Hector’s gaze went to the empty space to his right. Talking to his invisible companion, Amelia supposed. She couldn’t say that she fully understood this business about reapers, and if she was being completely honest, a small part of her still worried that it might just be some form of psychosis that the boy was suffering from. That explanation might’ve even made sense, as a terrible side effect of his supernatural powers.
But of course, she’d never dared say any of that aloud. Strange as it was, this “Garovel” being real or not was almost a moot point, as far as Amelia was concerned. The reaper was obviously real to Hector.
And that was the main reason why she had been so concerned about this meeting. If she couldn’t get this Garovel’s approval, then she doubted she would be able to get Hector’s.
“So let me make sure I’ve got this right,” Hector finally said. “You want to open a bank in my name. Not a bank account. A bank.”
“Yes,” said Amelia.
Hector just gave her a look like she was crazy.
“I understand that is... a highly unconventional proposition,” said Amelia, “and probably not one that you expected to hear when you walked into this office, but I assure you, I am not recommending it impulsively. I have given the matter considerable thought.”
“Then... I assume you’ve thought about how we’re going to fund this? The Queen only gave us three million to work with, and you’re talking about starting a bank that would be big enough to rescue the whole country. Garovel doesn’t think that three million will be nearly enough for that.”
“Indeed, it is true that this would be a very costly endeavor. Currently, you have around 1.2 million troa at your disposal, and to get the ball rolling on this--”
“Whoa, whoa.” Hector held up a hand. “We’ve already burned through 1.8 million troa? In like, what, four months?”
She nodded. “I am afraid so. However, the vast majority of those expenses fell upon the hydroelectric generator. That alone cost us 1.4 million.”
“Holy sh--” Hector stopped himself, perhaps out of consideration for her, which Amelia appreciated. “I... knew it was expensive, but I didn’t think it was that much.”
“Believe it or not, that was actually quite a good deal,” said Amelia. “The amount of power that it generates is rather impressive given that cost.” She might’ve expected the boy to sigh, but he didn’t. “We could have negotiated a staggered payment plan over several years, but it would have cost us nearly three times as much in the long run. I thought it would be better to pay it all off at once, since we actually could. The manufacturer’s representative was quite surprised by that decision.”
“I see...”
“And of course, we also required furniture to even begin living here, so much of that lost capital was due to one-time purchases, if that makes you feel any better. Renovations moving forward should be a considerably slower drain on your funds.”
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every day at noon PST by ~400 words.
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Page 1767
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“Of course,” Amelia continued, “the domestic banks could use money which they do not technically own in order to start buying up the debt, but that would be incredibly ill-advised--and indeed, illegal. For good reason, might I add. Such practices are extremely dangerous and could potentially make matters significantly worse than they already are.
“However, I am digressing. The point is that domestic banks will, in all likelihood, simply be unable to ‘pick up the slack,’ so to speak, which means that foreign banks will. Either them, or foreign companies which specialize in this sort of thing. Regardless, the reason this is bad is because it presents an extreme threat to the economic independence of the nation. Foreign powers would likely be able to develop more influence over our country than even the Queen herself possesses.”
“Ah...”
“She understands this as well, because I--and no doubt others--have advised her on it. But the Queen is also in a very difficult position right now. In order to prevent this from coming to pass, she has to hold back the tide of foreign influence with very little support from the people. As I said before, this debt buyout can be considered mostly good. Many citizens of Atreya who are currently hurting will want that foreign influence. And justifiably so.”
“O-okay,” said Hector, holding up a hand. “This is all... really complicated, and I think I understand, but, uh... I mean... what do you want me to do about it? Are you seriously suggesting that I buy up all the debt? Because, er...?”
“Well... yes and no,” said Amelia. “Frankly speaking, you don’t have enough money for that. Even your billionaire friend, Roman Fullister, doesn’t have enough money--though, that is mostly because his assets are tied up in about a million different ways.”
“Whoa, how do you know that?”
She couldn’t help smiling a little. “Money is my life, Lord Goffe. And I have made many like-minded friends over the course of it.”
