Greetings, fellow beings,
I do not often like to spend gold to address you all, but this is a
matter which I believe
does affect every being on Sapience, from every guild member, every
rogue, even the Divine to a lesser extent.
Currently, a great commodity which has been given us is being wasted,
that being the banking organizations of the various cities.
The first drawback to using the banks as they currently are established
is the 2% withdrawal fee, making it more sensible to just carry your
gold in a pack.
I am wishing to propose a new way to utilize the banks to foster growth
in cities, as well as to make them more viable for those looking to make
long term investments to secure a happier retirement.
First, I apologize for my long windedness, but as this is a serious
matter, I feel it is best to cover all aspects of it. Admittedly, this
posting is to find out what the rest of the world thinks of the
idea before I discuss it with the Divine. Now, the first step would be
to have banks paying an annual interest payment to all accounts. This
payment would be compounding annually, on the 15th of Variach.
The interest rate payable would largely depend on the amount of holdings
the bank currently has. The actual amounts would be as follows:
For banks with assets of less than 10,000,000 gold, each account will be
accredited with 0.3%. Of this, 0.2% would go into the account, and 0.1%
would go into the city's account.
For banks with assets of 10,000,001 to 15,000,000, each account will be
accredited with 0.5%. Of this, 0.3% would go into the account, and 0.2%
would go into the city's account.
For banks with assets of 15,000,001 to 25,000,000, each account will be
accredited with 0.7%. Of this, 0.4% would go into the account, and 0.3%
would go into the city's account.
For banks with assets exceeding 25,000,001, each account will be
accredited with 1%, with 0.5% going into the account, and 0.5% being
credited to the city accounts.
Now, there are advantages and disadvantages to this, as I will explain.
First, this means more people will attempt to establish more financial
strength.
This means cities will also prosper from having active citizens, and
will attempt to entice new markets to open accounts to aid the city.
Guilds will be able to provide more substantial fiscal planning as well,
as they vie for the city which can give them a better yield.
For an example of how this works, I will use 40,000 gold, 10,000 being
deposited in each Ashtan, Bloodloch, Enorian, and Spinesreach accounts.
These numbers are fictitious, merely being used as an example.
If the Spinesreach account is below 10,000,000, then the yield would be
.3%, or 30 gold. 20 would be deposited to the person, guild, or clan,
and the other 10 would be deposited to the Spinesreach account.
The Ashtan assets being 13,500,000, the second account set up under this
system would yield .5%, or 50 gold. of this, 30 would go to the account,
while 20 would go to the city of Ashtan.
Following this progression, let's say that Bloodloch and Enorian had one
of the other tax categories, would lead to personal dividends of 40 and
50 gold, and profits to the cities of 30 and 50 gold.
One year of saving on the 40,000 gold, then, would be 140 gold. This is
not enough to compensate for the 2% withdrawal fee, but the account at
this point is growing. By my calculations, with the highest yield
account, it would take 4 years to earn enough interest on your
investment to start making a profit over the withdrawal fee.
This means that this plan is designed for long term investing, not a
quick place to stash some gold. The growth does not seem like much, but
consider as it is compounded annually, these are very small numbers I am
working with.
Like I have mentioned, this means a better opportunity for growth of the
communities. Merchants will be more well received by all cities, hoping
to get a piece of the action, so to speak. Individuals can begin plans
for saving for big purchases. Cities can begin to see almost instant
financial growth.
The first drawback is, this is organized like a bank, and the bank is
there to make gold.
Which means, if you plan to deposit a hoard of gold on the 14th of
Variach, and try to draw it out on the 16th, you will lose more than the
interest could provide.
Secondly, this means that you will have to do very real financial
planning. If, for example, I got enemied to Enorian yet again after
depositing a significant chunk of gold into their account, hoping to get
a high-yield, then I will have to suffer the indignity of knowing my
gold is working for them.
(Have no fear, I believe we all know I won't be spending time in
Enorian.)
Finally, the other thing to remember is that the interest you accumulate
is still subject to the 2% withdrawal fee. I believe it is still worth
pursuing, but not if I'm going to champion
this cause alone. Please do not message me, but rather, let your voices
be heard here, do you, Sapience, want a better life?
This is a win-win situation. Cities win, guilds win, clans and
individuals win. Even the Divine win, as to produce initial starting
capital, there is still no better fundraiser than selling credits.
The only one who doesn't win is Lord Belakai, the shaper. Sorry, My
Lord, but I know configuring tax algorithms and computing net assets of
at least 4 financial institutions isn't going to be a lot of fun.
Please, think this over carefully, and if it's worth pursuing, let me
know on this forum.
I thank you for your time, and look forward to your replies.

Penned by my hand on the 25th of Niuran, in the year 162 MA.