In Hong Kong, we build a global business empire

Chapter 640: One-year term? Only a fool would choose this!
Shen Bi sat in his office in the headquarters building of Hui Feng Bank, looking out the window at the busy Central district. Although the sky was clear outside, his face was as gloomy as the sky before a storm.

The losses suffered by Huifeng Bank from Bank of East Asia were simply too great.

Moreover, it continues to lose market share one after another.

It goes without saying that in the next five or six days, Huifeng Bank will suffer losses of tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars.

He wanted to stop it, but how?
Raise the interest rate on fixed deposits to 5%?

This is not impossible, but he really does not dare to bear the consequences that this move will bring to Huifeng Bank.

He knew very well that once Huifeng Bank raised the interest rate on time deposits to 5%, it would be able to stabilize its market share and avoid further capital outflow.

By then, even Huifeng Bank will be able to attract a large amount of funds from other banks like Bank of East Asia, and achieve capital inflow and growth.

But they must think carefully and consider the consequences of this move.

Because once the interest rate increase plan is implemented, the existing deposit funds of Huifeng Bank's depositors, which amount to tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars in time deposits, will inevitably be re-planned by customers, who will choose the 5% interest deposit package.

This means that in the future, Huifeng Bank will have to continue to pay high interest costs for these tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars in time deposits, which will put tremendous pressure on the bank's profits and operations.

Therefore, Huifeng Bank did not dare to take this step at all.

They could only helplessly watch as Bank of East Asia continued to "divert" customers and funds from Huifeng Bank and its subsidiary Hengsheng Bank over the next few days, as if it was "sucking blood".

The feeling of wanting to stop it but not being able to is really uncomfortable!

The more Shen Bi thought about it, the angrier he became, and when his temper flared, he couldn't control himself.

As a result, some documents in the office became the "victims" of his anger at the moment.

Shen Bi stood up suddenly and swept the documents on the table to the ground with his hands. The papers fluttered in the air like helpless snowflakes.

His chest heaved violently, his eyes burning with anger and unwillingness, like a beast trapped in a cage, letting out a low and suppressed roar.

As the boss of the Bank of Hong Kong, he was in charge of this giant in the Hong Kong financial world. He had a noble status and even Governor MacLehose was on equal footing with him.

With such status, how could someone like me have ever suffered such humiliation?
However, after Lin Haoran took over the Bank of East Asia, he was repeatedly forced into such an embarrassing situation.

Bank of East Asia is like a ferocious beast, constantly biting at the market share of Bank of East Asia, and shattering Bank of East Asia's originally stable financial landscape.

Shen Bi was breathing heavily, with his hands on the desk, his body leaning forward slightly, his eyes fixed on the messy documents on the floor, as if those documents were Lin Haoran and the Bank of East Asia.

Prior to this, Huifeng Bank was at its peak in the Hong Kong financial world, and was a leader among its peers. Other banks could not shake it at all. How could it be forced into such a miserable state like it is now?

Outside the office, Shen Bi's secretary heard the thunderous noise in the office and was so frightened that he shivered and almost dropped the documents in his hand.

She approached the door cautiously and peeked inside through the crack. She saw the mess on the floor and Shen Bi's furious look frightened her.

As the head of Huifeng Bank, Mr. Shen Bi has always been gentle and polite. How could he have been as irritable as he is now?
However, she finally plucked up the courage and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Shen Bi recovered and said.

The secretary pushed the door open and walked into the office, bowing his head and saying respectfully, "Mr. Boss, Mr. He Shanheng has arrived and is downstairs."

Shen Bi snorted coldly and said, "Let him come up!"

Glancing at the messy documents on the floor, he continued, "Wait, help me clean up the documents on the floor first."

The secretary responded quickly, squatted down swiftly, and began to quickly organize the documents on the ground.

She tried to move as gently as possible and did not dare to make any loud noise, for fear of upsetting Shen Bi again.