Hector didn’t look entirely satisfied by that answer, but he didn’t press her further on it. Instead, he returned to his previous question. “So... if I can’t buy the debt, then what are you asking of me?”
It was time to lay all her cards on the table, she supposed. “I feel that there is still considerably more that I should explain, but... if you would like to cut right to the heart of the matter first, then, well... put simply, I would like to open a bank in your name.”
Hector just sat there for a moment, blinking at her. He opened his mouth but no words came out. Then he leaned back in his chair, folded his arms, and took a long, deep breath.
Huh.
That was not quite the reaction that she had been expecting. Though, if she thought about it, she wasn’t entirely sure what a more appropriate response would have been.
“Of course,” Amelia continued, “the domestic banks could use money which they do not technically own in order to start buying up the debt, but that would be incredibly ill-advised--and indeed, illegal. For good reason, might I add. Such practices are extremely dangerous and could potentially make matters significantly worse than they already are.
“However, I am digressing. The point is that domestic banks will, in all likelihood, simply be unable to ‘pick up the slack,’ so to speak, which means that foreign banks will. Either them, or foreign companies which specialize in this sort of thing. Regardless, the reason this is bad is because it presents an extreme threat to the economic independence of the nation. Foreign powers would likely be able to develop more influence over our country than even the Queen herself possesses.”
“Ah...”
“She understands this as well, because I--and no doubt others--have advised her on it. But the Queen is also in a very difficult position right now. In order to prevent this from coming to pass, she has to hold back the tide of foreign influence with very little support from the people. As I said before, this debt buyout can be considered mostly good. Many citizens of Atreya who are currently hurting will want that foreign influence. And justifiably so.”
“O-okay,” said Hector, holding up a hand. “This is all... really complicated, and I think I understand, but, uh... I mean... what do you want me to do about it? Are you seriously suggesting that I buy up all the debt? Because, er...?”
“Well... yes and no,” said Amelia. “Frankly speaking, you don’t have enough money for that. Even your billionaire friend, Roman Fullister, doesn’t have enough money--though, that is mostly because his assets are tied up in about a million different ways.”
“Whoa, how do you know that?”
She couldn’t help smiling a little. “Money is my life, Lord Goffe. And I have made many like-minded friends over the course of it.”
Hector didn’t look entirely satisfied by that answer, but he didn’t press her further on it. Instead, he returned to his previous question. “So... if I can’t buy the debt, then what are you asking of me?”
It was time to lay all her cards on the table, she supposed. “I feel that there is still considerably more that I should explain, but... if you would like to cut right to the heart of the matter first, then, well... put simply, I would like to open a bank in your name.”
Hector just sat there for a moment, blinking at her. He opened his mouth but no words came out. Then he leaned back in his chair, folded his arms, and took a long, deep breath.
Huh.
That was not quite the reaction that she had been expecting. Though, if she thought about it, she wasn’t entirely sure what a more appropriate response would have been.
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((Triple Saturday -- Page 2 of 3))
“Is something wrong?” said Hector.
“N-no,” she said, taking a breath. If she kept this up, he was going to get the completely wrong impression. “Very well. Allow me to speak quite plainly with you. The current economic crisis, terrible though it may be, presents us--presents you, I should say--with an opportunity. And a rather remarkable one, at that.”
“...Okay,” said Hector slowly, keeping his eyes fixed upon her. “I’m listening.”
“With both Atreya National and Longrun collapsing, virtually everyone who worked for them is now out of a job.”
“You’re... talking about banks?” said Hector.
“Yes. Atreya National Bank and Longrun Banking. With them suddenly out of the picture, you could say that there is quite a large gap in the market. People need their funds protected. And now that there is an absolutely ungodly amount of insoluble debt floating around this country, what will happen now is--”
“Ah, uh, sorry, you’re kinda losing me here,” said Hector. “In... insoluble debt? What does that mean, exactly?”
“Debt that cannot be repaid. More than a million people have just declared bankruptcy in this country, because they no longer have access to any of their funds due to the banks collapsing, because the banks are the very institutions which are supposed to secure these things for them. This means that any debt that these people previously owed is now insoluble. There is essentially no hope of it ever being paid back. Understand?”
