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Bank of Oldtown - implications


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Will it make an appearance in the main storyline? Has it been an option to loan money this whole time? Obviously it isn’t as important as the Iron Bank but it would definitely help to explain why the Reach is so desired as an ally.

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6 hours ago, James Steller said:

Will it make an appearance in the main storyline? Has it been an option to loan money this whole time? Obviously it isn’t as important as the Iron Bank but it would definitely help to explain why the Reach is so desired as an ally.

The Tyrell’s are already know to have loaned significant sums to the IT so imo this is just a bit of world building

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It makes little sense that there are no banks in a continent the size of Westeros if the society there actually does have a proper currency. One assumes most Westerosi banks do not offer loans of significance to great houses or the Iron Throne, but there is no reason to assume the average KL or Oldtown merchant has to go to the Free Cities to get a proper loan.

If the Iron Bank were to control the loan market in Westeros it would essentially control the economy of Westeros - and that doesn't make much sense. They do have influence in the Westerosi economy, of course, but they do not have a banking monopoly.

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Just now, Loose Bolt said:

Would any bank in Westeros survive if some VIP had done what king of France did to Knights Templar? 

Or some king and even some lord could "nationalize" assets of that bank as soon that VIP needed more money.

That is a major risk, and it happened in plenty of circumstances in reality, including such comparatively prudent kingdoms as England. If I were a Lord with a good amount of foresight, that wanted to establish my own bank, I would mitigate that concern through one simple expedient:

Offer the Iron Bank a share in my bank. First, this keeps them on-sides, and less likey to get all huffy that anyone else would dare establish a bank. Second, it serves as a powerful incentive for my heirs or liege(s) to screw around with the bank too much.

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3 hours ago, Lord Varys said:

It makes little sense that there are no banks in a continent the size of Westeros if the society there actually does have a proper currency. One assumes most Westerosi banks do not offer loans of significance to great houses or the Iron Throne, but there is no reason to assume the average KL or Oldtown merchant has to go to the Free Cities to get a proper loan.

If the Iron Bank were to control the loan market in Westeros it would essentially control the economy of Westeros - and that doesn't make much sense. They do have influence in the Westerosi economy, of course, but they do not have a banking monopoly.

Yes offcourse there are banks. I mean alot of lords need to renovate their keeps, host tournaments and other big spendings. Their money has to be somewhere. If they have to go to bring it to the free cities, than they took big risks with the transport and also in case of all castles in Westeros ever been raided. Aegon VI would  have been extremely rich by conquering many of the Stormlands Castles.

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Having the Bank of Oldtown exist over the course of centuries justifies why Lord Hightower is as rich as the Lannisters in the storyline, and why he can so easily defy the Tyrells or Lannisters, either by refusing to go to war, or rejecting a marriage offer to one of Lord Tywin's sons.

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11 hours ago, Floki of the Ironborn said:

Having the Bank of Oldtown exist over the course of centuries justifies why Lord Hightower is as rich as the Lannisters in the storyline, and why he can so easily defy the Tyrells or Lannisters, either by refusing to go to war, or rejecting a marriage offer to one of Lord Tywin's sons.

Not needed.

Hanseatic League had trade, but not banks. Did Baghdad have banks?

Hightowers of Oldtown, unlike almost anyone else in Westeros, have the experience not killing geese that lay golden eggs. Not just bank, and not bank first. Trade city? Oldtown is by far the biggest. There are a few others - Lannisport, Gulltown, White Harbour. All the others are for one, much smaller, for another, held up by a natural monopoly of the kind Oldtown lacks. Chaplain recognized outside the lord whose chaplain he is? NO one else has it. For millennia, Hightowers must have resisted the temptation to ask High Septon to condemn Dornish for besieging Oldtown. Their forbearance has borne fruit - neither Daynes nor Martells have their own High Septon. An university? Again, no one else has it. The Hightowers must have resisted the temptation to abuse Citadel maesters too blatantly, provoking kings to listen to pyromancers or found other schools.

 

Adding a bank fits the pattern.

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8 hours ago, Jaak said:

Not needed.

Hanseatic League had trade, but not banks. Did Baghdad have banks?

Hightowers of Oldtown, unlike almost anyone else in Westeros, have the experience not killing geese that lay golden eggs. Not just bank, and not bank first. Trade city? Oldtown is by far the biggest. There are a few others - Lannisport, Gulltown, White Harbour. All the others are for one, much smaller, for another, held up by a natural monopoly of the kind Oldtown lacks. Chaplain recognized outside the lord whose chaplain he is? NO one else has it. For millennia, Hightowers must have resisted the temptation to ask High Septon to condemn Dornish for besieging Oldtown. Their forbearance has borne fruit - neither Daynes nor Martells have their own High Septon. An university? Again, no one else has it. The Hightowers must have resisted the temptation to abuse Citadel maesters too blatantly, provoking kings to listen to pyromancers or found other schools.

 

Adding a bank fits the pattern.

The Hightowers really are OP’d, aren’t they? And its crazy how comparatively minor they are in the novels. They’re important, and probably foremost among the Tyrell banners (largely due to Alerie being Mace’s wife), but they should be punching above their rank quite a bit more.

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1 hour ago, DominusNovus said:

The Hightowers really are OP’d, aren’t they? And its crazy how comparatively minor they are in the novels. They’re important, and probably foremost among the Tyrell banners (largely due to Alerie being Mace’s wife), but they should be punching above their rank quite a bit more.

I suspect that major reason why Hightowers had kept very low profile is the dance. After all they tried to steal the throne and so made many other great houses very suspicious and even hating them. In fact they were very lucky to survive that civil war.

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2 hours ago, Loose Bolt said:

I suspect that major reason why Hightowers had kept very low profile is the dance. After all they tried to steal the throne and so made many other great houses very suspicious and even hating them. In fact they were very lucky to survive that civil war.

A valid point, and certainly backed up by their actions in the Blackfyre Rebellion, when they were basically hedging their bets.  Still, by the Baratheon Era, even if they're going to be shy about flexing their political muscle, I figure they really should be more present in the story if for nothing else than their vast wealth.

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On 1/1/2019 at 10:47 PM, Floki of the Ironborn said:

Having the Bank of Oldtown exist over the course of centuries justifies why Lord Hightower is as rich as the Lannisters in the storyline, and why he can so easily defy the Tyrells or Lannisters, either by refusing to go to war, or rejecting a marriage offer to one of Lord Tywin's sons.

They are also that rich simply because of the taxes from the biggest (port) city they can collect. I also have to pay state tax and municipal tax. So with a capital of 500.000 and surrounding lands they must be extremely rich already.

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