Astyrian Financial Centre
The Astyrian Financial Centre (AFC) is a major financial services centre in the city of Cadenza. It forms a key part of the city's central business district, consisting primarily of a cluster of skyscrapers in the angle between Grand Avenue and the Temloth but including several other roads in the area. It stretches as far downriver as Swan Bridge and Amethyst Quay.
Through the 1970s and into the 1980s, much of the Cadenzan state was in economic recession. The effects of this crisis were particularly visible in the capital's Great Central Ward, where urban decay and high rates of vacancy had decimated the once vibrant district. Plans for the Astyrian Financial Centre were first put forward in 1987, at the recommendation of Maltropian consultancy firm WM Drumlin, as part of a broader scheme to revitalise the flagging national and local economies. Work began in mid-1988, with much of the Great Central Ward being designated for redevelopment and renewal. Warehouses along the quays were demolished to make way for new towers which were to be heavily financed by the national government.
The scheme was a success from the outset, with the well known firm Cadenza Financial moving its headquarters in to lead the way for regional business. Kobolis Financial Services, from Kobolis, soon followed suit, as did a number of other major Astyrian banks. In recent years, under the Kamënus administration and the leadership of Commerce Board chairman Azara Fa'leh-Tirest, the scope of the AFC has been greatly increased, with further tax breaks and subsidies to draw in corporations with a global reach. It has been hailed as one of the most successful economic endeavours in modern Cadenzan history.
Banking and financial firms
- Bank of Yohannes
- Cadenza Financial
- Compass International Bank
- Commonwealth Bank
- Kobolis Financial Services
- Ilius Financial
- Imperial Bank of Nikolia
- Imperial Bank of Symphonia
- Inuit Ulf Banking Co.
- Les Cristaux
- Príomhbanc Maltróipea
- United Bank of Caprica
