The Cirrus Bank: NOW OFFERING CONSULTING!

[Ashland]

The Cirrus Bank

"With Cirrus, the Sky is the Limit"

 

IRC: #Cirrus on ColdFront
Founder, President, CEO, and God-Emperor: Ashland

 

Please do not edit your posts in this thread.  This OP will be edited frequently to reflect changes.  Replies will be the best permanent records of transactions.

 

Current Savings Interest Rate: 4.75%

Referral Bonus: You currently get: $5,000 for referring someone to us for a loan of $100,000 or more and $10,000 for a loan of $500,000 or more.

 

The Cirrus Bank is intended to provide basic financial services to a rapidly expanding player base.  The services we currently provide are:

 

- *NEW*: Consulting Services

 

- War Insurance

 

- Loans

 

- Wealth Savings

 

- Annuities

 

- Debt Clearance

 

- Credit Ratings

 

CONSULTING SERVICES

 

Cirrus Investments offers a wide array of consulting services including:

 

Nation Growth and Development Strategy: Cirrus consultants will share our knowledge regarding the growth and development of nations with your alliance and assist with the day-to-day administration of growth in your alliance, including messaging players with growth instructions, auditing players' nations in your alliance, and administering to lending programs.

 

Military/Preparedeness: Our consultants will assess the military preparedness of your nations, deal with the administration of mobilization, provide war counsel, deal with war-time administration with orders, provide counsel for spy operations, etc. etc.

 

Finance Consulting: Our consultants will assist your Finance Department (or even fill in for positions in it) in disbursing money, choosing where and how to invest it, etc. etc.

 

General Government Work: Our consultants will join your alliance temporarily and fill in for government positions for as long as you wish to pay them.  For the duration you have access to all their knowledge and ability and they are, for all purposes, a member of your alliance (but will not be expected to join you in a war).

 

Recruiting: Pretty self-explanatory.  We'll run recruiting operations for you, do all the grunt work according to your specifications so that you can focus on other things.

 

If you are interested in our consulting services, approach Ashland privately on IRC or via PM.

 

LOANS

 

Loans are the bread and butter of any banking institution.  They would be any bank's chief agent of profit.  As I mentioned before, there are quite a few concerns with lending money: Namely the person the money is loaned to will not pay you back.  There are numerous methods that I intend to employ to attempt to mitigate this risk.  Some of them might even work!  The risk-mitigating components of the loan are:

 

The Interest Rate (obviously): Interest is the principle means of offsetting risk with any loan.

 

An Origination Fee: An origination fee is a device used by lending institutions to offset risk and pay for their time and services.  It is a small percentage of the money that is loaned which is deducted from the principal paid to the debtor.  So, in other words, if someone wanted to borrow 500,000 dollars with a 1% origination fee, they would incur a debt of 500,000 dollars (upon which interest would be calculated) but only receive 495,000 dollars.  This practice has become more commonplace in recent years.  Particularly with mortgages.

 

Guarantor: Anyone borrowing money will be required to have a Guarantor until they have established good credit or have reached 15 days of age.  This Guarantor can be another player (preferably an older player) or even an Alliance.  The Guarantor agrees to buy the Debtor's remaining debt for ninety-nine cents on the dollar if they go into default (more on this later).  The Guarantor is thus prepared to assume responsibility for the Debtor's debt if they go into default.

 

Debt Collection and Debt Clearance: Anyone who borrows money from us must acknowledge that if they go into default and do not negotiate financing with the Cirrus Bank in good faith, if their Guarantor is missing in action, and if they do not cooperate with us that we reserve the right to do one of three things:

 

• Attack you until we recoup the cost of the debt and the cost to attack you.
• Hire someone to attack you.
• Sell your debt to someone who will then have license to attack you.

