Bank of Simplex,. Questions.

Answer to question1: I won't give specifics exactly, but the basics is we (meaning Iota) buys low, sells high, as well as using a villager trading system to turn other things we buy into emeralds, and then diamonds. It actually has turned a profit, last I checked we have a surplus in the bank's vault. Iota and I crunch the numbers almost daily to maintain this level.

Answer to question 2: Firstly, we are very secure about the money. I have kept perfect track of the money flowing through the system. However, your concerns are warranted and I will address them, given the following situations:
Situation 1, One of us are banned: This is why we have co-owners. If one is banned, we can manage on our own, and likely would look to closing the bank. If in the highly unlikely event that we are both banned, the money is in the vault of the bank and we will (of course) allow an admin to enter the vault and begin to pay off the accounts. I reiterate, this is unlikely.
Situation 2, the Bank Collapses: If in the event there is a cataclysmic event and a mass withdrawal occurs, and the amount requested to be withdrawn exceeds the money in the bank, we have two solutions:
a) Iota and I have taken a great risk with this bank: We back the bank with our own money. If the bank goes into debt, we pay it off with our own money. As you can tell, the bank is partially made of diamond blocks (that legally belong to Iota) plus we have our own money elsewhere. This is a major cost to us, so naturally we do not want this to occur. Further, I would not be surprised if we faced a ban or jail time if the banks collapsed. Thus, we have all the motivation in the world to not let this occur.
b) We ask for the return of all loans and return to a zero risk system (meaning, simple interest on accounts and nothing else). We'd balance all accounts, Iota would sell, en masse, to bring the bank balance back to a positive number.

Situation 3, robbery: Good luck robbing us. The only people who, in any way, can access the vault are Iota and I, the shop staff and admins. Hackers would likely be caught by mods before they can even try anything, and likely would not take the 18 votes to get to the shopping district just to get banned for some kind of hack. Then there is Iota and I. Why would we rob ourselves. We keep careful track of what we do and check each others work constantly. If one of us did rob the bank, we have total access to each others stuff. That said, this will never occur. Shop staff should not rob the bank, that would just be detrimental to them and all the work they have done in the past. And mods are the law enforcement of our server, they will not risk sending the server into chaos by violating the rules they enforce just to get some extra money.
Situation 4, something crazy: This will have to be taken case by case, but nothing should happen and Iota and I will manage any crazy occurrences that do happen.
Situation 5, too many loans are not paid back: We are working on a policy that, if you take out a loan, it can only be to match the amount you have within your bank account (up to one-hundred diamonds). In that period, one can not make any withdrawals that would bring your account to any number lower that what one has out on loan. Thus, if you do not pay off your loans in time, that amount of money is subtracted from your account. Loans also accrue interest that goes directly back to the bank, and should cover the costs of any un-paid loans. People who do not pay off loans will, beyond their money being withdrawn from their account, have their accounts closed and be blacklisted from the bank. We are considering introducing a fine system as well. Furthermore: I (Evan) am considering talking to an admin about bringing their power into this matter. In theory: were a player to not pay off a loan, they could face jail time or be banned from the shopping district altogether much like a petty thief would. This is not in effect however, and if the admins do not agree to this then we will not bother any admin with our issues with debtors. Another hypothetical solution: Iota and I become a low ranking mod and thus can take matters into our own hands. I hesitate with taking this course as it may seem that we would be abusing our powers.
Situation 6, Meehan or someone else orders the bank to be closed: It will be closed. Accounts will be paid out, and loans must be returned.
If there are any other situations you can think of, I will address them in due time.

Answer to question 3: Weekly payments are automatically taken out of accounts.
If you have not heard yet, the current fee policy is:
Once per week, currently set for Saturdays, a five diamond fee is taken from each account with three hundred diamonds or more. This is to cover the costs of our labor (Operating the bank is somewhat burdensome and stressful) and to ensure that interest does not drain money from the vault. Accounts with more than three hundred diamonds easily make more than five diamonds a week (an account with exactly three hundred diamonds in it makes 4.5 diamonds per day in interest, meaning that the fee is recouped in a little more than a day)

I hope these answered your questions. Its a lot to read, but banking in real life and in Minecraft is complex.
Feel free to ask anymore questions, I will answer them as quickly as possible.
Thanks,
Evan (evancool511/Governor)



***

Seeing how the bank is closing and there are many people interested in keeping it open or creating a new bank, keep all this above in mind.