The Founder of the Great Financial Family

Carter, who had been trimming the gold coins according to the standards of the Empire, paused in his work for a moment to speak to Rockefeller. 

He thought it was time they brought the matter from last time to a conclusion. 

“Rockefeller, about that matter from before,” 

Since there were no customers around, Rockefeller, who had been relatively free, naturally turned his gaze to Carter. 

“What matter?” 

“What we talked about before – about lending out money we don’t have I mean,”

“Ah, that matter?” 

Before Rocekfeller had become his assistant, Carter had only been lending out his own coins to people and earning interest from that. 

After Rockfeller started working for him and up til now, he had been to lend out the coins of customers who had not touched their coins for a long time too and now, he had received the suggestion from Rockfeller to lend out coins he didn’t have too. 

If Rockefeller had been the owner of the shop, then he wouldn’t have needed Carter’s permission, but he was merely an assistant, he was limited in what he could do without Carter’s agreement. So he had informed Carter of his thoughts on the matter and waiting for his permission. 

However, Carter was anxious even in this current situation, where they were lending out the customers money, so it was even more nerve-wracking to consider lending out, so stepping forwards and going even further than that and lend money that he didn’t have was enough t make his heart feel like it would collapse in on itself.

Which is why after thinking about it for a few days, he had finally decided to bring the matter up to Rockefeller.

“What do you think? Have you come to a decision?” 

“No matter how much I think about it… it just seems a little… I don’t think its good.” 

Rockefeller, who had thought his greed would be enough to overcome his timid nature, and expected him to eventually agree, was disappointed at Carter’s conclusion. 

“Why are you thinking like that? Even though you already agreed to lending out the customer’s gold coins?”

Of course, the fact that they were lending out the customer’s gold coins was already a concern, but to think that the person who had allowed that, wasn’t willing to take things a step further… 

“No matter how much I think about it, do we have to go that far? Aren’t we making enough money already?” 

“Ajusshi, aren’t we doing a lending business? Then isn’t it natural that the more money we can lend out, the more profit we get from it?” 

“I know that, but still, I wonder if so many loans would be necessary in small place like this. Plus, I’ve been having horrible, strange dreams recently.” 

“Dreams? What kind of dreams are you having to be saying that?” 

“A dream where the people who have stored their gold coins with me, come in droves to grab me by the flesh and come to take me away. Then the Seers come to take me to the gallows, but I don’t die when I’m hung, instead I struggle there, hanging by my neck and become a laughingstock until I die.” 

“So a nightmare then?” 

“I have that dream every once in a while. I had it last night as well.” 

Rockefeller let out a short sigh. 

“Huu~ Ajusshi, don’t you know the saying that dreams show you the opposite of reality?” 

“I do. But it’s just that the dream was so vivid…” 

“You know as well as I do that something like that will never happen, don’t you?” 

“Even so, my personality is like this, so what can I do? You might be the one to take full responsibility for this matter, but it’s not like I can get off completely unaffected either, right?” 

“So you’re saying you won’t be able to agree with that idea?” 

“I’m sorry. If I was as young and bold as you, I think I’d want to give things like that a try at least once in myself, but right now, there isn’t anything I regret too much in my life so just continuing on like this doesn’t seem all that bad to me either.” 

Though it was disappointing, his words made sense. 

“It’s alright. Like you said Ajusshi, there isn’t exactly a need for us to go chasing profit like that.” 

“Right? You think so too?” 

Though it was true that they could generate more profit by lending out money they didn’t have, there wasn’t really an environment set up in this territory where a large about of money would be needed. 

If there were large construction projects and trade companies in the area, then the banco might have been more successful, but because this was so far off in the periphery of the empire, the need for money was already low. 

“Even so, it’s a shame. Even if we did it, there wouldn’t have been any major issues.” 

“How can you be so sure of that? It’s not like we would be making and distributing fake gold coins, but rather just handing out promissory notes guaranteeing gold coins form the banco – could that really result in having no problems what so ever?” 

Rockefeller didn’t show a single moment of hesitation at that question and and answered, 

“Yes, that’s how I think at least.” 

“Why? This would be far more dangerous than putting our hands on the customer’s gold coins. Like we said, this would be gold that doesn’t exist?” 

Rockefeller looked amused. 

“Even if we lend out gold in the form of promissory notes, people wouldn’t come and check that themselves,” 

“But what if they did?” 

At his questions, Rockefeller responded with his own question. 

“Carter Ajusshi, do you write your name on your gold coins? Gold doesn’t have something like an owner. If someone is worried about their gold and comes to check that its still safe in the banco then you all you need to do is take them to the safe and show them the gold coins there.” 

“I suppose so but…” 

“And even if it does become a problem, all that will happen is that the people who have left their gold coins with us will come to the banco – but all they can do is check the safe. But something like that wouldn’t happen, right?” 

At Rockefeller’s question, Carter couldn’t answer straight away. 

Even if he wanted to say that something like that could happen, he knew it wouldn't. 

‘No matter where, Bank Runs* are bound to happen. Even if you trust that the bank absolutely won’t fail, if all the customers decide to visit the bank at once then you can’t avoid a Bank Run.’ 

But the reason that happens?

‘Because in the first place, even the banks that were trusted to never fail would lend out money they didn’t have. So no bank would ever have enough money on hand to to be able to give every single one of their customers all their money back. Even the interest the banks are earning from lending out the money wouldn’t be enough to cover something like that.’ 

It was for exactly that reason that Rockefeller wanted to bring the deception of modern banks to this place. 

“Alright. Instead, how about, if there suddenly comes a need to lend out a large amount of money, you have another think about my idea?” 

Would the need for that ever arise? As Carter contemplated, Rockefeller continued, 

“Since changes like that would be very rare.”