After a while, the documents were almost sorted out. The secretary stacked the documents neatly on the desk and then slowly left the office.

Not long after, He Shanheng arrived at Shen Bi's office.

He Shanheng walked into the office and saw Shen Bi's face was so gloomy that water could drip out of it. He guessed something in his heart, but remained calm.

He greeted with a smile: "Mr. Shen Bi, you are looking for me."

Hearing what He Shanheng said, Shen Bi's anger suddenly rose again like dry firewood that had been lit.

In the past, although he could not be said to be extremely respectful to Ho Sin Hang, he always respected him very much. After all, Ho Sin Hang was quite capable in the management of Hengsheng Bank and had made a lot of contributions to the Huifeng Bank system.

But now, a series of blows have come one after another. Bank of East Asia is pressing forward step by step and its market share is constantly being lost. However, Ho Sin-heng even failed to deliver at such a critical moment in the negotiation. This is really hard for him to accept. His anger seems to have found an outlet and he just wants to vent it all out.

In his eyes, He Shanheng had undoubtedly become the most suitable "punching bag" at this moment.

Shen Bi stared at He Shanheng with sharp eyes and snorted coldly, "Mr. He, do you know why you were absent from today's negotiations? Do you still have Huifeng Bank in your eyes? Hengsheng Bank is just a subsidiary of Huifeng Bank and should follow Huifeng Bank's unified actions. But you disappeared at the critical moment."

Shen Bi's tone was full of questioning and anger, and every word seemed to carry the smell of gunpowder.

In fact, even if He Shanheng went there today, he wouldn't be able to play a big role.

He just wanted to find an excuse to vent all the frustration and anger in his heart.

He Shanheng bowed his head slightly, walked to the side, pulled a chair over and sat down, then responded calmly: "Mr. Shen, although I was not present at the negotiation today, Hengsheng Bank has many internal affairs. You also know that there are too many people withdrawing cash from the major branches of Hengsheng Bank, which is prone to chaos. I need to be in charge to prevent chaos in the back.

Moreover, I believe that with Mr. Shen Bi's ability, he will be able to properly handle this negotiation. Hengsheng Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huifeng Bank. Huifeng Bank has always represented the position and attitude of Hengsheng Bank to the outside world!
So whether I go or not, it will not change the overall decision-making direction and power distribution of Huifeng Bank at the negotiation table, right?"

Shen Bi frowned, his eyes were filled with anger. "Humph, you are just making excuses for your dereliction of duty! Hengsheng Bank's affairs are certainly important, but this negotiation concerns Huifeng Bank's position and future direction in Hong Kong's financial world. As the person in charge of Hengsheng Bank, you should give your full support instead of hiding behind and watching!"

"Okay, Mr. Shen Bi, let's not talk too much. You know, I'm old now and my energy is limited. Even the work of Hengsheng Bank is mostly handed over to the general manager, Mr. Smith. I'm just a figurehead and occasionally check things out.

I did not attend the negotiation this time, which was indeed a lack of consideration and my fault. In order to make up for my mistake and for Hengsheng Bank to develop better within the Huifeng Bank system, I have decided to resign as the chairman of Hengsheng Bank after careful consideration. "

After He Shanheng finished speaking, he looked at Shen Bi calmly, as if he was describing a very ordinary little thing.

At the same time, he took out the resignation letter he had prepared long ago from his pocket and placed it on Shen Bi's desk.

This matter was handed over to Shen Bi and needed to be approved by the board of directors.

However, since he no longer wanted to stay at Hengsheng Bank, it would be useless for the board of directors to try to keep him.

When Shen Bi heard this, his eyes widened instantly, his face full of shock and disbelief. He stood up suddenly, pointed his finger at He Shanheng, and his voice trembled with anger: "Mr. He, you...what did you say? You want to resign? Do you know what nonsense you are talking about!"

For Huifeng Bank, there has indeed been a plan for the successor to Hengsheng Bank, and it is only a matter of time before He Shanheng retires.

