi trading cartels. Of late I've had to turn to the Faith.






Each of the Nine Free Cities had its bank, and some had more than one, fighting over every coin like dogs over a bone, but the Iron Bank was richer and more powerful than all the rest combined.






He did not simply collect the gold and lock it in a treasure vault, no. He paid the king's debts in promises, and put the king's gold to work. He bought wagons, shops, ships, houses. He bought grain when it was plentiful and sold bread when it was scarce. He bought wool from the north and linen from the south and lace from Lys, stored it, moved it, dyed it, sold it. The golden dragons bred and multiplied, and Littlefinger lent them out and brought them home with hatchlings.



So Cersei could probably set up her own bank without getting murdered.


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Why Westeros doesn't already have a bank is insanely strange. The Lannisters have cash-a-plenty (Kevan muses on paying down the Crown's debts with Lannister gold practically as a side-thought), and already the source of half the Crown's loans.



As is, sea travel, even across the Narrow Sea, is far from a perfect proposition. There's definitely very good reason to have a bank on hand on your own continent.



In the end, I suppose it boils down to the whole 'merchants vs nobility' thing Westeros so often espouses.


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