Another bank manager said loudly, "Even better, in the future, even a Swedish or Polish bank that has never done business with us before can send us Bills of Exchange, and we can handle them."
Palmieri immediately smiled. "In the future, it will be direct payment for goods, rather than accepting Bills of Exchange."
The Palumbo Family heir seated on the eastern side asked him softly, his face full of confusion, "Cooperate with a bank we've never done business with? How is that possible?" Palmieri pointed to page five of the business plan in his hand. "Here, look. The European Settlement Bank will verify their qualifications and ensure that every settlement application they send is trustworthy."
Baron Palumbo struggled through that passage, then once again looked toward the Northern Commercial Bank manager with pleading eyes.
Although the Palumbo Family was an Aristocratic Family of investors with nearly two hundred years of history, by his generation they had become good for nothing but eating, drinking, and pleasure. He simply could not understand the entirely new financial concepts in the business plan.
Because Northern Commercial Bank had extensive dealings with the Palumbo Family, Palmieri could only patiently explain:
"You may think of the European Settlement Bank as an institution responsible for trade oversight and transfers.
"From now on, any bank wishing to conduct trade settlement business between France and Parma must sign an agreement with it and provide a certain amount of collateral. When merchants from the two countries trade, their payment settlement applications will first be sent to the European Settlement Bank. Only after it verifies that everything is in order—for example, that the issuing bank has indeed received the payment and has not misappropriated it—will it forward the application to the bank in the seller's country.
"The bank that receives