Bernie, in his old age, sits down on a bench in a public space. A beautiful fountain sits in the middle of the New York park, with a slew of benches all around it. A young man, Italian, sits down next to him. He notices a tattoo on his neck; Factory. Man, New York's crime bosses have men everywhere. He strikes up a conversation with the young man, completely unaware of Bernie's affiliation with his crew.

You know what's great about the Mafia? It's self-regulating; self-governing. If there's a problem, they fix it themselves. There isn't some central mafia overlord that decides what's right and wrong with no recourse. It's capitalism at its finest. The only rules are the ones enforced by those in power, and apart from power (which flows from money), money is the primary resource. You'd imagine this system to be abrupt, violent, and unsettled, but it's quite the opposite. By self-regulating, every member of the society knows its place and doesn't need anyone to tell them why they're here. Everyone asked to be a part of this.

Now, any criminal organization can self-regulate (which is less of an active regulation, and more of a passive observation of how these organizations develop and interact), but the U.S. Mafia is incredible stable. For months at a time, the massive criminal enterprises of the different cities can be at peace and harmony. Do you know what that means to me, a financier?

The young Italian boy shakes his head, ready to dart at a moment's notice.

It means profit. But do you know what I don't like about the Mafia? There's distrust in the air. It's not irrational by any means, but that distrust seems to sow seeds of isolationism. And where it seems like cities and crews want to intermingle and grow, the reality is crews build ivory towers and wait for each other to fall around them. In particular, that distrust translates into a certain kind of fear: a fear of debt. A fear of loans that won't be repaid, and a fear of borrowing that will end in death. But I find this fear to be a barrier to a more prosperous future.

I think the Mafia needs banks, or at least one bank in particular. The banks we have now are nothing more than crude vaults to protect our money from pickpockets. What we should want is the power to invest. And what better way to encourage growth and stability than by providing liquid capital for such ventures? Growing crews can grow faster and the richer members of our world can profit off their massive cash piles. Why not let your money make money?

The fear that loans won't be repaid can be offset by proper credit assessments and leverage. The fear that borrowing will end in death can be offset by the formation of independent and trustworthy institutions that take action only when the terms of the agreement aren't met. So please tell me, why can't we reap the fruits of our stability the way all markets, industries, and countries do: with banking and investing?

The young Italian boy sprints, confused as shit by the lecture he just got.

Eh, I guess that may be the proper response.

Jank had been playing a game in his mind that consisted of keeping a rock in constant motion in front of him while sliding his hands through the pockets of unsuspecting civilians. As he found himself a pack of cigarettes from an elder ladies purse, he noticed a man lecturing another young criminal about his age. Jank listened and found himself intrigued at the ideas proposed by the man. Lighting a cigarette from the fresh pack he lifted, Jank approaches always up for the discussion of ideas.

I know with all the conspiracy talk in the streets going on this may not be the best time for such talks, but couldn't it also be argued that having a bank like that would be bad for this thing of ours? You said you liked the organizations self governing ways, we balance each other out in a sense. I'll save my spiel about checks and balances for time reasons, but if we were to do such a thing wouldn't we then be giving all of the power to one centralized bank? We're a bunch of crooked fucko's at the very core, take a look at the poor post offices scattered across the place. If we gave all the power to a group of our own kind, wouldn't that end up in killing the true beauty of the system we have in place already?

Bernie turns to the young man approaching him and smiles, glad that someone was listening after all.

Unfortunately, I'm new here and haven't yet concerned myself with any conspiracy chatter, so I can't really speak on that. However, you do raise a good point. My intention was to support the creation of a bank, not necessarily only one. But that nonetheless does not alleviate the validity of your response. Banks, like crews, aren't perfect monarchies with leaders who can act without consequence. Crewleaders rely on funds from members in the same way that a bank would rely on funds from investors. If the investors were to dislike the bank's behaviors, they could withdraw their support and effectively kill the bank.

But I must also disagree with you; I don't think we're all a "bunch of crooked fuckos at the very core." Some are, either by nature, necessity, or pleasure, but I don't think our world would be as stable as it is if we were truly led by and made up of such individuals.