“I think so, yeah...”
“So what will probably happen now,” Amelia went on, “is that someone with a LOT of money will come in and buy up all of that insoluble debt at a fraction of the cost, because it is functionally worthless now. And then, since they now ‘own’ the debt, they can ‘forgive’ it or otherwise shrink it down to a ‘soluble’ level--and then try to collect it. Or they could simply resell the debt elsewhere, but the fact of the matter is that because they didn’t spend very much money to acquire it, that debt has the potential to earn them an absolute killing. Financially speaking, of course.”
“Hmm...”
Amelia placed her hands on the table. “Now, this may all sound horrible, and... well... in a way, it is, but it is also mostly good. In the end, it will probably prevent Atreya’s economy from collapsing completely. Almost everyone being hurt by this crisis will have a way to move forward without having their entire lives ruined. For the most part.”
“But?” said the young lord, apparently sensing where she was going with this.
“But... a very large problem could arise, based on who it is that buys up all of that debt. Atreya is quite a small country, so in all likelihood, it is going to be a foreign bank. Domestic banks are no doubt attempting to get in on the action as we speak, but they simply won’t have the funds to spare. Tens of thousands of people--if not hundreds of thousands of people--have already been flocking to them simply to avoid bankruptcy, and in order to accommodate all of those new customers, most of their reserve funds--assuming they even had that much to begin with--will likely now be in active circulation.”
“Uh... huh.”
“Is something wrong?” said Hector.
“N-no,” she said, taking a breath. If she kept this up, he was going to get the completely wrong impression. “Very well. Allow me to speak quite plainly with you. The current economic crisis, terrible though it may be, presents us--presents you, I should say--with an opportunity. And a rather remarkable one, at that.”
“...Okay,” said Hector slowly, keeping his eyes fixed upon her. “I’m listening.”
“With both Atreya National and Longrun collapsing, virtually everyone who worked for them is now out of a job.”
“You’re... talking about banks?” said Hector.
“Yes. Atreya National Bank and Longrun Banking. With them suddenly out of the picture, you could say that there is quite a large gap in the market. People need their funds protected. And now that there is an absolutely ungodly amount of insoluble debt floating around this country, what will happen now is--”
“Ah, uh, sorry, you’re kinda losing me here,” said Hector. “In... insoluble debt? What does that mean, exactly?”
“Debt that cannot be repaid. More than a million people have just declared bankruptcy in this country, because they no longer have access to any of their funds due to the banks collapsing, because the banks are the very institutions which are supposed to secure these things for them. This means that any debt that these people previously owed is now insoluble. There is essentially no hope of it ever being paid back. Understand?”
“I think so, yeah...”
“So what will probably happen now,” Amelia went on, “is that someone with a LOT of money will come in and buy up all of that insoluble debt at a fraction of the cost, because it is functionally worthless now. And then, since they now ‘own’ the debt, they can ‘forgive’ it or otherwise shrink it down to a ‘soluble’ level--and then try to collect it. Or they could simply resell the debt elsewhere, but the fact of the matter is that because they didn’t spend very much money to acquire it, that debt has the potential to earn them an absolute killing. Financially speaking, of course.”
“Hmm...”
Amelia placed her hands on the table. “Now, this may all sound horrible, and... well... in a way, it is, but it is also mostly good. In the end, it will probably prevent Atreya’s economy from collapsing completely. Almost everyone being hurt by this crisis will have a way to move forward without having their entire lives ruined. For the most part.”
“But?” said the young lord, apparently sensing where she was going with this.
“But... a very large problem could arise, based on who it is that buys up all of that debt. Atreya is quite a small country, so in all likelihood, it is going to be a foreign bank. Domestic banks are no doubt attempting to get in on the action as we speak, but they simply won’t have the funds to spare. Tens of thousands of people--if not hundreds of thousands of people--have already been flocking to them simply to avoid bankruptcy, and in order to accommodate all of those new customers, most of their reserve funds--assuming they even had that much to begin with--will likely now be in active circulation.”
“Uh... huh.”
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