Chapter 971: Financing

In order to help the kids recover the economy, an Austrian version of the "Marshall Plan" was released. The core purpose is to revitalize the European economy and seize the merchandise sales market. The only difference is that the content has changed a bit.
At this moment, Austria is far less wealthy than the Americans after World War II. The huge amount of financial assistance was not available to the Vienna government for a while.
To provide countries with funds for post-war reconstruction, they have to resort to financial markets for financing, so interest is still indispensable.
Before the outbreak of the European War, the four major financial centers in Europe were London, Paris, Vienna, and Frankfurt. As the dominant player in the financial world, the London capital market is almost equivalent to the sum of the latter three.
Because of the war, Paris was basically abolished. The counterattack before Napoleon IV ran away caused the French consortium to be exhausted and it was not easy to survive.
Austria's development time is still too short. Franz paid special attention to the real economy. Most domestic funds flowed into industry, and not too much capital circulated in the financial market.
Vienna and Frankfurt can become the four major financial centers in Europe. It is not how powerful they are, but because their competitors are too rubbish.
If the currency circulating in the European financial market is 100%, the London financial market accounts for 48.7%, the second-ranked Paris accounts for 19.6% (pre-war), followed by Vienna and Frankfurt with 14.1% and 13.7% respectively. .
Looking further back, the gap will be huge. Milan, which ranks fifth, has less than two percentage points. Needless to say, Madrid and St. Petersburg are further behind.
This ranking is not only valid for the European continent, but also for the whole world. Any one of the four major financial centers has more capital than the sum of all subsequent financial markets.
Looking at the data, you know that the British people's background is really solid. The accumulation of a century of colonial empire cannot be surpassed overnight.
Even if Austria gives full play to its siphon effect and gathers capital from Central Europe, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, and Northern Europe, it is still a younger brother.
This is still the result of robbing South African gold, otherwise the gap will be even greater. We must know that the original space-time London financial market now owns more than half of the world's capital.
Relying on this solid foundation, John Bull survived two world wars and lasted until the 21st century. London and New York were able to compete for the position of the world's financial center.
Now Austria not only needs to raise funds on its own, but also helps the younger brothers to raise funds. After a rough estimate, it can't be done without 3 billion Aegis.
It is all thinking of ways from the domestic financial market, and it has to up the funds, or it will cause a stock market crash. Naturally, the Vienna government will not do such a stupid thing.
If you can't handle it at home, you can only think of a solution from abroad. Anyway, capital knows no borders. Money is money no matter where it comes from. Franz doesn't mind whether he borrows domestic debt or foreign debt.
"You mean the British will use this as a threat and negotiate terms with us?"
If you want to raise funds from the London financial market, you can't get rid of the British government. Although the British are clamoring for a "free economy", this type of large international financing still requires government participation.
In the style of John Bull, it is entirely possible to take advantage of the opportunity to negotiate terms with Austria.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Prime Minister Carl: "Without affecting the economy, the domestic financial market can provide up to half of the funds, and the other financial markets together can solve 20-30%.
It's just for our own use, and the money is definitely enough. But considering the funding shortfalls of the allies, it's a far cry.
Now not only Belgium and Italy are short of money, but Swiss, Spanish, and Russians are also poor and need our financial support.
If they cannot get money from us, they are likely to move closer to the British, which is very detrimental to us. "
Franz has personally experienced the strength of the "banknote ability". Don't say that these allies were originally gathered together because of their interests. Even if they are truly close allies, they cannot withstand the offensive of "money capability".
The essence of international politics is interest. If there is no betrayal, it is because there is not enough interest. If you talk about "loyalty", you have already lost.
In a sense, Austria’s ability to gather so many allies is also the result of using its
money capability
. The Vienna government has more money than the Paris government, and is more willing to pay, so Austria won.
There is no way, who can make Austria’s allies be poor? Even if it was not poor before the war, it is now poor.
Not to mention the Belgian and Italian states, they are all caused by war.
Switzerland, a mountain country, has never been rich. So far, accumulating capital for the industrial revolution, it is not the ideal country that everyone envy in later generations. It is impossible to digest the newly occupied area without borrowing money.
Spain can only say that its ancestors have been awesome. Since the 19th century, their finances have never been better. Now not only have to digest the results of the battle, but also go to Nanyang to fight the Japanese. No money is absolutely impossible.
The Russians are even more of a veteran and difficult household. When you open the history books, you will know that there is basically no time when the tsarist government is short of money.
The only thing that makes Franz gratifying is that the anti-French alliance is still relatively stable, and it is not possible to be wooed by the British without a small profit.
Due to geopolitics, Austria has a strong deterrent against other allies except Spain. If you want to be a twenty-five boy, you must first see if you can withstand Austria's revenge.
In this regard, continental countries are stronger than maritime countries. Especially for small countries like Belgium and Switzerland, it is even more cruel.
