Clan:The Empire/ImperialCode

Title 1.—Banks and Banking Chapter I.—Imperial Bank Subchapter A—Definitions, Organization, General Provisions, Board of Directors Section 101. Definitions (a) Wherever “the Bank” is used in this chapter, it shall be held to describe only the Imperial Bank. (b) The terms “member of the Bank” or “members of the Bank,” shall be held to mean any member of the empire who is employed by the Bank. An “agent” is any person employed by or associated with the specified organization. (c) The term “board” shall be held to mean Board of Directors of the Bank. (d) The terms “capital, money, or monies” used in this chapter shall be held to describe real currency. The terms “collateral, property, and assets,” shall be held to describe items of value. The terms “bills of exchange, checks, and paper,” shall be held to describe certificates of indebtedness held against a particular account in the Bank. Section 102. The Board shall be composed of three members, to be appointed by the Emperor, by and with the advice and consent of the Inner Circle for terms of fourteen weeks. The most senior member of the board shall assume the position of chairman, the second, vice chairman. In selecting the members of the Board, the Emperor shall have due regard to a fair representation of the financial, natural, industrial, and commercial interests of the empire. The members of the Board shall each receive basic compensation at the rate of $1,000 per week. Section 103. At meetings of the Board the chairman shall preside, and, in his absence, the vice chairman shall preside. In the absence of the chairman and the vice chairman, the Board shall not convene. The Board shall determine and prescribe the manner in which its obligations shall be incurred and its disbursements and expenses allowed and paid, and may leave on deposit in the Bank the proceeds of assessments levied upon them to defray its estimated expenses and the salaries of its members and employees, whose employment, compensation, and expenses shall be governed solely by the provisions of this chapter and rules and regulations of the Board not inconsistent therewith; and funds derived from such assessments shall not be construed to be Imperial funds or appropriated moneys. Whenever a vacancy shall occur, other than by expiration of term, among the three members of the Board appointed by the Emperor as above provided, a successor shall be appointed by the Emperor, by and with the advice and consent of the Inner Circle, to fill such vacancy, and when appointed he shall hold office for the unexpired term of his predecessor. Section 104. Appearances before and reports to the Inner Circle (a) Appearances before the Congress (1) In general, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank shall appear before Inner Circle at hearings, as specified in paragraph (2), regarding— (A) the efforts, activities, objectives and plans of the Bank with respect to the conduct of monetary policy; and (B) economic developments and prospects for the future described in the report required in subsection (b) of this section. (2) The Chairman of the Bank shall appear— (A) before the Imperial Circle on or about the third Monday of every other month; (b) The Bank shall, concurrent with each hearing required by this section, submit a written report to the Inner Circle containing a discussion of the conduct of monetary policy and economic developments and prospects for the future, taking into account past and prospective developments in employment,, production, investment, real income, productivity, trade and payments, and prices. Subchapter B—Powers and Duties of Imperial Bank Section 201. Upon the filing of the organization certificate with the Dean of the Imperial Archives, an Imperial Bank shall become a body corporate and as such, and in the name designated in such organization certificate, shall have power— (a) To adopt and use a corporate seal. (b) To make contracts. (c) To appoint by its board of directors such officers and employees as are not otherwise provided for in this chapter, to define their duties, require bonds for them and fix the penalty thereof, and to dismiss at pleasure such officers or employees. (d) To prescribe by its board of directors, bylaws not inconsistent with law, regulating the manner in which its general business may be conducted, and the privileges granted to it by law may be exercised and enjoyed. (e) To exercise by its board of directors, or duly authorized officers or agents, all powers specifically granted by the provisions of this chapter and such incidental powers as shall be necessary to carry on the business of banking within the limitations prescribed by this chapter. Section 202. The Board of Directors of the Bank shall be authorized and empowered: (a) To examine at its discretion the accounts, books, and affairs of each member of the Bank and to require such statements and reports as it may deem necessary. The said board shall publish once each week a consolidated statement for all members of the Bank. Such statements shall show in detail the assets and liabilities of the Bank, single and combined, and shall furnish full information regarding the character of the money held as reserve and the amount, nature, and maturities of the gold and other investments owned or held by the Bank. (b) To suspend for a period not exceeding thirty days, and from time to time to renew such suspension for periods not exceeding fifteen days, any reserve requirements specified in this chapter: Provided, the board shall submit a written report explaining said suspension to the Inner Circle not less than two days before said suspension occurs. (c) To supervise and regulate through the Minister of Industry