Gringotts [Bank]

"Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there."
—Inscription on the doors of Gringotts-

Gringotts Wizarding Bank is the only known bank of the wizarding world, and is owned and operated by Goblins. It was created by the goblin Gringott. Its main offices are located in Diagon Alley in London, England. In addition to storing money and valuables for wizards and witches, one can go there to exchange Muggle money for wizarding money. According to Rubeus Hagrid, other than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Gringotts is the safest place in the wizarding world. The Bank was created by Gringott at some point in his life. The Bank was then put at the hands of the Ministry of Magic. In 1865, the Ministry decided to leave full control of Gringotts back in Goblin hands. During Voldemort's control of the Ministry (1997 to 1998), the Bank was put yet again under the Ministry. With the defeat of Voldemort and the end of the Second Wizarding War, Gringotts was presumably put back into Goblin management. This snowy-white building towers over neighbouring shops. Customers pass through a set of bronze doors and then an additional set of silver doors before entering the lobby. The main floor is paved with marble and has long counters stretching along its length. The vaults are miles below, accessible through rough stone passageways and then by means of magic carts that travel speedily along mining tracks. Dragons and other mysterious beasts lurk in the depths as additional security devices. There are a number of methods to opening the vaults. Most vaults, such as Harry Potter's, use small golden keys. Higher security vaults may have various enchantments upon the doors. For example, the door to Vault 713 needs to be stroked by a certified Gringotts goblin, which causes it to melt away. If anyone but a Gringotts goblin touches the door, the person will be sucked into the vault, which is checked for trapped thieves about once per decade. For even deeper vaults, such as the one of the Lestrange family, they have powerful magical creatures, such as dragons or sphinxes as guardians. Goblins are extremely greedy and would protect their money and valuables at any cost, which makes them ideal guardians for the valuables of the wizarding world. While Gringotts is largely staffed by goblins, it is known that the bank does employ humans. Gringotts has no known competition in the wizarding banking industry, and is most surely a monopoly in Britain. Given that the bank is, according to Rubeus Hagrid, the only wizarding bank in Great Britain, it stands to reason that the goblins would have a tremendous amount of power over the wizarding economy, as Goblins are also the force behind minting the wizarding currency, galleons, scikles, and knutts. It is likely therefore, as Goblins tend to be at odds with wizards on political and social levels, that the Miistry of Magic has laws set in place to stop Gringotts intentionally regulating the wizarding economy, likely through the Goblin Liason Office. Gringotts may be derived from the word "ingots," which means a mass of metal cast in a convenient form for shaping, remelting, or refining.