But now, due to bank runs and other reasons, both Huifeng Bank and Hengsheng Bank are experiencing some shocks.

At this time, Ho Sin Hang proposed to resign, which was definitely a heavy blow to Hang Seng Bank.

The people inside Hengsheng Bank were already in a state of panic, with customers running on the bank and funds flowing out. The bank urgently needed a leader who could stabilize morale and turn the tide.

As the soul of Hengsheng Bank, He Shanheng has accumulated extremely high prestige and rich management experience in the industry over the years. His departure will undoubtedly make Hengsheng Bank more chaotic.

Employees will lose confidence in the bank's future, and customers will become more panicked, accelerating the withdrawal of funds.

Therefore, He Shanheng's resignation at this time was like an earthquake to the entire system of Huifeng Bank.

Shen Bi was fully aware of the pros and cons of the situation. He suppressed his anger and tried to calm himself down, but his trembling hands betrayed his emotions at the moment.

He somewhat regretted that he had taken out his anger on He Shanheng.

"Mr. He, this is irresponsible!" Shen Bi's eyes widened with anger. "Hengsheng Bank is now in a precarious situation. As the chairman, you don't want to think about how to lead everyone to overcome the difficulties. Instead, you want to quit at this time. How will the people in Hengsheng Bank look at you? How will Huifeng Bank look at you? How will the entire Hong Kong financial community look at you? I don't agree with your resignation!"

He Shanheng stood up, his expression calm but firm: "Mr. Shen Bi, I am not talking nonsense, I made this decision after careful consideration.

Over the years, I have devoted a lot of effort to Hengsheng Bank, but the situation that Huifeng Bank and Hengsheng Bank are facing now makes me feel overwhelmed. In fact, I should have retired long ago, but I was always worried and only managed to hold on.

But now it seems that my presence did not bring any substantial help to Hengsheng Bank. On the contrary, perhaps because of my slow decision-making, the bank missed some of the best opportunities to deal with the crisis.

My departure may bring a new turn for Hengsheng Bank and allow more motivated and energetic young people to lead it out of its difficulties. Mr. Smith is a good example. I believe that after he takes over my position, he will be able to lead Hengsheng Bank through this difficult time with his professional ability and innovative thinking.

Mr. Shen Bi, you don't need to try to persuade me to stay. I have made up my mind. Even if you don't agree, it won't stop me. I will submit my resignation application to the board of directors according to the normal procedures, and actively cooperate in completing the handover to ensure that the operation of Hengsheng Bank is not greatly affected."

Shen Bi was so angry that his face turned blue. He didn't expect He Shanheng to be so determined and leave him no wiggle room at all.

But at this point, he also knew that it was no use to continue trying to keep her.

He thought that He Shanheng really planned to retire because of his age. After He Shanheng left, Shen Bi couldn't help but sweep the documents on the desk to the ground. This time, the sound of the papers scattering was particularly harsh in the silent office, as if he was venting his inner anger that he couldn't suppress.

He put his hands on the edge of the table, his knuckles turned white from the effort, and his eyes were full of anger.

"This He Shanheng looks steady at ordinary times, but he does this to me at the critical moment!" Shen Bi gritted his teeth.

He understood that He Shanheng's resignation would not only plunge Hengsheng Bank into chaos, but would also likely trigger a series of chain reactions, affecting the entire Huifeng Bank system.

After pacing back and forth in the office for a long time, Shen Bi still couldn't calm down.

He has realized that the top priority is to find a solution as soon as possible to fill the vacancy left by He Shanheng and stabilize the situation of Hengsheng Bank and Huifeng Bank.

He sat back in his chair, picked up the phone, and dialed the number of the board secretary: "Notify all directors immediately and convene an emergency board meeting to discuss He Shanheng's resignation and the current crisis facing Hengsheng Bank. The sooner the better!"

