Bank of Albion

The Bank is run by a Board of Directors, who serve at the discretion of the Bank's shareholders. There are twelve seats on the board, and when one is vacant the other board members may nominate candidates who will then be voted on by the shareholders. A Director serves until they retire, or until a unanimous vote is held by the remainder of the board to expel them.

The Bank exists to make money. They maintain accounts for most of Albion's wealthy citizens, and invests that money in loans and assets. They are the administrators of the national debt, and receive regular payments towards that debt from the Government. Their international loans have given them influence over many of the nations in western Elbid, and they do not hesitate to use that influence to ensure lucrative deals with the governments and businesses they interact with.

In the wake of Sir Edwin Harlowe's publication of the Principia Arcana in 1687, the Church went into a panic over the implications of Universal Magic. When the Empire ignored their demands to arrest Harlowe and destroy his book, the Hierarch of the West declared a crusade against Albion in order to force the issue. The coalition attacking the Empire was led by the Kingdom of Andia and included most of the nations in southwestern Elbid. The conflict drained the coffers of the Empire, and in 1694 it looked likely that they would have to surrender, unable to financially sustain the conflict.

Instead, Aldric Thornevale, then the Comptroller of the Treasury, proposed the idea of the Bank of Albion. It would allow the government a better way to raise funds from private investors, and allow the Empire to continue its struggle against Andia and their allies. It was a major innovation in the realm of finance, as the first national bank. It managed government debt, lent money to the crown, and received special privileges (such as a monopoly on issuing banknotes). Eventually it even took over the Imperial Mint on behalf of the treasury, and the directors of the Bank play a major role in Imperial monetary policy.

In the aftermath of the Dragon Wars, the Bank found itself with a great opportunity. The nations of western Elbid had been devastated by the wars, while the territory of Albion was relatively unscathed. The Bank lent huge sums of money to the governments of Elbid, requiring magical contracts to enforce repayment, and today most of the nations in western Elbid (or their national banks) are in debt to the Bank of Albion. It also established subsidiary banks in any territory where no equivalent institution exists, such as the Bank of Arvoringia. Put together, the Bank of Albion has direct or partial interest in every financial system in a quarter of the world’s nations.