the issue of Bank capital and to prescribe rules and regulations under which such capital may be delivered by the Minister to the Department agents applying therefor. (d) To require the writing off of doubtful or worthless assets upon the books and balance sheets of members of the Bank. (e) To make regulations for the safeguarding of all collateral, capital, money, or property of any kind deposited in the hands of agents of the Bank, and said board shall perform the duties, functions, or services specified in this chapter, and make all rules and regulations necessary to enable said board effectively to perform the same. (f) To employ such experts, assistants, clerks, or other employees as may be deemed necessary to conduct the business of the board. All salaries and fees shall be fixed in advance by said board and shall be paid in the same manner as the salaries of the members of said board. All such experts, assistants, clerks, and other employees shall be appointed without regard to any rule or regulation made in pursuance thereof: Provided, That nothing herein shall prevent the Emperor from placing said employees in the classified service. (g) To levy upon the Bank an assessment sufficient to pay its estimated expenses and the salaries of its members and employees. Section 203. Imperial Market Committee; creation; membership; regulations governing market transactions (a) There is hereby created an Imperial Market Committee (hereinafter referred to as the “Committee”), which shall consist of the members of the Board of Directors of the Bank and some people to be selected as hereinafter provided (b) No member of the Bank may engage or decline to engage in market operations under sections except in accordance with the direction of and regulations adopted by the Committee. The Committee shall consider, adopt, and transmit to the several members of the Bank, regulations relating to the market transactions of such members. (c) The time, character, and volume of all purchases and sales of items shall be governed with a view to accommodating commerce and business and with regard to their bearing upon the general fiscal situation of the Empire. Section 204. No member of the Bank shall commence business when the capital of said Bank amounts to less than $4,000,000. Section 205. The net earnings derived by the Empire from Bank shall, in the discretion of the Emperor, be used to supplement the reserve held against outstanding deposits within the Bank, or shall be applied to the reduction of the outstanding bonded indebtedness of the several Branches of the Empire under regulations to be prescribed by the Minister of Industry. Should a member of the Bank be dissolved or dismissed, any surplus remaining, after the liquidation of all assets shall be paid to and become the property of the Empire and shall be similarly applied. Subchapter C—Depositaries and Fiscal Agents Section 301. The Bank may receive from any member of the empire, or other depository institutions, and from the Empire, deposits of funds in money, or checks, or other items; Provided, Such depository person, or institution, maintains with the Bank a balance in such amount as the Board determines taking into account services provided by the Bank, and other factors as the Board may deem appropriate. Section 302. Upon the endorsement of the Minister of Industry, the Bank may discount capital, monies, and bills of exchange arising out of actual commercial transactions; that is, capital, monies, and bills of exchange issued or drawn for resource extraction, industrial, or commercial purposes, or the proceeds of which have been used, or are to be used, for such purposes, the Board of Directors of the Bank have the right to determine or define the character of the paper thus eligible for discount, within the meaning of this chapter. Nothing in this chapter contained shall be construed to prohibit such capital, monies, and bills of exchange, secured by staple natural products, or other goods, wares, or merchandise from being eligible for such discount, and the capital, monies, and bills of exchange of factors issued as such making advances exclusively to producers of staple natural products in their raw state shall be eligible for such discount; but such definition shall not include capital, monies, or bills covering merely investments or issued or drawn for the purpose of carrying or trading in items or other investments. Section 303. Upon the endorsement of the Minister of Industry, and subject to regulations and limitations to be prescribed by the Board of Directors of the Bank, the Bank may discount or purchase bills of exchange payable at sight or on demand which grow out of the domestic shipment or the exportation of readily marketable natural and other staples and are secured by bills of lading or other trade documents conveying or securing title to such staples: Provided, That all such bills of exchange shall be forwarded promptly for collection, and demand for payment shall be made with reasonable promptness after the arrival of such staples at their destination. Section 304. Every member of the Bank shall have power to buy and sell in the open market, under the direction and regulations of the Imperial Market Committee, any item or product which is a direct product of any Department of the Ministry of Industry. Section 305. The discount and rediscount and the purchase and sale by any member of the Bank of any bills receivable and of domestic and foreign goods, natural products, or other wares, or merchandise, and of acceptances authorized by this chapter, shall be subject to such restrictions, limitations, and regulations as may be imposed by the Board of Directors of the Bank. Section 306. The Board may