13

In the first Harry Potter book, Hagrid tells Harry that Gringotts is the only bank:

‘They didn’ keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards’ bank. Have a sausage, they’re not bad cold – an’ I wouldn’ say no teh a bit o’ yer birthday cake, neither.’

‘Wizards have banks?’

‘Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins.’

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 5: Diagon Alley.

In the second one, we learn that Gringotts has people working in others places of the world:

Bill was the oldest Weasley brother. He and the next brother, Charlie, had already left Hogwarts. Harry had never met either of them, but knew that Charlie was in Romania, studying dragons, and Bill in Egypt, working for the wizards’ bank, Gringotts.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 4: At Flourish and Blotts.

It has been suggested on this very website that there is probably more than one currency in Harry Potter's wizarding world: Are the wizard coins in the Harry Potter books international?. (Personally, I'm of the opinion that Rowling used a hyperbole in the passage discussed in that question).

So, was Hagrid exaggerating? Was he referring just to the United Kingdom? Is Gringotts really the one and only bank on Earth? And, more importantly, is there any canon answer that supports either hypothesis?

Possible answer: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/50088/23401

Improve this question
11
  • 12
    "Oh dear, maths."
    – Kreiri
    Commented Dec 1, 2014 at 12:58
  • 11
    I suppose it could be a brach? One bank, multiple stores?
    – Mac Cooper
    Commented Dec 1, 2014 at 13:34
  • 3
    You think goblins would go for such a thing as competition? Really?! Much more money to be made as a monopoly...
    – Moo
    Commented Dec 1, 2014 at 13:50
  • 1
    Dupes are defined by the questions OR the answers provided.
    – phantom42
    Commented Dec 1, 2014 at 14:18
  • 2
    You can read discussion about the criteria here, here, here (and probably half a dozen other conversations).
    – phantom42
    Commented Dec 1, 2014 at 14:29

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
7

Bill is referred to as going to Egypt with Gringott's - the obvious assumption is that there's one "bank organisation" with multiple branches, one of which is in London.

Improve this answer
3
  • Not necessarily. Some companies send their employees in a collaborative work with another company. He could easily have been working both for Gringotts and the Egyptian National Bank or whatever.
    – Alfredo Hernández
    Commented Dec 2, 2014 at 13:46
  • 8
    He was working as a curse breaker in Egypt. That doesn't necessarily mean Gringotts' has a branch there, only that there's known cursed tombs containing treasures there.
    – Anthony Grist
    Commented Dec 2, 2014 at 15:36
  • 2
    Also, Gringotts probably has a monopoly enforced by law in Britain. That monopoly may not exist in every country in which Gringotts has a footprint. In other words, in some countries, Gringotts may exist, but have the competition they don't have in Britain.
    – pleurocoelus
    Commented Feb 10, 2016 at 2:21

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.