Lancelot Bank

This is an unofficial player group.

Lancelot Bank
Origin	Kingdom of Bretonia
Alignment	Lawful
Profile
Date of founding	47 A.S.
Founder(s)	Charles Lancelot Jennifer Lancelot
Current leader(s)	Humphrey Lancelot
Base of operations	Various
Primary role
Pioneering a more secure financial future for the citizens and corporations of Sirius.

Lancelot Bank has had a long and illustrious history of serving the financial needs of Sirius through innovative product offerings for citizens, businesses, and governments alike.

History

Founded in 47AS by Charles Lancelot, Lancelot Bank has become a leading provider of financial services in Sirius. Lancelot Bank was originally formed to provide access to the capital markets for the government and corporations of Bretonia. In 63AS Charles and Jennifer Lancelot sent their sons William, Humphrey (distinguish from Humphrey Lancelot born 795AS), and Jonathan to Rheinland, Liberty, and Kusari respectively in order to establish bases of operations in the other major houses. Though little known, Jonathan Lancelot subsequently co-sponsored Von Rohe's 50 year expedition to discover new systems in Sirius. In the following years FTL buoys were laid across Sirius and Lancelot Bank began to offer access to exchanges from other houses as part of their brokerage service.

An unintended result of their early founding before these advances in communication were made, is that Lancelot Bank has up to this day remained a legally seperated entity divided amongst the four major houses. Although this was perceived as undesirable for a considerable period of time, the administrative costs of uniting proved prohibitive and the four branches were never combined. This turned out to be a most fortunate consequence when numerous wars broke out between the houses, allowing the Lancelot Bank branches to maintain a loose affiliation with each other whilst maintaining strong business ties in their respective houses.

In 800AS Lancelot Bank's Kusari and Rheinland branches were infiltrated by Nomads and it was later discovered that a number of "loans" were made to high ranking government officials or, in the case of Rheinland, to the government itself, in order to finance the "legitimate" human front that the Nomads erected. Billions of credits were permanently lost and the respective branches would be bankrupt if not for the capital injections from Lancelot Bank Bretonia and Lancelot Bank Liberty. Despite these circumstances, Lancelot Bank still played a major role in financing the rebuilding of the Sirius houses after the Nomad War.

Chief Executive Officer Timeline

• 47AS Charles and Jennifer Lancelot (Co-CEOs)
• 90AS William Lancelot
• 142AS Ralph Lancelot
• 203AS Jessica Lancelot
• 212AS Tiffany Lancelot
• 278AS Alfred Lancelot
• 331AS Jonathan Lancelot
• 369AS Charles Lancelot
• 425AS Arthur Lancelot
• 487AS Lucy Lancelot
• 522AS Vaughan Lancelot
• 561AS Benjamin Lancelot
• 605AS Nicholas Lancelot
• 643AS Emily Lancelot
• 703AS Gordon Lancelot
• 756AS William Lancelot
• 815AS Humphrey Lancelot

Products and Innovations

Brokerage Services

Clients who wish to invest their capital in more risky assets have been attracted by Lancelot Bank's brokerage services. Operating in this sector since it's inception in 47AS, Lancelot Bank has become dominant in the market for the discerning trader. Lancelot Bank offers extremely competitive margins and a wide variety of exchange traded products.

Lancelot Bank Credit Database

The Lancelot Bank Credit Database (LBCD) was created by Humphrey Lancelot in 817AS in an effort to create a safer lending environment for the credit providers of Sirius. Using pioneering tracking technology the LBCD facilitates transparent information access on previously troublesome borrowers.

Prior to the LBCD's introduction many citizens were able to obtain loans from trusting creditors and subsequently defaulted as they realised the hefty burden of their obligations and felt compelled to declare bankruptcy, or worse still, escape to the criminal underworld where they could not be followed. Whilst fraud still poses a problem, the LBCD has made this significantly more difficult by engaging sophisticated identification technology to ensure that offenders are unable to escape detection by use of multiple accounts.