I don't think establishing a bank would in any way "give power" to one group. I think the ability to borrow money would allow a crew to grow much much faster than what is currently available, and then result in interest dividends for investors as that crew expands. Put simply, I think the opposite would happen. Opening up trustworthy and profitable lending would give smaller crews and lesser-known individuals a chance of growth and success that may not otherwise be available.

Pardon the expression, I was just referring to the nature of our business as a whole. So I feel as though I misinterpreted your idea and what you're proposing is a bank of sorts that's main business would be to facilitate the growth of our business then?

Pondering on that thought, Jank takes another drag from his cigarette. Bit girly flavored for his liking, but free smokes are free smokes.

I like the idea a lot if so, "spreading the wealth". Very Robin Hood of you my good sir. 

Though I work for a Russian, don't confuse me for a communist. I'm a capitalist at heart. I just see growth as a profitable venture for both the growing crew and the wealthy investors-to-be. Plus, wouldn't it promote even more stability if everyone had a profitable reason to keep crewleaders alive?

I have been listening as well Bernie.....

I like people who think outside the box and offer new ideas to better enhance our world, but I see some issues with this bank idea. So I'd like to pose a question. If say someone invests in this bank, and a young and upcoming crew borrows from the bank to build his family and HQ at a faster rate. Employing more bgs, and raising walls at a faster rate. Who is to pay this loan back if said CL dies before paying off his debt? Surely the dead can't be expected to repay a loan, can they? And how in turn will the investor be able to withdraw his money if the money has already been spent? 

Anytime you mix mobsters with money in my opinion their will be some amount of thievery or trickery employed to try to take advantage of it. We may not all be a bunch of "fuckos" like I am, but we are all certainly thieves to a certain degree. We all have stolen from the moment we decide to snatch that first purse. Some may not go as far as another mobster, but we all have the thief in us somewhere.

Mr. Lupin you, like Mr. Dankyy, provide valid concerns. Like any bank, one must be able to protect one's self from fraud and calamity. For most banks, this is factored into the credit assessment and interest rates. When anyone asks for money, they wouldn't simply get any amount they wanted at any interest rate. They'd be evaluated by the bank and if they qualified for a loan, they'd get a limited amount of money at an interest rate based on their qualifications. For instance, if a crew has borrowed from the bank 5 times and paid back each loan on time, they'll have an easier time getting a loan than a Thug wanting 2mil for his BGs.

Certainly at the beginning, the bank will remain on the side of caution when it comes to these qualifications. It's better to keep the money safe with little interest than to risk it all for the sake of some interest. Additionally, the bank will only loan out a section of its whole capital and maintain some portion of its capital. What will most likely happen, is the bank will begin with smaller loans and sell that debt to investors that want to profit off their money. Once the bank has proven its use and efficacy, it can move into larger borrowing circles.

I hope I've answered your questions. If not, or if I've left anything confusing, please let me know.

Hmm... Well I must say you do know how to run a bank correctly. If done properly this actually could work, I would say that the it may take lots of praying to the gods to see something like this through. In our world people like the way things are and change is only granted with permission from the gods. Not only the gods can grant such a thing, you would also have to win over the hearts and the votes of the people. And at that point, maybe just maybe, the gods and the people will unite to make such a dream come true.

I will say it would appear to be an uphill battle to accomplish such a thing, but you have my best wishes. You seem smart and capable, and I wouldn't shoot a fella like yourself down. I'm curious to see if you could actually move the masses of the people and the gods enough to make anything of the sort happen. Truly best of luck on your endeavors and adventures into uncharted territory. 

As my colleague Remus said, best of luck to you. I believe you may be onto something here, and if you can make it profitable for those involved as well as those that receive the help I think you could make waves within the business. Unfortunately I'm just a broke low life who enjoys the game of thievery, otherwise I would offer an investment. But corporate is a language I don't speak as well. 

With a tip of the hat, Jank wanders off to find the rock he had came with. Snagging a wallet from a man's back pocket as he searches.