from time to time prescribe rules governing the advertisement of interest on deposits by members of the empire and other depository institutions on time and savings deposits. Section 307. The moneys held in the Bank may, upon the direction of the Board of Directors of the Bank, be deposited to members of the Bank, which, when required by the Board of Directors of the Bank, shall act as fiscal agents of the Empire; and the revenues of the Branches of the Empire or any member thereof may be deposited in the Bank, and disbursements may be made by checks drawn against such deposits. Subchapter D—Bank Reserves Section 401. The Bank shall maintain reserves against its ad interim deposits in the ratio of 10 per centum, or in such other ratio not greater than 20 per centum and not less than 5 per centum as the Board may prescribe by regulation solely for the purpose of implementing monetary policy. Section 402. The required balance carried by a member of the Bank may, under the regulations and subject to such penalties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors of the Bank, be checked against and withdrawn by the Bank for the purpose of meeting existing liabilities. Section 403. In estimating the reserve balances required by this chapter, the Bank may deduct from the amount of their gross deposits the amounts of balances due from the several Branches of the Empire and cash items in process of collection payable immediately upon presentation in the Empire, within the meaning of these terms as defined by the Board of Directors of the Bank. Subchapter E—Liability of Board of Directors and Officers Section 501. It shall be unlawful for any member of the Bank to certify any check drawn upon the such member of the Bank unless the person or firm drawing the check has on deposit with the Bank or such member of the Bank, at the time such check is certified, an amount of money not less than the amount specified in such check. Any check so certified by a duly authorized officer, director, agent, or employee shall be a good and valid obligation against the Bank or such member of the Bank; but the act of any member in the Bank in violation of this section shall, in the discretion of the Board of Directors of the Bank, be subject such penalties imposed by such Board. Section 502. If the directors or officers of the Bank shall knowingly violate or permit any of the agents, officers, or directors of the Bank to violate any of the provisions of sections herein this title or regulations of the board made under authority thereof, every director and officer participating in or assenting to such violation shall be held liable in his personal and individual capacity for all damages which the Bank, its depositors, or any other persons shall have sustained in consequence of such violation. Chapter II.—Bylaws of the Imperial Bank Subchapter A—Divisions and Offices Section 101. There shall be a Division of Accounting and Corporate Services, which shall— (a) Be headed by an officer designated by the Board, who may employ additional personnel in the Division to carry out the duties enumerated herein. (b) Create and oversee accurate accounts of capital entrusted to the Bank by depositors. (c) Consolidate and organize reports of transactions of the agents of the Bank, and in such a way that shall result in ease of access to any report. (d) Establish within the Division an Office of Corporate Audits and Internal Investigations, which shall headed by an officer designated by the Board, and which may— (1) access any records of the division that are necessary for the creation of a thorough report for the Chairman as he may require. (2) access any records of any division or office within the Bank as it may require during an internal investigation. (3) cooperate with the Imperial Security Bureau to discover and investigate instances of unlawful actions within the Bank. (4) present the findings of such investigations to the Board of Directors. (5) from time to time, employ such additional personnel in the Office as determined necessary to carry out the duties of said Office. (e) Establish within the Division an Office of Corporate Communications, which shall— (1) be headed by the same officer as described in (d) of this Section. (2) keep the contact information of each member of the empire, as well as each member’s title, department, combat level, and rank within the empire. (3) from time to time, raise awareness to all members of the empire of special events and happenings within the empire. Section 102. There shall be a Division of Liquidation, which shall— (a) Be headed by officer designated by the Board. (b) Monitor the books and balance sheets of the agents and of the Bank. (c) Identify doubtful or worthless assets, (1) a worthless asset is made up of fewer than three hundred of one item, each valued at less than one-tenth of one percent of the capital of the Bank. (2) a doubtful asset is one whose value has declined by more than ten percent in two days. (d) Require the sale of such assets immediately. Section 103. There shall be an Office of Legislative Affairs, which shall be headed by the same officer designated in §102, and who shall prepare proposals of changes in policy or legislature of the empire in order to better facilitate the growth and stability of the Bank. Subchapter B—Members and Agents of the Bank Section 201. Any person who is entrusted with an account in the Bank with the purpose of using any capital in said account for investment and moneymaking on behalf of the Bank is said to be a member, or an agent, of the Bank. Section 202. If a person should intend to join the Bank, he shall write to the Chairman of the Bank and to the Emperor communicating such an intention, which