STP Credit (formerly Sinj Transdistrict Protection Credit) is the oldest and largest private investment bank in the Divine Republic of Kresimiria. Headquartered in the capital city of Sinj, it serves as the primary financial institution for the Kresimirian political and business elite.
The bank is known for its close, almost symbiotic relationship with the Blue Dawn political establishment. Unlike many other strategic sectors that were nationalized during the 1980s, STP Credit remained private, a fact attributed by historians and critics to its alleged role in managing off-the-books finances for the Council for Internal Affairs.
History
Foundation (1948–1960)
The bank was founded in 1948 by a consortium of wealthy Sinj merchants and retired RPP officials. Originally named Sinj Transdistrict Protection Credit, its initial purpose was to provide business loans for struggling businesses in the capital to create an economic boom. The name “Protection” referred to its early business model of insuring shipments through the bandit-plagued roads of Ravna Skrad and Moraviskameja.
By the 1950s, the bank had pivoted to investment banking, managing the private wealth of the rising political class in Sinj.
The Nationalization Crisis (1988–1990)
During the late 1980s, the government of Ljubo Sanjakorin pursued an aggressive policy of state intervention, culminating in the State Enterprise Act. While Sanjakorin successfully nationalized the railways (forming Republic Rail) and energy sectors, STP Credit was conspicuously exempted from the wave of seizures.
Publicly, Sanjakorin argued that the banking sector required “market flexibility.” However, investigative journalists and historians argue that STP Credit survived because it held significant leverage over the state. It is widely believed that the bank threatened to call in personal debts owed by key Assembly members and expose the “Black Money” accounts used by the state security services if it was nationalized. Consequently, STP Credit remained the only major power center in Sinj outside of direct government control during the Sanjakorin era.
Operations and Influence
Corporate Lending
STP Credit is the primary lender for major construction and industrial projects in the Republic. Crucially, the bank holds the majority of the corporate debt of Maj Holdings. This financial lever gives the Blue Dawn-aligned bank significant indirect influence over Bran Maj, the financier of rival parties like Vjetrusa. This debt relationship is often described as a “cold war” of finance, preventing Maj from becoming too antagonistic toward the establishment.
The “Blue Dawn Bank”
The bank’s board of directors has historically been composed of retired Blue Dawn politicians, former diplomats, and relatives of high-ranking officials. The chairman until 2010 was Edar Brov, the nephew or former Blue Dawn leader Ante Brov, and the current Chairman is Petar Czyhlarz, the grandson of former Blue Dawn senator Stojana Czyhlarz. This revolving door has led the Civic Renewal Front (CRF) to frequently label STP Credit as “the treasury of the Blue Dawn party.”
Controversies
The “Shadow Ledger” and the CIA
The most persistent allegation against STP Credit is its involvement with the Council for Internal Affairs (CIA). It is an open secret in Kresimirian politics that the bank manages the CIA’s “Black Budget”—untraceable funds used for covert operations, payments to informants in Moraviskameja, and off-book equipment purchases for the Civil Order Force.
In 2005, a whistleblower from the bank’s “Special Accounts Division” attempted to leak documents proving the bank was laundering money for anti-insurgency operations. The whistleblower disappeared before the documents could be published, and the Council for Internal Affairs issued a D-Notice (censorship order) preventing the press from reporting on the “Shadow Ledger.”
The Reconstruction Scandal (2015)
Following the 2014 Sprodvice Earthquakes in District X, the government allocated massive relief funds. STP Credit was chosen to administer the distribution of these grants. An audit by the CRF later revealed that the bank had prioritized loans to Kresimirian-owned businesses in the region while delaying or denying funds to Bosken-owned enterprises, exacerbating ethnic tensions in the disaster zone.