加拿大環球郵報 Globe And Mail 的消息: “Sprott Makes A Bet On A Different Kind Of Bank”。Eric Sprott 和他建立的貴金屬基金公司 Sprott Asset Management Inc. 已經向加拿大聯邦政府申請銀行牌照，相信明年初會得到答復。
這間銀行，名為加拿大洲際銀行 Continental Bank of Canada，將會與一般現時的銀行不同，最大的分別在於不會以借貸形式來經營。此銀行的利潤全靠收取服務費。客戶的存款全是黃金與白銀。客戶可以銀行的 支票作日常交易之用。各商戶收到的支票可以向銀行取回現鈔，而銀行則以當日的報價在存戶的戶口扣除相對的金額。
Eric Sprott有信心能成功辦理這間銀行，因為他已現有固定的顧客和相當數量的實物貴金屬存貨。他還相信在今天各人都開始對一般商業銀行失去信心之際，越來越多的人會投向這種新模式的銀行，因為他們存放的資金受到100%的保障。
相反的，現時一般銀行會把客戶的大部份存款(可能超過90%之多)借出，風險相當高。
銀行除了買賣外匯和貴金屬以外，還可以發出旅行支票和信用咭。銀行會為這些服務向客戶收取手續費。初步估計會有十七間分行。
Eric Sprott, one of the most vocal critics of the global financial system, wants to start a bank. But it won’t be like any bank most people are used to seeing.
Mr. Sprott and the asset management firm he founded, Sprott Inc. (SII-T7.00-0.02-0.28%), are investing in an Ontario-based currency trading company known as Continental Currency Exchange Corp. They, along with the current management of Continental, are applying to federal regulators for permission to turn the 17-branch operation into the Continental Bank of Canada. They expect to get a decision early next year.
The bank Mr. Sprott and his partners envisage would seek to address all the things that Mr. Sprott has warned against in the global financial system, such as too much leverage and a lack of confidence in paper currency.
Continental Bank would take deposits, but it would make no loans, unlike most current banks that are built on a model of lending out far more money than they actually have on hand.
Taking it a step further, customers who don’t trust government-issued currency may some day be able to keep their deposits in the form of gold and other precious metals that they could tap for everyday purchases. That idea is in keeping with Mr. Sprott’s musings about chequing accounts backed by precious metals – customers could deposit gold, then make purchases by cheque and have their accounts debited accordingly.
“Our firm, Sprott Inc., and Eric have taken a very committed view that the financial system requires a substantial reset,” Sprott Inc. chief executive officer Peter Grosskopf said in an interview. Given that, “Eric has always thought that offering consumers access to an unlevered bank is a good idea,” he said.
In a levered financial system, relatively small losses by banks on their loans and investments can push a bank close to collapse. This bank would have no leverage and instead would make money thanks to profit margins on services such as selling foreign exchange and precious metals.
“It’s the old commerce model of providing service instead of credit,” said Scott Penfound, vice-president of operations at Continental Currency.
Mr. Penfound will stay on to manage the business and he and his family will continue to own 49 per cent of the company. Mr. Sprott and Sprott Inc. would together control 51 per cent of the bank, with Mr. Sprott having the larger share. Sprott Inc.’s stake would be a passive one, Mr. Grosskopf said.
Fear of financial system meltdown and a loss of value in paper currency as central banks print more and more money drove gold to record highs approaching $2,000 (U.S.) an ounce before last week’s big selloff in financial and commodity markets.
Much of the buying has been driven by people who share Mr. Sprott’s concerns about the financial system and who believe that some day gold and silver may once again be the foundation of commerce. Mr. Sprott wrote in a July commentary that he believes that “gold and silver are the ultimate alternative for a chequing account in a vulnerable banking jurisdiction.”
One of the criticisms of gold as an alternative to paper currency has always been that it is not very practical. Secure storage is an issue, and it is not easy to take a few ounces to the store to buy groceries or to pay for the dry cleaning.
Being able to write a cheque against an account at an institution that actually holds physical gold or silver brings the idea of precious metals as an everyday currency closer to reality.
To be sure, the gold-based banking idea is a long-term goal. For Continental, having a stamp of approval from regulators will set it apart from other companies operating in the foreign exchange and metal sales businesses, Mr. Penfound said. The company will also have more capital, thanks to the new investors, to expand and to deal with regulatory requirements.
Another more immediate benefit of a banking licence is access to the interbank foreign exchange trading system, which would allow Continental to offer more services to customers, Mr. Grosskopf said.
For example, instead of simply offering to exchange Canadian dollars for foreign currency at its branches around Ontario, Continental could sell its clients pre-paid currency cards that they could take when travelling to foreign countries.
“We can sleep at night because risk is not something in the model,” Mr. Penfound said.
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