Bank

Map tile

Interior

The **Bank** (full name: **Pacific International Grand Gratuity Yield Bank**) is a Location where players can store their Cash, apply for a Loan, or invest in the Stock Market. It is also a Workplace.

Depositing money in the Bank is a safe way to protect your Liquid Assets against Wild Willy, though savings could get wiped out during a Market Crash.

Loans can serve as a good way to get a lot of money very quickly (e.g. for buying an expensive Appliance or paying Rent), though a good Job is necessary to get a loan of any substance. Payments must be made at the Bank itself every Month to avoid defaulting.

The Stock Market is an interesting way to accumulate money, but requires time and attention to the Economy. Sudden Market Crashes can destroy investments as well.

Jobs at the Bank pay well, and are some of the best-paying jobs in the game - but most require a substantial Education and expensive Uniform.

The Bank is one of two Locations where Wild Willy can rob the player's Cash as they leave. The other is Black's Market.

## Opening Hours

The **Bank** is open every Week, but most of its functions (with the exception of depositing/withdrawing money) require at least 1 Hour remaining on the clock.

## Bank Account

Whenever a player is at the Bank, they may deposit Cash into their Bank Account, or withdraw cash from it. This is possible even if the clock has run out of time.

Cash is deposited into one's Account in $100 portions, and is withdrawn in the same manner. There is no limit to the amount of money a Bank Account can store.

Money in the Bank Account counts toward's a player's Liquid Assets, and thus counts towards the Wealth Goal. However it cannot be spent directly from the account.

There is no extra fee to deposit or withdraw money, nor to keep money in the Account for any period of time. Similarly, there is no interest accrued for money kept in a Bank Account.

Money in the Account cannot be stolen by Wild Willy. However, withdrawing a large amount of money in Cash is very risky because Wild Willy often strikes right outside the Bank itself.

Money in the Bank Account is not 100% safe. A particularly severe Market Crash can wipe out all money in the account instantly (setting it to $0). This sort of event is typically much rarer than a Wild Willy robbery, but it has a non-zero chance of happening each turn. The weaker the Economy, the riskier it is to keep money in a Bank Account.

## Loans

A Loan is an amount of money given to a player by the **Bank**, with the promise of paying it back (plus interest) over time.

Players may apply for a Loan at the Bank if there is at least 1 Hour left on the clock. Applying for a loan advances the clock by 2 Hours.

A Loan Application can be rejected by the Bank if the player's current Wage and Liquid Assets are very low. The amount of money loaned to the player also depends on these two values; The more money a player makes and the more money they have, the larger the loan they can receive.

Once a loan has been approved and the money received, the player is reminded to pay it off on the last Week of every Month, until the entire debt is cleared. Players may pay back part (or all) of the loan whenever they want, but making at least one payment before the end of the Month will avoid Defaulting on the loan. Additional payments in the same Month will delay the next payment deadline by a whole Month.

Each payment is equal to $45, but incurs an additional $5 interest fee that is paid to the Bank instead of decreasing the debt.

Each time a player Defaults on a loan, their chance to get any future Loans (and the amount of money they would get if approved) decreases permanently. However, if the player does not intend to ever get another loan, they may completely avoid paying back their current loan -- though they will lose a little bit of Happiness every Month.

The amount of money owed to the Bank counts *against* a player's Liquid Assets.

## Stock Market

The Stock Market can be accessed from the **Bank** menu by clicking the "See the Broker" option.

The Stock Market allows a player to purchase and sell Stocks. Stock prices rise and drop with some correlation to trends in the Economy, though they do not match it like Item prices and Wages. This allows players to essentially gamble on Stock prices, buying low and selling high.

Stock investments count towards a player's Liquid Assets, and cannot be completely wiped out by a Market Crash (though they can easily lose a lot of their value). This makes Stocks one the most secure way to keep *some* amount of liquid assets from disappearing instantly, especially if the stocks are bought when their price is already extremely low.

## Wild Willy

Each time a player leaves the **Bank**, there is a 1/31 chance that they will be mugged by Wild Willy.

This event cannot happen before Week #4, and will only occur if the player is carrying any amount of Cash.

Once robbed by Willy, the player's Cash is set to $0, and they lose **-3 Happiness**.

## Work

If you have a Job at the **Bank**, you can Work here to get money.

## Visuals

Like most other portraits, the Bank Teller's face is slightly different in the CD-ROM version of the game.

Bank Teller, CD-ROM version
## Quotes

### Greetings

* *Welcome to the Pacific International Grand Gratuity Yield -P.I.G.G.Y.- Bank. We take very little interest in you.*
* *Welcome to the Pacific International Grand Gratuity Yield -P.I.G.G.Y.- Bank. You'll always find yourself a loan here!*
* *Welcome to the Pacific International Grand Gratuity Yield -P.I.G.G.Y.- Bank. No charge for deposits!*
* *Welcome to the Pacific International Grand Gratuity Yield -P.I.G.G.Y.- Bank. Tuesdays are Double Dollar Days!*
* *Welcome to the Pacific International Grand Gratuity Yield -P.I.G.G.Y.- Bank. Have you gotten your free Toast Point Tongs?*
* *Welcome to the Pacific International Grand Gratuity Yield -P.I.G.G.Y.- Bank. Our fixed-rate CDs spin at 1500 RPM!*
* *Welcome to the Pacific International Grand Gratuity Yield -P.I.G.G.Y.- Bank. This little P.I.G.G.Y. plays the market!*
* *Welcome to the Pacific International Grand Gratuity Yield -P.I.G.G.Y.- Bank. Where we do Savings and Loans without a crisis!*
* *Welcome to the Pacific International Grand Gratuity Yield -P.I.G.G.Y.- Bank. Our loan officers are real Yes-men!*
* *Welcome to the Pacific International Grand Gratuity Yield -P.I.G.G.Y.- Bank. Our San Andreas branch is in default!*

### Withdrawing Cash

* *There is always a penalty for early withdrawal.*