After hanging up the phone, Shen Bi leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and kept thinking about possible solutions in his mind.

On the other side, He Shanheng, who left Shen Bi's office, looked at the time on his watch. It was already past five in the afternoon.

So he simply didn't go back to the office, but called Lin Haoran.

After confirming that Lin Haoran was at the headquarters building of Bank of East Asia, he drove directly there.

The headquarters of Huifeng Bank and Bank of East Asia are not far from each other. In fact, most of the bank headquarters in Hong Kong are located in this small area.

So in less than ten minutes, Ho Sin Hang arrived at the headquarters of Bank of East Asia.

Ho Sin Hang is a well-known tycoon in Hong Kong's financial circles. There is no employee working at the Bank of East Asia who does not know him.

Moreover, after receiving He Shanheng's call, Lin Haoran had arranged for someone to meet He Shanheng downstairs and take him to the reception room.

It’s not that Lin Haoran didn’t want to go downstairs to greet him in person, but he was really listening attentively to Dashan’s report on today’s situation and couldn’t get away.

After hurriedly listening to the report, Lin Haoran rushed to the reception room of the Bank of East Asia.

He already had some guesses about He Shanheng's purpose, but he was not sure yet.

"Mr. He, I'm really sorry to have kept you waiting for so long." Lin Haoran said with a smile as he entered the door.

In fact, he just made He Shanheng wait for a few minutes.

He Shanheng stood up and waved his hand, saying, "It was only a few minutes, not a long wait. It was my sudden visit that disrupted your plans, so I should be sorry."

Lin Haoran quickly motioned for He Shanheng to sit down, and he sat down on the sofa opposite. Then he waved his hand and asked the assistant beside him to make two cups of fine tea.

After the secretary left the room, he asked, "Mr. He must have come here today for something important?"

Although he already had some guesses in his heart and was very much looking forward to it.

But it would be better for He Shanheng to speak personally about this matter!
He Shanheng picked up the teacup, took a sip, slowly put the cup down, looked directly at Lin Haoran, and said, "Haoran, to be honest, I have submitted my resignation to Huifeng Bank and plan to resign as the chairman of Hengsheng Bank."

A hint of surprise flashed across Lin Haoran's face for a moment, but soon, joy surged up like a tide that he could not suppress.

He stood up excitedly, his eyes full of excitement and expectation: "Mr. He, I have been looking forward to your news for a long time! The Bank of East Asia is always open to welcome you. As long as you are willing to come, I will immediately arrange for you to serve as the chairman of the Bank of East Asia.

You should also know that the market share of Bank of East Asia is rising steadily, and it is not difficult for it to surpass Huifeng Bank in the future. I believe that with a respected and experienced predecessor like you joining, the future of Bank of East Asia will be bright, and it is not impossible for it to become a top bank with an international reputation like Citibank!"

Before this, when Lin Haoran proposed this bet, he was very confident that he could win, but he was not sure whether He Shanheng would eventually fulfill the bet.

After all, this is just a bet without any binding force. Simply put, it’s nothing even if it’s just a joke.

Now, he has forced Huifeng Bank and even the Hong Kong Banking Association behind him to cancel the unfair 'choose one of two' policy that had been implemented for less than a month, which means that he has won the bet.

He didn't expect that Ho Sin Heng would be so straightforward and make the decision to join Bank of East Asia so quickly.

This undoubtedly made Lin Haoran more confident about the future of Bank of East Asia.

"Haoran, I'm coming to Bank of East Asia. It is estimated that it will take a few days to hand over my work to Hengsheng Bank. Once everything is properly arranged, I can officially join Bank of East Asia." Seeing that Lin Haoran respected him so much, He Shanheng felt relieved and no longer had any regrets about deciding to resign from Hengsheng Bank.

In Hengsheng Bank, although he is the chairman, he is also controlled by Huifeng Bank.

But if he came to the Bank of East Asia, he believed that Lin Haoran would not interfere with his work.