By borrowing from the Cirrus Bank, you unequivocally allow us to forcefully claim what you owe, even if it winds up costing us, to disincentivize future debtors from defaulting.  If you borrow money, you agree to that.  If your alliance wouldn't accept that then don't borrow money.  It's that simple.  Now, what is required to go into default?  Well, here's how the loans are going to work.  If you borrow money, your interest and payments will be dealt with (barring special circumstances) in four day periods.  Interest is compounded at the beginning of each period (including the first) and payments are due by the end of each period.

 

Minimum payments (again, barring unusual circumstances) will typically be the interest that was accrued that period.  If you do not make whatever the minimum payment is, it will negatively affect your credit score.  However, as long as you pay 50% of the interest for that period, you will never go into default.  In order to go into default you must pay less than 50% of the interest that was compounded at the beginning of a period two periods in a row.  If you go into default, it will detrimentally affect your credit rating.  If you go into default, you will find a message from me in both of your inboxes asking you to meet with me for a "Come to Jesus" meeting.  I am reasonable.  I assure you, we can work something out.  Whether it's deferring some of your payments, accepting resources as payment, or finding some other way to repay the debt, everything will be fine.  The only scenario where things will get unpleasant is if you default and go radio silent.  Then I will be upset.

 

If a debtor misses a payment, The Cirrus Bank reserves the right to:

 

-Increase their interest rate by .5%

 

-Assess an administrative charge of up to $100,000 + .5 times the interest rate

 

-Assess a late penalty equal to 1.5 times the interest rate

 

 

 

 If a debtor goes into default, The Cirrus Bank reserves the right to:

 

-Increase their interest rate by 1.5%

 

-Add an administrative charge up of to $500,000 + 1.5 times the interest rate

 

-Add a Default Penalty onto their debt equal to the interest rate times 3.5.  This Default Penalty will compound.

 

Loan Application 

Current Average Lending Rate: ~6.64%

 

Nation Name:

Alliance Name:

Credit References: (Anyone who can vouch for your reliability)

Guarantor(s): (Nation(s) or Alliance(s)) -For Any nations under 15 days in age, this is mandatory.  For all else it is not mandatory but will reduce your interest rate.

Daily After-Cost Revenue: (We reserve the right to ask for a screenshot of your Revenue page)

Did Someone Refer You To Us?  If so, Who:

Amount you would like to borrow:

What Is Your Investment Plan: (this is not mandatory, but a sound investment plan will make your loan appear less risky to the Bank)
 

I, (Nation Name Here), agree to the following if I choose to accept a loan from the Cirrus Bank:
-Pay all interest associated
-Repay the principal
-Act in good faith to repay all my debts and refrain from misrepresenting my intentions or history.

I also give the Cirrus Bank, or whoever may hold my debt in the future, the right to reclaim my debt through the use of force.  I agree to inform any alliance I may join while holding this debt of this arrangement.

*If you have applied for a loan twice and been denied twice, you will need to fill out a supplemental application to apply a third time or you'll be automatically denied.  The supplemental application is available upon request via private messaging both in-game and on the forum.  You must send a private message through both of these mediums to receive the specialized supplemental application.  The process of customizing the supplemental application for the individual borrower should take no less than eight days.

 

Wealth Savings

 

What good does all that money do you sitting in your inventory or, in the case of Alliances, in the Alliance Bank.  Give your wealth to us to manage and we will pay you interest!  Interest will be paid at 12AM Sunday EST on all money that was in the hands of the Cirrus Bank at 12AM the previous Sunday.  This is to ensure that people do not merely deposit money, collect interest, and ditch.  It is a necessary evil.  We pay a flat interest rate, regardless of the amount in your account.  We are a Bank and we make money (to pay your interest) by lending money to others.  Therefore, just by the nature of the business, we will not have everyone's savings on hand at any given time.  We promise to have, as a rule, 10% of your savings available to you at a moment's notice no matter what.  For an amount greater than that, we very well may still be able to fulfill your request, but we reserve the right to require three days' notice for any amount greater than that.  If you would like us to keep more cash on hand for you, we can, but it will be reflected by a lower interest rate on your savings.

 

For account closures, Cirrus requires five days' notice.  Interest will not be compounded during the account closure process.

