boyutpedia Chapter 264 Everything as usual
Chapter 264 Everything as usual
Twelve hours after Satsuki fell into a coma.
Chiyoda Ward. A secluded luxury hotel suite.
The sweltering July rain was relentlessly pounding against the huge floor-to-ceiling windows. The rainwater meandered down the smooth glass surface, blurring the cold, hard outline of the reinforced concrete building outside.
Executive Director Endo sat upright on the large leather sofa. Today he was wearing a dark gray custom-made suit, and the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose gleamed under the cool-toned overhead light.
His hands rested steadily on his knees, and his gaze moved past the marble coffee table in front of him to the man opposite him.
Fuji Bank's Vice President Kagawa was lounging in the single sofa opposite him.
This high-ranking bureaucrat, who usually wields considerable influence in the Marunouchi financial circle and controls the approval of hundreds of billions of yen in loans, still tried his best to maintain a straight and dignified sitting posture.
However, a fine layer of cold sweat seeped from his forehead, glistening faintly under the cool-toned overhead light. His fingers unconsciously clenched on his knees, and his slightly heavy breathing betrayed the extreme turmoil within him.
When he saw that Endo, the executive director of the Saionji Group, had come to see him in person, he had a premonition that something bad was going to happen. And sure enough, his guess was right.
Two documents were laid out in the very center of the coffee table.
On the left are several financial transaction records with obvious photocopying marks. They clearly record all the signatures and procedures by which Vice President Kagawa illegally transferred several investment losses amounting to billions of yen to several shell companies over the past two years using "Tobashi" accounts.
The document on the right is the "Agreement on the Stripping and Transfer of Underlying Semiconductor Non-Performing Loans (NPL)" drafted by the legal department of Saionji Corporation.
"Vice President Kagawa."
Endo extended his right hand and picked up a bone china teacup from the coffee table.
"An overseas trust fund is willing to take over the entire batch of semiconductor non-performing loans (NPLs) currently seized by your bank at a price that is only 10% of their book value."
"This includes Tokyo Optical & Precision's priority right of repayment. Hmm... and also the underlying physical collateral for the core plants and high-precision multi-axis machine tools under Kanto Special Chemicals. All creditor and debtor relationships will be directly replaced through legal means."
Endo lowered his head and blew on the steam rising from the surface of the tea.
"As long as you sign the last page and affix the corporate seal of Fuji Bank, the copy on the left regarding your illegal transfer of off-balance-sheet losses to shell companies using 'enclave accounts'..."
He raised his eyelids, his gaze falling through his glasses onto the other person's forehead, which was beaded with cold sweat.
"Along with all the original financial records and your signed receipts in the Saionji Intelligence System (SIS) database, everything will be shredded and the underlying data overwritten within an hour of the debt transfer confirmation. Some people, like... the prosecutors in the Special Investigation Department, will never see this stuff."
Vice President Kagawa's Adam's apple bobbed up and down with difficulty.
He stared intently at the irrefutable evidence on his left, evidence that could ruin his reputation and condemn him to both breach of trust and falsification of accounts. Cold sweat finally trickled down his face, but he dared not wipe it away.
The Ministry of Finance's auditing procedures are becoming increasingly stringent. If this material ends up on the desk of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office's Special Investigation Department, he will face not only resignation, but also a decade-long prison sentence and the complete social annihilation of his entire family.
But... ten percent.
Vice President Kagawa glanced at the divestiture agreement on the right.
These vampires.
Although those semiconductor companies have fallen into a severe debt crisis due to the liquidity crunch in the macro environment, their factories' high-precision multi-axis machine tools and special optical glass molding production lines are all solid assets. Even if they were to be auctioned off as scrap metal after bankruptcy liquidation, they would never be worth as little as one-tenth of the original price, a price that could be described as "robbery."
The Saionji family is taking advantage of the situation, blatantly snatching the most valuable assets from Fuji Bank.
"Executive Director Endo..."
Vice President Kagawa wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. His voice was hoarse, with a barely concealed tremor.
"The underlying assets of these semiconductor debts possess extremely high technological added value, even during the current economic downturn. The transfer price you've offered is simply unreasonable. If I sign off on this price, I won't be able to provide a reasonable explanation to the head office's board of directors."
He attempted a conventional business negotiation, his eyes filled with a pleading tone.
"Could you... raise the price by a few percentage points? Even just fifteen percent. Let me go back so I can explain to the bank manager."
Endo put down his bone china teacup, deliberately making a crisp sound that startled Deputy Director Kagawa.
"An explanation from the board of directors?"
Endo pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses.
"Vice President Kagawa, losses on the books can be covered up using financial means. But if someone goes to jail, they'll lose everything."
"I think you should know which is the better choice, right?"
Endo stared expressionlessly into Deputy Director Kagawa's eyes.
One second. Two seconds.
Looking at Endo, Deputy Director Kagawa seemed to have completely forgotten all his usual rhetoric.
His lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a word.
"I...I..."