Tracked Breaches:

• A1: Complete failure to repay.
• A2: Failure to fully repay principle.
• B1: Failure to fully repay interest having fully repaid principle.
• B2: Failure to repay on time, though ultimately repaying in full.
• C1: Failure to maintain reasonable contact.

High Security Vaults

The invention of trade lanes in 280AS allowed long distance travel that previously took weeks to be taken in less than a day in many cases. However, these lanes were difficult to protect and piracy became a feasible way to survive for the disenchanted citizens of Sirius. With pirates becoming a growing problem, Alfred Lancelot introduced personal vaults to the clients of Lancelot Bank in 311AS. Located in high security underground facilities on Planet Manhattan, Planet New Berlin, Planet New London, and Planet New Tokyo, Lancelot Bank's clients could store their most precious items and cargo with peace of mind. Of late these services are provided off-world to clients willing to pay the price.

Interest Bearing Accounts

Despite the complex economic models implemented by the governments of Sirius, creeping inflation persists. Whilst this has been argued to have broad economic benefit, it poses an issue for the families and corporations who have amassed their resources in credits. For those fortunate enough to have accumilated wealth, Lancelot Bank provides interest bearing fixed term deposit accounts. Although such products are illiquid in nature, few alternatives are available for maintaining the real value of spare capital.

Loans

For those who don't have enough credits but a reliable repayment proposal, Lancelot Bank provides loans at attractive interest rates. One of the original products provided by Charles and Jennifer Lancelot beginning in 48AS, this forms a major core of Lancelot Bank's activities.

Ancient Sports Betting

In 818AS Humphrey Lancelot was able to secure assurances from the Cambridge Institute of Technology that they would hold video releases of ancient sports played on Earth with a view to allow Lancelot Bank, a major sponsor, to cultivate an atmosphere of passion with regards to the history and cultural origins of the people of Sirius. Lancelot Bank in turn formed betting markets in order to boost interest and excitement over the gradual releases of video footage.

Known Bases of Operations

• Planet Manhattan, New York
• Planet New Berlin, New Berlin
• Planet New London, New London
• Planet New Tokyo, New Tokyo
• Philadelphia Station, Pennsylvania

Recent Stock Price History

Date (A.S.)	Event
800	Nomad War Begins - Stocks fall on fear of poor business.
July, 800	Stocks rally on massive growth in loan operations, particularly in Kusari and Rheinland.
801	Stocks plummet on discovery that loans in Kusari and Rheinland have been defaulted.
801 - 804	Stock experiences continued volatility as Lancelot Bank reels from the impact of worthless Nomad loans.
814	War between Bretonia and Kusari. Rumours spread that the Nomads have returned.
July, 815	Humphrey Lancelot (aged 21) announced as the new CEO of Lancelot Bank as William Lancelot (aged 79) retires.
January, 816	2:1 Stock Split.
July, 816	Discovery of Nomad gates built by The Wild sends tremours through the markets.
January, 818	Heightened security measures introduced on Lancelot Bank's loan functions. Humphrey Lancelot introduces the Lancelot Bank Credit Database (LBCD).

General Information

IFF: Unaffiliated

ID: Civilian and Independent Trader

Naming Conventions

Employees: LB|<First.Last>

Vaults: Undisclosed

Ship Types

All civilian ships are permitted, but the most frequently sighted are as follows:

CTE 1440AV Starblazer (Branch representative standard issue)

CTE FR-2302-K Civilian Freighter

"Pelican" Civilian Armoured Transport

CT-73 "Stork" Civilian Advanced Train

Known Current Representatives

CEO: Humphrey Lancelot

Bretonia: Jack Wakefield

Kusari: Takayuki Maeda

Libery: Mike Adams

Rheinland: Wilhelm Schmidt

Links

http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=69177