Carnford Bank's progress went smoothly beyond everyone's expectations.
After the plan was announced, construction on the bank's headquarters swiftly began under the efficient management of Edgar and several young financial officers working beneath him.
Though the main structure was still being erected, several service counters temporarily partitioned off with thick oak planks on the ground floor of the planned grand stone hall welcomed an endless stream of visitors on the second day after their sign was hung.
What drew people in to deposit their money was far more than the three-percent annual interest rate. While it was better than burying coins or simply lending them to acquaintances, it was hardly an unbelievable rate of return.
The true magnet was the guarantee of credibility Karl had injected into this newborn bank.
He did not make empty promises. Before the bank "opened," Karl had all the castle's gold and silver tableware, candlesticks, ornaments, and even some less important ceremonial trophies melted down and cast into standardized gold and silver ingots.
These yellow and white treasures were carried into the heavily guarded vault beneath the bank, which was still being reinforced. Karl had specifically invited several highly respected leaders from the Carnford Chamber of Commerce, along with wealthy local gentry and landowners with excellent reputations, to serve as "public overseers" and witness the entire process.
These were the bank's first reserves. Karl promised that for every hundred Silver coins deposited, there would be at least seventy Silver coins in reserve.
Merchants were shrewd calculators. They could see that these reserves might not yet cover every potential deposit, but the lord's willingness to hollow out his own castle to demonstrate his sincerity unquestionably conveyed tremendous confidence.
Together with Carnford's repeated victories over the Sauron, its clear and stable tax policies, and the reputation built