Bank of Sol
The Bank of Sol is Fenspace's central bank, responsible for interfactional monetary policy, the issuing of currency (namely the Solar Credit) and maintenance of the money supply, the oversight (but not regulation) of local financial institutions, and the safekeeping of the Fenspace Convention's reserves of financial instruments issued by Earthside governments. Its primary responsibility is to ensure the financial welfare of Fenspace.
Since most money in Fenspace is electronic, the Bank's responsibility in the issuing of currency and maintenance of the money supply is pimarily in the realm of developing and testing cryptographic systems to protect the virtual money supply. These responsibilities are handled by bonded AIs that were specially programmed and 'waved to be as incorruptible as possible.[1]
Operations
Every individual who has signed the Articles of Convention is considered to hold one voting share in the Bank of Sol. The Bank as a whole is not a member of any faction, although individual employees and directors may be members of whatever faction they choose. The nine Directors of the Bank serve for three years and are chosen by vote; three directors are elected at each Fenspace Convention and begin their terms on January 1 of the year following their election.[2]
The Bank of Sol is funded from its seigniorage (the difference between the interest the Bank earns on its reserves of financial instruments issued by Earthside governments – which is roughly equal in value to the total value of the currency in circulation – and the cost of issuing, distributing, and replacing the currency[3]). This means that it is in the Bank's direct interest to keep the Solar Credit stable; if the Bank were to be forced to redeem large numbers of Solar Credits, their reserves of financial instruments would shrink and the seigniorage would shrink in proportion.
Relations
The Bank of Sol is on good terms with the Reserve Bank of Australia. They also cooperate with the Space Patrol's Sections 3 and 4 to investigate cases of suspected fraud or money-laundering.
Notes
- ↑ Membership in the Hacker Underspace by the Bank's AIs is strongly discouraged, to avoid the perception of possible conflict of interest, but is not forbidden outright.
- ↑ This allows for elections to be held no matter when the yearly Conventions are held while still giving Directors terms of equal lengths, barring leap years.)
- ↑ Considering that the cost of issuing, distributing, and replacing electronic currency is nearly nil, this adds up to a tidy sum even when interest rates approach zero. The usual 'Danelaw reference bodies consider the Bank of Sol to be one of the richest companies in Fenspace.
