By then, more than half the people in the banquet hall had gathered around Steffens.
Vice Speaker Kolkirk simply had the servants move the tables and chairs aside, then gestured for Steffens to sit in a chair in the middle of the room. "Leonard, please speak from here."
And so the second half of the banquet turned into a speech.
Steffens had never expected that "doing a little favor for his French friends" would gain him influence among the parliamentarians. He immediately threw himself into it with even greater enthusiasm. "In fact, I believe the most valuable parts of the Trade Alliance are not what I just mentioned, but the Holy Investment Bank and the Alliance Monetary Management Committee."
Some of those around him looked interested, while others frowned slightly. After all, the investment bank sounded promising, but the latter sounded like a department intent on interfering in Cologne's economy.
Steffens quickly explained, "The Holy Investment Bank is a bank jointly funded and owned by all the Trade Alliance's member states. Its main function is to promote development in each country through investment, particularly to help poor countries improve their economies as quickly as possible.
"The Monetary Management Committee, meanwhile, is responsible for identifying financial risks in member states in advance, as well as providing loans to help members struggling to repay their debts get through difficult times. For instance, if a country is already having trouble balancing its income and expenditure but continues importing goods in large quantities, it will inevitably default on its debts after a while. The committee will send people at regular intervals-say, once a year-to assess each country's monetary and tax policies, along with the stability of its income and expenditure. Once it discovers risks in any of these areas, it will immediately issue a