 

To avoid he-said-she-said, for the time being deposits and withdrawals will all be done above-board.  Use the following form:

 

 

Withdrawal/Deposit Amount: (Underline one)

 

For security purposes, Cirrus does offer private investment management that will not be listed publicly.  These will involve different interest rates, and will take up to ten days for the account to be closed.

 

Annuities

 

Annuities are when you pay the Cirrus Bank a lump sum up front in exchange for a series of payments over time that will eventually amount to significantly more than the lump sum you paid.  We currently do not offer annuities, but it is a service we will be offering if this gets off the ground.

 

Debt Clearance

 

The Cirrus Bank may (rarely) choose to sell debt.  This might happen if we need cash quickly for whatever reason.  There are two types of debt we would sell: Debt that is not in default and debt that is in default.

 

Debt that is not in default is debt for whom the debtor has been making regular payments.  It is, effectively, debt that can be relied upon to be paid back.  We will typically sell this debt for somewhere from 80 to 90 cents on the dollar.  You can choose to deal with the Debtor yourself or you can arrange for the payments to continue to be made to us and we will then transfer them to you.  This second option is, obviously, more work for us and will affect the sale of debt.

 

Debt that is in default is obviously a worse investment.  You will, in all likelihood, need to either seize the debt by force or get them to come to some sort of settlement.  This debt, if it is sold, will probably be sold for somewhere between 30 and 45 cents on the dollar.  As per the lending agreement, the debt gives the buyer the right to attack the Debtor or have someone act as their agent in attacking the Debtor.  And the contract allows that you are allowed to recoup not only the entirety of the debt, but also whatever it cost you to attack them.

 

Credit Ratings

 

This area will eventually feature a list of Debtors/Prior Debtors and a rating scale regarding how reliable they are.

 

War Insurance

 

Orbis is a dangerous place.  Raiders, rogue alliances, and trigger-happy !@#$ plague our society.  If the unthinkable happens, and your nation incurs a catastrophic loss due to warfare, don't you want to know that a large portion of your loss will be recovered?  Well, now you can.  In continuing with Cirrus' almost completely altruistic goals (lol), we have decided to begin offering war insurance.  Let's take a look at a scenario:

 

There are two nations; Nation A and Nation B.  Both nations have three cities with 700 infrastructure each.  Both nations get hit with a missile in a war and lose 100 infrastructure from each city.  The only difference is that Nation A bought War Insurance from The Cirrus Bank and receives $130,000 at the end of the war.  All else being equal, if Nation A invests this money properly, he will recover three times faster.  Which nation would you rather be?

 

You would want to be Nation A.  And we want you to be Nation A too.  Spreading risk properly helps to keep players who would quit after having their nation destroyed in the game, which helps the entire community!  To help you avoid unmitigated disaster, we offer packages for both individual players and entire alliances (you save by buying in bulk).

 

Terms

War Insurance offered by Cirrus works like this: Each week, by 12am Sunday, EST, a given nation or alliance will pay their "premium".  Each nation/alliance's premium is different and is arrived at via a complex risk-spreading algorithm that takes into account such factors as: Nation size, Alliance volatility, raiding, nation military, alliance military, and several others as well.  In exchange. Cirrus will pay the following amounts to the buyer in the event of war damages:

 

50% of the cost of infrastructure lost up to $200,000 and $650 per infrastructure lost after that

$2 per soldier lost

$50 per tank lost

$75 per airplane lost

$75 per ship lost

 

*In the case of any resource being lost, Cirrus will pay the buyer in the form of that resource, equal to 80% of what was lost, within one week of the claim being approved.

 

90 cents on the dollar for each dollar taken

 

 

**In the case of Alliance-based War Insurance, Cirrus will replenish anything taken from the alliance bank at the above rates.

 

Cirrus reserves the right to not pay any damages associated with wars initiated by the buyer.  War Insurance is not meant to insure risky habits, such as raiding or warmongering.

