Vall`to Sector Bank

The Vall`to Sector Bank was a financial institution on the planet Vall`to. An economic powerhouse even when the Vall`to sector was independent, it came to be a crucial financial organ of both the Tetrarchy of Mezlagob and its conqueror, the Golden Empire.

Independence
The planet Vall`to was colonized by lost spacefarers from the known galaxy who had managed to cross the hyperspace disturbance into the Unknown Regions, but could not find their way back. Boasting a pleasant climate and a total lack of native sentients, Vall`to became a jumping-off point for further colonization. Over centuries, the planet was transformed into a partial ecumenopolis, patterned after Coruscant.

The then-Bank of Vall`to received investments from most settlers on Vall`to itself, and became the financier of most expeditions to nearby systems in return for a percentage of earnings derived from these expeditions. As colonization slowly expanded into what became known as the Vall`to sector, the Bank's power grew greatly, and it backed several different currencies in the loose confederation of worlds. Even those previously unknown alien species who rebuffed attempts at colonization still did business with the Bank, often using it to pay to arm themselves against forcible incursion. Some time before 214 BBY, the Bank changed its name to the Vall`to Sector Bank.

The Tetrarchy
In 214 BBY, the Tetrarchy of Mezlagob (emerging from the nearby Mezlag sector) forcibly conquered the Vall`to sector and absorbed all its worlds. However, in a shrewd move, the Vall`to Sector Bank bought out several smaller financial institutions in the Tetrarchy, setting itself up to rival the existing Bank of Mezlagob. Coupled with its cheerful willingness to throw its impressive financial might behind major weapons producers in the Tetrarchy, the Vall`to Sector Bank convinced the reigning Tetrarchs to back their currency, the Tetrum, against itself instead, neutering the Bank of Mezlagob and establishing its own safe position in the Tetrarchy.

The Bank's Board of Governors thereafter consisted of some elected from its own ranks and some appointed by the Tetrachs. This situation persisted until 102 ABY.

Golden Empire
In 102 ABY, enmeshed in a war with the Tetrarchy, the Glorious Armada of the Golden Empire swept into the Vall`to Sector, intending to cut off the financial center of the Tetrarchy and cripple its war effort. When Vall`to fell, the Bank conceded to the rule of Rin Sakaros, agreeing to lend its financial weight to her war effort in return for remaining the Central Bank when the Empire won the war.

After the capture of Mezlagob and the collapse of the Tetrarchy, the Tetrum was eliminated and the Vall`to Sector Bank backed the Royal Credit. Rin made changes to the Bank's structure in 103 ABY, mandating that two-thirds of its Board of Governors were to be appointed by her newly created Ministry of Finance, centralizing the Bank even further and ensuring Royal control over the credit.

After the Conquest of the Chiss Ascendancy in 137 ABY, the Vall`to Sector Bank spread its influence into the previously-reclusive Ascendancy, again using its wealth to buy out lesser financial institutions and position itself against larger ones.

Structure
The Bank was led by a Board of Governors, whose number fluctuated through history but was twenty-seven in 137 ABY. The Governors controlled all operations of the bank, including the financial backing of the Royal Credit. Under the law of the Golden Empire, eighteen of these Governors were appointed by the Minister of Finance; the remaining nine were elected from the Bank's officers by the Board itself. Investments totaling over .1% of the bank's total wealth had to be approved by the Board. The Board also appointed all Chief Directors.

Every world in the Golden Empire had at least one branch of the Bank. A Chief Director was appointed to govern each world's banks; each individual bank site had a Director to govern its operations.

Though the government had a tight grip on the Bank's operations, it was technically a privately-owned firm, and was awarded designation as a Royal Beneficiary Corportation.