Since the bank was Ezra"s idea he was tasked with organizing the business. Reitz, on the other hand, oversaw the logistics while Aerwyna oversaw the design of the building in the market district, they decided to use a building with three floors, it was not a towering building but it was moderate.
In front of the arched entrance was a modified version of the Blackfyre coat of arms. The walls outside the edifice were studded with light crystals. The gateway was glazed with gold. Reitz wanted to commission a statue for the entrance but it was too time-consuming, so he decided that the statues would be placed the next year.
Aerwyna was fond of luxury and she had an eye for design, she knew that a luxurious reception was optimal since the merchants would not trust an inst.i.tution that could not offer extravagant comforts. It was decided that the seats would be lined with velvet and as for the chairs they would be lined with gold. The floor was going to be a marble that was exported from Fulmen. The overall finish should have an air of regality.
Reitz made it sure that the refurbishing would cause a commotion, they only brought the grand embellishments in during times with most merchants and people. Ezra thought that this was shrewd since everyone would be curious on what type of establishment was actually being constructed.
Word spread on the streets that it was some sort of luxury store or a store which would cater only to well-known merchants, and it would only showcase goods that were rare in the empire. Reitz also stationed knights to guard the establishment to add to the flair.
Ezra was impressed by his father"s wittiness, he knew how to market to people. Aerwyna had her handmaidens pick the finest silk for the curtains and she also had them look at the desks. Ezra let them design the building totally because he knew that if he were to design one, it would look like a bank in the modern setting with bank tellers behind the gla.s.s.
Ezra conversed with his mother inside the building while the refurbishing was taking place.
"Mother, we need people who will handle the merchants. We will call these personnel bank tellers, they will be the ones who face them," Ezra explained.
"Yes, Ez, I plan to select some handmaidens to handle it. There will also be some people who serve wine and cheese to the merchants who are applying for a loan. What do you think?"
"That"s a brilliant idea mom." Ezra was excited. "Yes nothing like an intoxicated businessman in a bank," he thought.
"How about the scribes and treasurers? I need to train them," Ezra continued, with the banking system in place he was thinking of introducing modern accounting techniques and bookkeeping so that he could easily track and follow the books.
He also wanted to teach his parents so that they could look into it as well and they would better govern and use it for checking the finances of Castle Blackfyre. He already structured a plan to implement some technologies that were already being used on Earth, the bureaucratic nature of banks and the swiftness of implementation needed to be in a delicate balance.
Ezra was happy with the input of his parents, there were some insights that they gave him that he would not have thought of because he was accustomed to banking on Earth, it proved that Reitz and Aerwyna were both very capable leaders themselves.
"The scribes will be ready by the end of the week," Aerwyna replied. "You wanted fresh trainees right?"
"Yes, the younger the better, I think they are easily trained mom."
"You know it"s really strange when you talk like that, you sound like an old n.o.ble who has been administering his domain for some time," Aerwyna chuckled.
"Well mom, you know that I am quite different from other children right?"
"I guess, haha."
Ezra walked around the building and inspected the office s.p.a.ce. The rooms were plainer than the reception area, the offices had desks like he asked Reitz but his father didn"t bother to overly decorate the offices.
The meeting hall a 15 seater table like he asked and it was lit with 3 pairs of magic crystals. There was a blackboard made of polished slate as well so that the people in charge of the meeting could write down their thoughts for the others to visualize. Ezra mandated the creation of a few notebooks. At first, Reitz was confused why Ezra wanted blank books. Ezra then explained the use of the notebooks and he nodded in satisfaction.
Ezra also proposed the metal-nibbed pens instead of quills which he asked the blacksmiths to manufacture. These pens were supposed to be given to the future directors of the bank.
Ezra walked to the vault where the money was supposed to be kept, the walls were 2 meters thick and it had a steel door. It was not a place where you could break with brute force. Overall Ezra was satisfied with the building. Reitz had a knack for budgeting, and out of the 150 000 gold. Only 2000 had been spent. For the added staff and personnel another 500 gold per month was the estimated expenses.
Ezra had the drafts for the contracts prepared already. He was going to offer three payment schemes to the merchants. Which he had discussed with his father prior to the construction of the bank. Ezra also studied the trade routes and he discovered that the border City of Aprax was the final destination of the merchants in Fulmen, he already arranged plans for the inst.i.tution.
If he wanted to monetize the deposits, he needed to establish a bank in the Fortress, but this was very risky as this was a border of the empire, it was susceptible to attacks of Arcanists. To establish a bank there would mean going there personally and looking at the situation. If he could successfully make a bank there then it would be a window to more monetization options.
This was left for the future, in the meantime, the priority was lending to established merchants. If he couldn"t make money with the loans then it would be a longshot for a bank to be established in Aprax.
Reitz entered the building.
"Lord Father," Ezra greeted.
"Ezra," nodded Reitz. "The bank will be ready in a fortnight, I plan to spread rumours of the actual business next week but we still haven"t named the bank yet. What do you propose?"
"Lehman Brothers. JP Morgan and Chase. Wells Fargo. The Federal Reserve Bank. " Ezra blurted out.
"What?"
"Nothing Father, It was just a random thought."
"Oh, Seriously then what will we name it?"
Ezra thought for a bit and looked up. "Let"s name it the Imperial Bank of Blackfyre."
Reitz smiled," Yes I like that very much."