After all, the entire Hong Kong business community knows about Lin Haoran's character in managing a business.

Many people were even shocked that Lin Haoran dared to trust these professional managers so much.

This is absolutely rare among many Chinese entrepreneurs.

However, who would have thought that the reason why Lin Haoran dared to be so confident was entirely because he had a golden finger that could see loyalty.

With this golden finger, he knows who will betray him, so he can naturally minimize the risk and dare to give his subordinates full trust and power.

The two discussed about He Shanheng taking over the job in the future, and then personally invited him to dinner at the nearby Joy Lai Restaurant.

After seeing off Ho Shanheng, Lin Haoran returned to the Bank of East Asia.

At this moment, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening.

Despite this, the Bank of East Asia's headquarters building remained brightly lit.

All 20 branches of Bank of East Asia and 12 branches of Dao Heng Bank did not stop working until o'clock.

"Boss, today's deposit performance has been calculated. Throughout the day, Bank of East Asia and the newly merged Dao Heng Bank branch have attracted more than HK$20 billion in time deposits, totaling HK$22.93 billion, which is HK$ million more than yesterday!

In the past four days, we have attracted a total of HK$4 billion in deposits. In the next five days, we are confident that we can increase the capital scale of Bank of East Asia by more than HK$67.63 billion in this interest rate war!" As soon as he entered Dashan's office, Dashan excitedly reported today's results to Lin Haoran.

Dao Heng Bank was acquired by Bank of East Asia in full. Although the two were not fully merged and each operated its own business, it was completely reasonable for Bank of East Asia to include Dao Heng Bank's performance. After all, in terms of equity structure and actual control, Dao Heng Bank is already an important part of Bank of East Asia's territory.

Fortunately, Daoheng Bank was not a listed company before, but was 100% controlled by the British Crindlays Bank. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to acquire it in just one night.

Lin Haoran nodded. He thought this record was very good.

Even if they only absorb HK$10 billion in the next five days, plus the current HK$6 billion, then in this interest war, Bank of East Asia has also increased its deposits by more than HK$16 billion.

With this money, he will have more ammunition to invest in Japan.

Lin Haoran was secretly calculating in his mind, with a confident smile on his face.

If he could earn several times more from this money, it would easily reach hundreds of billions of Hong Kong dollars.

And even that’s an underestimate.

In comparison, a mere 5% interest per year is really nothing.

"Also, boss, there is one more thing I need to report to you. Although our time deposits have increased by HK$22.93 billion today, today's one-year time deposits actually account for as much as 1%, which is the opposite of yesterday." Dashan reported something with a frown.

Yesterday, the funds they attracted exceeded HK$5 billion for the first time, with 6-year time deposits accounting for as much as %.

Unexpectedly, today the situation turned out to be the opposite.

When Lin Haoran heard this, he raised his lips and smiled confidently, saying, "You don't need to worry about this. Although we can no longer use the 5% interest to absorb new deposits after five days, customers who have already signed the contract are not subject to this restriction.

At that time, we can negotiate with those customers who have signed a one-year deposit contract to change the deposit term to five years.

I think that in order to continue to enjoy high interest rates, most citizens will definitely rush to revise their deposit contracts with us. Although it is not realistic to ask everyone to change to a 5-year fixed deposit, I think it is not difficult to get 5% of customers to sign a -year fixed deposit. "

After hearing this, Dashan nodded slightly, thinking that what Lin Haoran said made sense. His frown instantly relaxed and the worry in his heart disappeared.

Besides, the news that the Governor's Office was going to cancel unfair policies and adjust interest rates could not be hidden.

Judging from the situation, by tomorrow morning, the news will spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys of Hong Kong.

Once everyone finds out that the 5% interest rate discount on fixed deposits will be cancelled in five days, then in the next few days, unless you are a fool, everyone will choose a five-year deposit without hesitation.

1 year term?

Humph, only a fool would choose that!

(End of this chapter)