Capitalism 2 and Capitalism Lab Forum

Breudayael wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2024 8:22 pm I'm not sure if this should be posted here or in the general forum (please move it if it should be posted in the general section instead).

I'm curious if anyone ever tried starting up a bank or insurance company right from the start, as opposed to starting with the standard tactic of building up a retail distribution network that sells stuff from the shipyards.

Is it even conceivable to start out as a bank right at the start of the game? I'd imagine that it might be difficult to start out with due to the fact that most competitors won't want to borrow money right at the start of the game? I rarely see anyone issue bonds during the first few years, after all. It's pretty difficult to be profitable as a bank if nobody borrows money.

What I'm envisioning is running something akin to a keiretsu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiretsu), that has a bunch of production subsidiaries all organized around a bank at the core. There are a few strategies published here that discuss doing this as the end goal, but they all pretty much revolve around starting as a retail and then buying or creating a bank later.

Is it possible to start with the bank first? Or would the early game be so difficult (because nobody takes out loans and/or difficulty attracting deposits) that it'll be too frustrating to even try this?

Stylesjl wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2024 6:23 am

Breudayael wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2024 8:22 pm I'm not sure if this should be posted here or in the general forum (please move it if it should be posted in the general section instead).

I'm curious if anyone ever tried starting up a bank or insurance company right from the start, as opposed to starting with the standard tactic of building up a retail distribution network that sells stuff from the shipyards.

Is it even conceivable to start out as a bank right at the start of the game? I'd imagine that it might be difficult to start out with due to the fact that most competitors won't want to borrow money right at the start of the game? I rarely see anyone issue bonds during the first few years, after all. It's pretty difficult to be profitable as a bank if nobody borrows money.

What I'm envisioning is running something akin to a keiretsu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiretsu), that has a bunch of production subsidiaries all organized around a bank at the core. There are a few strategies published here that discuss doing this as the end goal, but they all pretty much revolve around starting as a retail and then buying or creating a bank later.

Is it possible to start with the bank first? Or would the early game be so difficult (because nobody takes out loans and/or difficulty attracting deposits) that it'll be too frustrating to even try this?

It is possible to start as a bank - you can lend money to the general public just fine. In fact bank loans to companies typically only make up a small portion of the capital. It is much harder though as you don't have other money making businesses to help prop up the bank - this is something that I am planning to discuss in the guide on banks I am trying to write.

The Keiretsu option is not really something I have tried, but I don't think it would really work all that well as any funds that you did lend would just crowd out lending to the general public, so it would not really work as a money making strategy.