 

Premiums

While premiums could be any amount, Cirrus advises potential buyers not to apply for insurance if they are not prepared to pay a minimum of $25,000 per week.  The actual premium could be below or above this.  Cirrus reserves the right to change the premiums of any insured member at any time, but said member will have two weeks' notice during which the old premium will be in effect.

 

War Insurance Applications

 

Individual Nation Application:

Nation Name:

Link to Nation:

 

 

Alliance Application:

Alliance Name:
Link to Alliance Membership:
List of Members You'd like to be Insured:
Would You Like to Insure the Alliance Bank As Well?

 

Cirrus' Rules:

 

1: Cirrus' Rights

  -A: Independence- Cirrus is an entity independent of any alliance.

  -B: Collection- Cirrus maintains the right to collect any debt that is defaulted upon through whatever means necessary.

     -1: This includes, but is not limited to, attacking the borrowing nation, hiring people to attack the borrowing nation, or selling the debt.

         -a: Cirrus maintains the right to bill any such nations for the cost of extracting payment.

         -b: Given that Cirrus is executing its end of a contract, any action of the nation's alliance against Cirrus in response to debt collection is an unprovoked act of war.

  -C: Reinstatement of Debt- Cirrus has the right to reinstate any previously forgiven debt up to and including the previously existing amount taking into account any additional interest that would be accrued during the nonce.

 

 

 

2:  Debtors' Obligations

   -A: Debtors agree to repay their debts with their money.  If not their money, then their resources at arbitrary rates.  If not their resources, then they pay with all that remains.  Cirrus reserves the right to require defaulted debtors to move their nation to a Debtors' prison to repay the debt or for them to be bonded into indentured servitude, whereby they agree to lend their military at the Bank's disposal in exchange for the Bank not pressing the issue of the debt.

       -1: If an indebted nation does not agree to any of these terms, Cirrus reserves the right to respond in any manner that it deems appropriate at any time and after any fashion, granted that the nation in question is in default.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Ashland

[Ashland]

Current Savings Accounts

tiggera: $8,439,182
last187: $47,319,134
UPS: 4,379,290

Current Debts Held

 

 

 

AxlRose

Principal: $22,000,000

Interest: 7.25%

Start Date: 5/29/2015 10:20am EST

Current Period:

5/29/2015 10:20am EST

to

6/2/2015 10:20am EST

 

Current Amount due: $21,160,637

 

 

 

 

Vincent

Principal: $20,000,000

Interest: 7.25%

Start Date: 5/29/2015 8:07 am EST

Current Period:

5/29/2015 8:07 am EST

to

6/2/2015 8:07 am EST

 

Current Amount due: $21,450,000

Edited June 3, 2015 by Ashland

[Lord Frostsword]

o7 Ashland

 

[iljohn]

Does that make us the debt collectors ash

[Wiliam]

Perhaps a feature like this could actually be implemented in game, where a time limit and specific amount to be payed back on could be agreed by both players, and the money will automatically be transferred between two players as soon as it is time and is available. 

[Greene]

Love that idea, Wiliam. Also Ashland, whats the procedure for your Wealth Savings program? It didn't include any details (yet).

Edited November 13, 2014 by Grealind

[Ashland]

Love that idea, Wiliam. Also Ashland, whats the procedure for your Wealth Savings program? It didn't include any details (yet).

What wasn't described?

 

It's like having deposits at a bank.  You get interest on what you deposit.  I'm only going to take so many deposits until people actually borrow money, though.  The current interest rate on savings is 1.1%

Edited November 13, 2014 by Ashland

[Grillick]

1.1% over what term?

 

I'm asking because the United States of DJ is offering a 3% daily return...

Edited November 13, 2014 by Grillick

[Ashland]

1.1% over a term of a week.  That may change in the future.  But his returns are completely unsustainable, as evidenced by the fact that he's limiting people in how much they can buy.  Look at your own nation: Where could you invest money that you would get 103% of it back in 24 hours?

