A run on the banks

MrP

Banned
The Northern Rock thread in Chat got me thinking about this - targeted economic terrorism to demolish or maul the world's finances. I've read a book which as a plot had a German attempt to destroy the value of the Pound on the day of one of Victoria's Jubilees, thus giving Germany a free hand on the Continent. Plausibility of that aside, what are the odds of some disenchanted loonies knocking out the supporting pillars of international finance?
 
Legend has it that the KGB tried it in the 80s with Wall Street, but failed.

The problem I see is that in a gold-standard world, to attack a strong currency you need a good supply of gold, so it's the kind of thing a richer country can do to a poorer one, but nor vice versa. Today it would be more feasible. You'd have to be careful how you run it though - if someone spots the attacks are deliberate, you'd just see state intervention.
 

MrP

Banned
Legend has it that the KGB tried it in the 80s with Wall Street, but failed.

The problem I see is that in a gold-standard world, to attack a strong currency you need a good supply of gold, so it's the kind of thing a richer country can do to a poorer one, but nor vice versa. Today it would be more feasible. You'd have to be careful how you run it though - if someone spots the attacks are deliberate, you'd just see state intervention.

Hm, I'll have to ask my uncle if he knows anything about the KGB thing. I wonder how effective the Goldeneye method of EMP'ing a city would be nowadays or whether everyone's got shielded back-ups.
 
Hm, I'll have to ask my uncle if he knows anything about the KGB thing. I wonder how effective the Goldeneye method of EMP'ing a city would be nowadays or whether everyone's got shielded back-ups.
Well, the New York stock exchange computers are not only in big metal cages, but also have backups at other points in the country (presumedly at least one being classified).
 

Thande

Donor
Legend has it that the KGB tried it in the 80s with Wall Street, but failed.

The problem I see is that in a gold-standard world, to attack a strong currency you need a good supply of gold, so it's the kind of thing a richer country can do to a poorer one, but nor vice versa. Today it would be more feasible. You'd have to be careful how you run it though - if someone spots the attacks are deliberate, you'd just see state intervention.
What if country X has a large windfall of gold and deliberately decides to use it to attack country Y's economy?

For example, could the USSR have used the Spanish treasury in that way after they came into it after the SCW?
 
We have the Japanese plot in Tom Clancys Debt of honour.

I think the main problem with plots like that is that it will cost the plotter a lot of money.
 

MrP

Banned
Hm, Khib yusa's just reminded me of the failed attempt in WWII to use counterfeit currency to make a run on the banks.
 

67th Tigers

Banned
The Bank of England was on specie currency ISTR during Victorias reign, while small banks could fall, there's no possibility of a general collapse (whereas the current US dollar is worth about 7 cents....)
 
Note, you don't need a government to do it. In fact, George Soros made most of his fortune doing this exact thing to the Bank of England. He coordinated a run on the BoE, forcing a currency devaluation, breaking the Sterling. This effectively transfered over a billion dollars from the British Government to George Soros. Now Soros did this for his own profit; he could have done much more damage had his aim been general chaos.
 
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