The Finance Minister kept shaking his head: "Mr. Pitt, in order to raise funds for reinforcements to the Cape of Good Hope over the next few months, as well as for intervention in the Caribbean Region, I have already borrowed more than £400,000 from the banks."
"At present, interest rates have been pushed up to 9.5%."
"If we seek a loan of half a million pounds, the rate will surely rise above 12%!"
England's main channels for government financing are private banks—including the Bank of England, which, as a 'quasi-central bank,' is still privately held—the greater the government's need for funds, the higher the rates the Capitalists set. Much like France before it underwent financial reform.
Of course, England's current debt ratio is not yet too steep, so for now, interest has not reached France's previous 20% levels.