 

If people borrow money, my interest is infinitely sustainable.  You and several others (myself included) pointed out really weird, silly things in his proposal.  Such as the fact that loaning him MORE money gave you a WORSE return.  Has anyone even bought a bond from him yet?  And it doesn't really matter if they have.  What he's doing is not sustainable now and will become less and less sustainable as his nation grows.  This model is infinitely sustainable provided it's managed correctly.  Which I think I'm capable of doing.

 

In order for it to work, though, there has to be a demand for the product: Loans.  So, that's really the first item on the agenda.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Ashland

[Ayayay]

Okay, I noticed a teeny tiny little problem with your proposal.

 

An alliance will likely ignore the contract and defend the debtor anyways.

 

Basically, unless you can convince a large group of alliances to support this proposal and assist with debt collection, it will ultimately fail. Having a government provide order is what allows loans to work in real life as nearly all Governments recognize the need for loans even across nations. Said government(s) also provide enforcement of contracts so if a debtor refuses to pay you can always go to a higher authority who actually handles the criminal proceedings. In game however, a nation is only subject to the authority of their alliance and, this being a game, the alliance will either

A. Tell you to screw off or

B. Use your debt collection war as a free CB against your alliance

 

Just my two cents though, I do wish you luck either way.

[Ashland]

Okay, I noticed a teeny tiny little problem with your proposal.

 

An alliance will likely ignore the contract and defend the debtor anyways.

 

Basically, unless you can convince a large group of alliances to support this proposal and assist with debt collection, it will ultimately fail. Having a government provide order is what allows loans to work in real life as nearly all Governments recognize the need for loans even across nations. Said government(s) also provide enforcement of contracts so if a debtor refuses to pay you can always go to a higher authority who actually handles the criminal proceedings. In game however, a nation is only subject to the authority of their alliance and, this being a game, the alliance will either

A. Tell you to screw off or

B. Use your debt collection war as a free CB against your alliance

 

Just my two cents though, I do wish you luck either way.

I have, of course, considered that.  I want to make clear that that action is obviously a last resort.  I would hope that an alliance would help rather than hinder us when it comes to debts their members owe.  I'd much rather work with their alliance than against them.  And if their alliance will not honor the agreement their member made by accepting the loan, then I will ultimately refrain from taking aggressive action.  But if this is the case I would sincerely hope that they would help us find other ways of making up the debt.

 

Would UPN aid one of its members in screwing over someone they borrowed money from?  I know BoC wouldn't.  My fear, as Minister of Finance, is that if BoC were viewed as an alliance that helps keep its members from having to fulfill their ends of contracts, nobody would want to deal with us or our members! And rightly so.  Alliances, more than players, have to protect their reputation.  So, if anything, I think that the debtors' alliances will be of assistance.  Nobody wants to be known as the alliance of people who don't pay back debts or keep up their side of a bargain.

[Greene]

Withdrawal/Deposit Amount: 500,000 on behalf of the Celestial Union

[Ashland]

Withdrawal/Deposit Amount: 500,000 on behalf of the Celestial Union

Your deposit of $500,000 has been received and a screenshot has been taken of the receipt.

 

On behalf of The Cirrus Bank, thank you for choosing us to protect your assets.  If you think there is a discrepancy, please alert me immediately.

[Ayayay]

-snip-

Let me clarify, I'm not saying every alliance would tell you to screw off, I am saying I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen.

 

Ultimately it depends on the current political situation and each individuals views on how members of an alliance should behave.

 

An example by me is that I recognize that, as a game, people want to have fun and speak their mind. Therefore, I do not consider members or even ministers of alliances to act in an official capacity unless specified otherwise. However, I do assume alliance leaders speak for their alliance at nearly all times. On the other hand, some people consider all members of the government to be acting in an official capacity nearly all the time and some even believe that all members of an alliance should have some credibility when they speak. You will run into a problem with people who expect that you, as the Minister of BoC, to be acting in an official capacity and may outright refuse to accept that this isn't hosted by BoC. If there is any sort of bad blood between your alliance and another alliance run by said group of people, the chances of them caring about their member paying a debt back will be close to zero.

