Rogare Bank of Lys

Rogare Bank of Lys was the banking arm of House Rogare, a wealthy Lysene trading and banking dynasty whose influence reached into Westeros through finance, political agreements, and a branch in King’s Landing. Its growth tied the Rogares’ rise in Lys to a period of expanding trade and prosperity across the Narrow Sea.

Origins and Expansion

The bank’s presence in King’s Landing took shape after Lotho Rogare came to the city with his siblings. While his brother Moredo commanded Larra Rogare’s guards and Roggerio opened a lavish pillow house, Lotho established a branch of the family bank atop Visenya’s Hill. The location gave the Rogares a direct foothold in the capital, alongside their existing wealth and trading interests in Lys.

The bank’s Westerosi expansion was also bound up in the return of Viserys Targaryen, who had been held in Lys after his capture. Alyn Velaryon negotiated with Lysandro Rogare for Viserys’s release, agreeing to a package of terms that included a ransom of one hundred thousand golden dragons and a commitment that the Iron Throne would entrust Rogare Bank with funds then held by the Iron Bank of Braavos. He also agreed that the Crown would not take up arms against House Rogare or its interests for a hundred years, that three of Lysandro’s younger sons would receive lordships, and that Viserys’s marriage to Larra would not be set aside. These were negotiated conditions of the settlement, not evidence that every promised transfer or grant had already been carried out.

Deposits and Royal Finance

By the spring of 135 AC, Rogare Bank was paying rich returns on deposited money. More and more lords entrusted their gold to the Lyseni, making the bank an increasingly important destination for Westerosi wealth. Its appeal rested not just on the family’s political standing but on the returns it offered depositors.

That financial role contrasted with earlier arrangements for the Crown’s money. During the Green Council, part of the royal treasury had been placed with the Iron Bank of Braavos for safekeeping. The later settlement concerning Viserys created a path for Crown funds held there to be entrusted instead to Rogare Bank. The evidence establishes that this transfer formed part of the agreed terms; it does not specify how much money moved or when.

Influence and Significance

Rogare Bank’s growing deposits accompanied a broader commercial revival in King’s Landing. Ships from Lys and other Free Cities crowded the Blackwater docks with silks, spices, Myrish lace, jade, ivory, and other imported luxuries. Other ports also benefited from expanding trade, but the account specifically credits House Rogare with helping bring prosperity back to the capital.

The bank thus served as more than a family business: it connected the fortunes of Westerosi lords to the Lysene dynasty, while the agreement over Viserys linked its financial interests directly to the Iron Throne. Its rise formed one strand of House Rogare’s wider ascendancy, in which banking, dynastic ties, and political influence reinforced one another.