Should I refuse them? No, if I let even a little of these things out, I'll be doomed...
Just as he was about to give up and agree, Endo suddenly turned his head away.
He pulled another extremely thin document from the black briefcase beside him and gently pushed it across the marble tabletop.
"Of course. The Saionji family has always valued long-term friendships with major financial institutions. We don't want to make things too difficult for you at headquarters."
Endo skillfully switched to a highly humane and commercially reassuring tone.
After the big stick comes down, a carrot is always offered at the right time.
"S-Mart has 30 large stores in the Kanto region. Next month will be the summer sales season for the Obon festival, followed by the interim banking settlement period in September."
Endo watched as Vice President Kagawa's eyes gradually brightened.
"If you sign this agreement today, I can promise you that in the last business week of the first half of the fiscal year in September, approximately 30 billion yen of summer revenue from S-Mart in the Kanto region will be transferred in full to the transfer account of the core branch you are personally in charge of."
Vice President Kagawa's breathing instantly became heavy.
The year-end cash flow was 30 billion yen.
In the current extreme environment of strict credit control in Tibet and a liquidity crunch across the entire industry, branch managers of major banks are almost driven to the brink of suicide in order to meet their year-end deposit-gathering targets.
This unexpected windfall of cash flow was enough to propel his branch to the top spot nationwide in the head office's year-end performance evaluation.
This astonishing achievement could easily cover up the losses from the cheap sale of the semiconductor bad debt. It could even allow him to advance further in next year's board reshuffle.
This carrot is so sweet!
but.
Vice President Kagawa looked at Endo's composed face. His years of experience navigating the upper echelons of finance left him with a lingering sense of unease.
He always felt that the other party had been too generous. The fact that the Saionji family was willing to provide such a large amount of financial support indicated that they were extremely eager for these semiconductor assets.
In this game, he didn't have a hand full of bad cards.
If they could bypass Endo, the financial executive, and directly approach the highest levels of the Saionji family, leveraging the "old favor" of Fuji Bank providing financing during the Saionji family's early stages, they might be able to squeeze out a few hundred million yen more in premium, or even obtain some more tangible cash compensation.
Vice President Kagawa took a deep breath and sat up slightly.
"Executive Director Endo, I am deeply grateful for your sincerity."
He swallowed hard, his tone tinged with a hint of probing.
"However, in Fuji Bank's process, such a major restructuring case involving the forced divestiture of billions of underlying assets, and even the liquidation of enclave accounts, requires final coordination between senior management."
Vice President Kagawa stared intently into Endo's eyes.
"This is a very important matter. I hope to speak directly with the head of the Shuu family, or with Miss Satsuki. We can sit down and finalize the details of the premium and the transfer of funds to make it even more satisfactory. What do you think?"
The sound of raindrops hitting the floor-to-ceiling windows sounded somewhat hurried inside the suite.
Endo's eye twitched almost imperceptibly.
But his breathing remained steady. His right hand rested casually on the knee of his suit trousers.
His kind expression vanished instantly, his eyes narrowed, and his tone hardened.
"Vice President Kagawa."
"You seem to have misunderstood the nature of today's conversation."
Faced with the sudden change in attitude, Kagawa realized something was wrong.
"I think you don't have the right to negotiate."
"If you do not sign the agreement by noon today..."
He raised his wrist and glanced at the silver Patek Philippe watch.
"It's 11:40 now. In twenty minutes, the Legal Department's underlying procedures will automatically trigger the alert mechanism. All materials regarding your enclave accounts will be automatically sent to the Special Investigation Department's encrypted email address as an anonymous report."
Endo looked at Vice President Kagawa, whose face had turned deathly pale.
"Once the system is started, even I don't have the authority to forcibly shut it down. You want to talk about personal relationships? You'll probably have to talk to the prosecutors in the Special Investigation Department."
"Oh, by the way, do you have any connections in the Special Investigation Department? Our Saionji family does, but... it's just that our efforts might not be in the direction you're hoping for."
The air in the suite seemed to be completely sucked out in that instant.
Vice President Kagawa leaned stiffly against the back of the sofa.
I seem to have forgotten something: this guy is here to rob me...
Was he haggling with a robber? The robber's knife was clearly pressed against his stomach.
"I...I'll sign."
The deputy bank manager, Kagawa, made a dry, grinding sound in his throat.
He reached out his slightly trembling hands and picked up the black pen on the table.
On the last page of the "Agreement on the Stripping and Transfer of Underlying Semiconductor Non-Performing Loans".
He quickly signed his name. Then, he took out the official seal of the legal representative, which represented the highest authority of the branch, from his briefcase.
Press firmly into the red inkpad.
"Smack."
The bright red marks were deeply embedded in the texture of the paper.
Executive Director Endo watched the seal fall and nodded in satisfaction.
He reached out and gathered the copies of the separation agreement and the enclave account together, then put them into his black briefcase.
"It's a pleasure to work with you, Vice President Kagawa."
Endo stood up and straightened the hem of his suit jacket.