 

tl;dr Politics

[Ashland]

Let me clarify, I'm not saying every alliance would tell you to screw off, I am saying I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen.

 

Ultimately it depends on the current political situation and each individuals views on how members of an alliance should behave.

 

An example by me is that I recognize that, as a game, people want to have fun and speak their mind. Therefore, I do not consider members or even ministers of alliances to act in an official capacity unless specified otherwise. However, I do assume alliance leaders speak for their alliance at nearly all times. On the other hand, some people consider all members of the government to be acting in an official capacity nearly all the time and some even believe that all members of an alliance should have some credibility when they speak. You will run into a problem with people who expect that you, as the Minister of BoC, to be acting in an official capacity and may outright refuse to accept that this isn't hosted by BoC. If there is any sort of bad blood between your alliance and another alliance run by said group of people, the chances of them caring about their member paying a debt back will be close to zero.

 

tl;dr Politics

That's valid. I WOULD point out that if this were an outright extension of BoC then BoC government would have direct control over the Bank, which it does not, and it would be liable for any Bank debts, which they are not.

 

Obviously there is an affiliation, though. There would be some affiliation no matter what unless I was allianceless.

[Francis Olsson]

Is there a minimum amout for wealth savings eligibility?

[Ashland]

There is not. I would say, however, that if you're new you are much better off investing the money you have into growing your nation. Indeed, you'd be better off BORROWING money from me than giving it to me. But no, I'll take your deposits.

[Tiggera]

Nation Name: The United Kingdom

Alliance Name:The European Empire

Credit References:---------

Guarantor(s):--------

Daily After-Cost revenue:450k

How much would you like to borrow: 1mil

Did Someone Refer You To Us? If so, Who:-------

 

I, The United Kingdom, agree to the following if I choose to accept a loan from the Cirrus Bank:

-Pay all interest associated

-Repay the principal

-Act in good faith to repay all my debts and refrain from misrepresenting my intentions or history.

 

I also give the Cirrus Bank, or whoever may hold my debt in the future, the right to reclaim my debt through the use of force. I agree to inform any alliance I may join while holding this debt of this arrangement.

Edited November 13, 2014 by tiggera

[Grillick]

You're missing a vital figure in your application there, buddy.

[Ashland]

It's not tiggera's fault, I stupidly forgot to include the "How much do you want to borrow?" part of the application until quite recently.  I could have sworn it was the second field when I made it, but it was not.

 

That being said, I have a bizarre intuition that tells me tiggera would like to borrow $1,000,000.  Tiggera, upon reviewing your application, I would be happy to loan you $1,000,000 at an interest rate of 3.05% (quite below the average, given your prominence and age).  In light of both of these things, I will also forego any Origination Fee.  To review the terms of the loan, it works in four-day periods.  Interest is compounded at the beginning of the first period and the beginning of every other period thereafter (having interest compound immediately is a necessary evil to prevent people from taking out a loan and paying it back after three days with no interest; that actually costs me money).  Payment is due at the end of every four day period.

 

The minimum period payment is half of the interest that was accrued that period.  Obviously it is highly recommended to pay at least the interest that was accrued that period if not more.

 

Are these terms acceptable to you?  For the record, the first period will begin when the money is in your possession.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Ashland

[Grillick]

That's funny. I assumed it was your fault at first and checked your OP before I made a snarky comment.

[Ashland]

That's funny. I assumed it was your fault at first and checked your OP before I made a snarky comment.

We've learned a valuable lesson today: Snark first; ask questions later.

[Grillick]

With Grillick, you're lucky if I ever ask questions.

[Tiggera]

Yes I agree and understand the terms

[Ashland]

Yes I agree and understand the terms

In that case, a trade offer to buy 1 food for 1,000,000 dollars has been sent to you.  Once it is accepted, the first period will begin.

 

Thank you for patronizing the Cirrus Bank.