shall be considered his application. (a) A person shall only be acceptable for employment if: (1) he has been active in the Empire for greater than three weeks, (2) has previously deposited greater than $2,000,000 into a savings account, (3) and has demonstrated aptitude for arbitrage. (b) The Chairman or Emperor shall notify the applicant of his acceptance for employment within four days of receiving said application. Section 203. Any member accepted into the Bank shall receive a letter of authorization, signed by the Chairman and the Emperor, which shall include the duties and trade authorizations for the member, as well as grant him access to an account of $200,000. (a) The accounts of the members shall not exceed 10 per cent of their total deposits in the bank. Section 204. The reports articulated in §101 (c) shall be written by the agent involved in a transaction, as often and in such a manner as described herein. Such reports shall, (a) Be necessary to produce whenever some property of the Bank is traded from a member for acquisition of new property of the Bank, and whenever that property shall be again traded, and so forth. (b) Contain, within a single folder whose name shall be the month and day of the trade and of name of the agent, (1) a screenshot of the trade confirmation or of the trade history, whichever shall be produced by the trade, (2) and a plain text document declaring assets lost and gained, (c) Be delivered to the Division of Accounting within eight hours of said trade. Section 205. All members and agents of the Bank must work in accordance with all rules and regulations of the Imperial Code and any decree of the Emperor and any rules set by the Board. If the Board of Directors or the Minister of Industry or the Emperor deem a member of the Bank is not performing his duties in a lawful manner or in such a way that degrades the good name of the Empire, they shall have the power to: (a) Fine said member a sum determined by the Board, (1) Said fine shall not exceed $500,000 or 10% of said member’s account with the Bank, for misdemeanors, (2) Said fine shall not exceed 90% of said member’s account with the Bank for any crime. (b) Suspend said member from employment by the Bank for a time determined by the Board, (c) Terminate said member’s employment with the Bank. Subchapter C—Duties of Members of the Bank Section 301. The capital and goods in the accounts of the members of the Bank is property of the Bank. (a) Removing any capital or goods from a member’s account with the Bank without reporting it or without the intention to return it, shall be considered larceny. It shall be considered grand larceny if the value of the amount stolen is in excess of $2,000. Section 302. Members of the Bank shall only buy and sell goods that are approved by the Imperial Market Committee. Members may suggest items to be included to the Board or the Minister of Industry or the Emperor. Section 303. When any member intends to begin trading, they shall contact either the Minister or Emperor some hours in advance, who shall then debit the member’s account for the amount requested and trade to the member the amount requested. A formal report shall be submitted for this transaction. Section 304. Any capital or asset that has been withdrawn from a member’s account must be returned to the Bank within forty-eight hours, as either cash or goods, and must have a value approximately equal to or greater than the amount withdrawn. The exact time should be planned when first requesting access to the account, and a formal report shall be submitted. Chapter III.—Deposits and Loans Subchapter A—Deposits Section 101. Any member of the Empire may deposit within the Bank any amount of cash, which will be guaranteed for withdraw at any time. (a) The deposit may be into a savings account or a Certificate of Deposit (CD). (1) Savings accounts shall yield 3% interest biweekly, not compounded. (A) Cash in a savings account may be transferred to another savings account by contacting the Minister or Emperor, however if the sum of cash in the account should fall below $5,000 after the transfer a cash penalty may be imposed. Such a transfer may be used to pay any department of the government or member of the Empire who also has an account. (B) Cash in a savings account may be withdrawn at any time. (2) CDs shall yield 5% interest biweekly, not compounded. (A) The maturity time for each CD shall be two months. (B) Cash in a CD may be withdrawn earlier than the maturity time for a cash penalty. (C) Cash in a CD after maturity time shall be transferred automatically to an ordinary savings account. Subchapter B—Loans Section 201. Any member of the Empire for more than three months may request a loan from the Bank. (a) Approval for the loan shall be granted by the Board of Directors. (b) The individual terms of the loan shall stipulate the rate of return and interest paid on it. (c) The Bank may sell the debt owed to it by a borrower to any member of the Empire if it is deemed by the Division of Liquidation too inefficient to seek the money itself. Section 202. Any Minister or Director of an office of the Empire may request a loan for his office. (a) Approval for the loan shall be granted by the Board as well as the Minister of Industry. (b) The individual terms of the loan shall stipulate the rate of return and interest paid on it. (c) The office may request a discount for no more than one week not more than three times, at the discretion of the Board and Minister of Industry. (d) The office may substitute goods or bills of exchange of items produced domestically or that are readily marketable as payment to the bank, instead of cash, at the discretion of the Board and Minister of Industry.