Bank of Valdos

The is an organization subservient to Valdos, the Lord of Contracts, one of the Lords of the Pentacle. It is the single largest bank in the known universe. The majority of transaction are conducted with the use of soul contracts to ensure that payments will be met.
== Branches and Regional Institutions ==
=== International Bank of Valdos ===
In the late modern era, the International Bank of Valdos ("IBoV") has established its independence from the Second Fialta Imperium, though it remains closely intertwined with the Imperium financially.
=== Fialta Bank of Valdos ===
The Fialta Bank of Valdos ("FBoV") is the regional sub-institution of the BoV that is directly partnered with the government of the Fialta Imperium.
=== Sermayan Bank of Valdos ===
The Sermayan Bank of Valdos ("SerBov") became increasingly powerful during the 6th century A.U., with SerBov Chairwoman Rowena Hayward being elected Councilor-President of Sermaye in .
=== Celestial Bank of Valdos ===
The Celestial Bank of Valdos was founded in , in the wake of the remapping of the Trans-Celestial Passage.
=== Valdosian Free State ===
The Valdosian Free State (formerly the "Valdosian Colonies") is a minor power in Celestial Space controlled by the Bank of Valdos which was founded in .
=== Church of Valdos ===
The Bank of Valdos is closely intertwined with (or perhaps synonymous with) the religiously-oriented Church of Valdos.
== History ==
=== Bank of Valdos in the 5th Century A.U. ===
The fundamental problem of the Bank of Valdos is that its capabilities are, unsurprisingly, in finance. It's not actually a particularly effective colonizer (see also its sister organization(s) in the Knights Mercantile), because all its tools of leverage are irrelevant to undeveloped populations or to people who don't need/want what the Bank is offering: the Knights Mercantile modus operandi isn't quite that of the Bank, but both ultimately require a fairly developed political system with which to engage (or in the case of the Trans-Celestial Chapter of the KM, must become that system and extract rents from merchant ventures by other groups). In some sense, the Bank's affiliation with the Second Fialta Imperium is actually a disadvantage here: prior to the Imperium, the Bank could pretty easily hire or induce a Fialta prince to fight a military campaign on its behalf (on a grand scale, such an incident is what became the Fialta-Shantine War). The prince's concerns would be narrow enough that it was fairly easy to negotiate such matters and smooth over any ruffled feathers. With the Imperium, using Imperial manpower in even a minor conflict is a political signal with far-reaching consequences: "quarantining" an operation is next to impossible when one of the belligerents is a great power.
There is also the secondary but related problem of technological development: the Bank has deep troves of knowledge but not a well-developed capability to support innovation. The Bank has the means to play "catch-up" very effectively and can undertake colossal infrastructural projects, but ultimately it must buy or poach scientific talent. In part, this is because the Bank cannot afford to encourage an environment of open innovation – some secrets are too dangerous. Even using the occult lore of Valdos and the wider Pentacle is dangerous because it invites escalation from divine competitors.
All this to say: the Bank is doing very well in the early 5th century A.U., but its dominion is still far from a foregone conclusion. The next race with Aeldrum will be to develop institutions for government and innovation. Serene Doge Bareth Aefendt made some very important strides here for Aeldrum, but his approach was ultimately a "command economy" of education, with education as a technical path to civil service.
Category:Religions