The British who offended the maritime hegemon, the Royal Navy would not be able to go ashore, at most it would suffer a loss in overseas trade; Austria, which offended the European hegemon, might directly perish the country.
After pondering for a while, Franz said coldly: "This financing is mainly to solve the difficulties for everyone. It is unreasonable for our family to bear it. We will bring the anti-French alliance to talk with the British.
We can use the French war reparations as a guarantee, and the anti-French allied countries will work together to provide guarantees for debt security, and jointly bear the responsibility for breach of contract.
If the British are not at ease, the Anti-French Alliance can maintain a garrison of no less than 500,000 in France and urge the French government to fulfill its debts.
By the way, we have released news that we are preparing to form a European Customs Union and are considering whether to allow Britain to join.
Other conditions, you decide for yourself. As long as it does not harm our core interests, we can negotiate, and the British government will make the right choice. "
To save others by oneself, Austria wants the markets of the anti-French alliance countries, and the British have no reason not to peep. In this context, helping countries recover their economies is actually beneficial to everyone.
If the British government takes the loan card holders, Franz doesn't mind the loss of both sides, and he created the "European Economic Community" ahead of time to exclude the British from the European economic system.
"Lack of money" is a big deal. The economic recovery will be slower. The anti-French alliance is not short of food. As long as the people are fed, there will be no major troubles.
"Lack of market" is different. The European continent can be described as the world's most purchasing power region this year, accounting for more than half of Britain's total foreign trade.
Suddenly losing such a large market, there is no new market to replace it in a short time. India's market potential is indeed great, but the potential is not equal to purchasing power.
When the market is cultivated, time has passed. Without Europe, Britain will at least add millions of unemployed people in a short time. An economic crisis is indispensable.
Although the contradictions between Britain and Austria are great, there is really not much hatred. Even if it is a confrontation, it is carried out in secret, and the relationship between the two countries is still improvised.
Franz doesn't think that the British government will risk losing both sides and smash with Austria. This is not in the interests of politicians.
Again, this is not in Austria’s interest. From the perspective of development potential, Austria is clearly far ahead of Britain, and slowing down the development speed is wasting its own advantages.
It can be said that every time the time is pushed back one day, Austria's advantage will be greatly increased. Especially after the annexation of the German Federation, there will be a qualitative leap.
In order to achieve the goal, even the "garrison against France" was used by Franz as a negotiation condition.
To ensure the normal performance of debts, the garrison must have it. Otherwise, the French government has breached the contract and can't have another anti-French war, right?
It's just a question of how many troops are stationed. "Not less than half a million" is definitely impossible. If there are so many troops in France, let's not say that France will be revived, and it will be able to eat the poor French.
If the military discipline is a little worse, then the French government will do nothing and do the aftermath of the garrison every day.
The British wanted to maintain their vitality for the French, and they also dreamed of making France a comeback. They had to suppress the number of troops stationed in the Anti-French Alliance.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Weissenberg: "Your Majesty, it's easy to talk about other issues. It is very difficult for the British to agree to the financing guarantee only with French indemnities.
Even if the anti-French alliance countries provide security endorsements together, they can only guarantee that the French government will not maliciously breach the contract.
Judging from the current situation, it will take a long time for France to recover its economy after the war. If the economy does not recover, the government will have no money to pay its debts. No one can do anything with no money in his pocket.
Not long ago, when the German Federal Government proposed the transfer of claims, the London government asked the governments of the various states within the German Federation to guarantee in advance to ensure that the French can normally pay indemnities before accepting the transfer.
Obviously, the British have realized the risks involved, and it is not easy to pit them. "
As the protagonist of the war, no one knows what the French lost in the war better than the Vienna government.
According to the "Draft on Disposal of the Law" drafted by the Anti-French League, unless the French collectively open the issue, it is only a matter of time before the debt defaults.
If the guarantee is accepted, if the French defaults on the debt, will the British collect the debt or not?
Debt collection is undoubtedly stabbing the French, pushing them down the abyss, and cutting off their chance of a comeback.
Not collecting debts did help the French, but capital would not agree. Financial consortia don't care about the overall situation. Repayment of debts is a must.
Franz shook his head: "It doesn't matter, the British government does not need to agree, as long as the financial institution that provides us with the funds approves it.
High-risk is high-yield, so the interest rate should be raised a little bit, not afraid that the bankers will not be tempted.
Moreover, we also provide debt security guarantees. If the French government is really unable to repay, all countries have to bear joint and several repayment responsibilities.
Anyway, the money borrowed is not their own. As long as the benefits are large enough and there are enough reasons to convince investors, they will not mind taking risks. "
Things are certainly not as easy as Franz said. The prerequisite for "joint repayment responsibility" must be that the French cannot afford to repay.
It is a huge hole just to believe that "inability to repay". Repaying debts in cash is repaying, and paying off debts in kind is also repaying.
If you are in a hurry, you can also set aside a piece of land from the French mainland to cover their debts.