"S-Mart's funds will arrive in your branch account on time in September."
He bowed slightly and turned to walk towards the entrance of the suite.
……
Lower Manhattan, New York.
Manhattan was shrouded in a rare downpour late at night.
The gale whipped up a dense curtain of water that roared and washed over this "world's number one city" again and again.
SA Investment Trading Hall.
Inside the hall, hundreds of server fans arranged in parallel emitted a continuous low-frequency hum.
Dozens of quantitative traders sat in anti-static swivel chairs, their fingers flying across mechanical keyboards.
Frank stood in front of the control panel.
"Goldman Sachs channel: The third total return swap (TRS) based on the ISDA master agreement has been confirmed. The underlying position split is complete."
Chief actuary David looked up, his fingers leaving the keyboard, and reported to Frank.
"The dark pool connections with Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and Lehman Brothers are all operational. The off-exchange betting pool for crude oil call options, along with the corresponding margin exposure..."
David looked at the underlying data displayed on the screen.
"Following the predetermined parameters and instructions, all orders were bypassed from Salomon Brothers and evenly distributed to the top ten oligarchic liquidation seats on Wall Street."
Frank nodded slightly.
"Remain silent. Await settlement confirmations from each party. Closely monitor margin fluctuation thresholds."
Forcibly cutting up what originally belonged to a single oligopoly and openly distributing it to all its arch-rivals—this kind of "fooling" on Wall Street is bound to make certain companies anxious.
Frank glanced at his watch, then turned his gaze to a black business machine on the edge of the console.
As expected, the landline beeped.
David tensed slightly. He quickly glanced at the monitor screen, noticing the unique line code displayed on the caller ID.
"They're here." David lowered his voice and looked at Frank. "It's Williams, a senior partner at Salomon Brothers Asia."
Frank remained calm. He extended his right hand and picked up the black plastic receiver.
"Mr. Williams, is this a late-night call due to some urgent settlement matter?"
On the other end of the phone came Williams' slightly aged voice, yet always carrying a touch of elegance. But at this moment, that elegance was tinged with a subtle wariness and displeasure.
"Mr. Frank, I'm sorry to disturb your late-night work."
Williams spoke a beat slower than usual.
"Solomon Brothers' clearinghouse just detected some...interesting fund flows in the underlying accounts. A huge OTC crude oil betting operation under SA Investments appears to have bypassed our previously established exclusive channel. The trail of funds points to various funds."
The old man paused for a moment on the other end of the radio wave.
"President Goodfred has expressed some concern about this situation. We highly value our alliance with the Saionji family. Perhaps... Ms. Saionji is dissatisfied with the recent quality of service provided by the Solomon Brothers?"
Frank leaned against the edge of the control panel, his posture extremely relaxed.
"Mr. Williams, you and President Goodfred are really overthinking this."
Frank's tone even carried a faint hint of amusement.
"The group headquarters recently conducted a routine stress test on the geopolitical situation in the Middle East. To guard against the very low probability of energy volatility risk, we did add a small amount of crude oil hedging positions in the over-the-counter market."
He then changed the subject.
"As the Chief Risk Officer, you should be more aware than I of the strict definition of 'counterparty risk' in the Basel Accords. The Group's independent audit committee in the Far East has issued instructions that when engaging in such high-volatility commodity betting, all clearing channels must not be tied to a single market maker."
Frank tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
"Due to the ISDA (Institute of International Swaps and Derivatives) unilateral risk exposure limit, we can only distribute these small portions of our crude oil positions to Goldman Sachs for processing. This is merely a physical isolation operation based on risk control models, and it is truly a last resort."
"If this action has caused you any discomfort, we sincerely apologize and ask for your understanding regarding our presumption of authority."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.
Williams quickly assessed the validity of this argument.
As the chief risk officer, he was unable to refute an operation that fully complied with compliance guidelines from a professional standpoint.
The other party's statement was indeed reasonable and well-founded, leaving no room for rebuttal, but something still felt off.
But Frank did not wait for the other party to slowly digest his explanation.
Mr. Williams.
Frank's tone became extremely light.
"The crude oil trade is just a few small hedging orders; compared to the amount we've left in your company's back pool, it's nothing."
"A short position in the Nikkei with a notional principal of 300 billion yen. This is the group's core holding for the second half of the year."
"The settlement and delivery of this order upon maturity will still have to go through Solomon's channels. As for that crude oil order... I think President Gutfred shouldn't mind too much, right?"
On the other end of the phone, the faint hum of the transoceanic fiber optic cable lasted for two seconds.
"I see. It seems the risk control department's data model was indeed too sensitive."
Williams' voice regained its elegant gentleness.
"The Solomon Brothers fully understand your compliance procedures. Please convey my sincerest greetings to Ms. Saionji." The old man even joked on the phone, "The rainy season in Manhattan is always a nuisance. I hope this terrible weather won't affect your leisure time this weekend."
Frank smiled too.
Thank you for your greetings. Good night.