Board Thread:TV Show Discussion/@comment-4708902-20161021003952/@comment-28895263-20161029051229

SummerandBran wrote: So, Why does the Capitol depend on the Iron Bank when the Lannister's have gold? I realize the tourneys don't turn a profit but by them sponsoring them just proves they do indeed have money to waste. Robert didn't have money to waste; he put the tourney on credit. The Seven Kingdoms government was running a deficit, and had built up a substantial national debt.

Why borrow from the Iron Bank? The Game of Thrones answer is that it served the interests of the Master of Coin: Littlefinger.

But any Secretary of the Treasury or Chancellor of the Exchequer would do the same thing: diversify. When you're investing, you don't put all of your eggs in one basket. Same when you're borrowing; if you sell all of your sovereign debt to one party (either Lannister, or Iron Bank), you're giving them too much power.

That's one reason the Lannisters had so much power in King's Landing. Robert resented them, but couldn't do anything about it.

It's pretty easy to make parallels to modern-day America, or Europe.