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Chapter 654: 273 Billion Yuan to be Transferred – Huifeng Bank's Sky is Falling!
"What a spoilsport!" After the middle manager left, John Bao couldn't help but slam his hand on the table, causing the teacups on the table to shake slightly and spill a few drops of tea.

"This Lin Haoran is simply a persistent plague, always going against us. Now he's even won over Liu Luanxiong. If this continues, our Huifeng Bank will be ruined by him sooner or later!"

One of the senior executives frowned, his face full of disapproval, and retorted, "Mr. John, even without Liu Luanxiong's HK$3 billion or so, our Huifeng Bank's leading position in Hong Kong's financial industry remains solid. How could Lin Haoran possibly destroy us!"

"Alright, alright!" Shen Bi slammed his hand on the conference table, his voice ringing out loudly in the quiet meeting room.

He frowned, his sharp gaze sweeping over everyone: "Are we going to start arguing again? Aren't we annoyed enough already?"

The high-ranking official was intimidated by Shen Bi's imposing manner and immediately fell silent, not daring to utter another word.

Shen Bi took a deep breath, trying to calm his inner anxiety, and slowly sat down, gently rubbing his temples with his fingers.

After a moment, he said in a deep voice, "Now is not the time for mutual accusations, blind optimism, or pessimism. Liu Luanxiong's transfer of funds is just the beginning. I am worried that this is a carefully planned drama by Lin Haoran, and more troubles will come knocking on our door later."

In just two months, Lin Haoran's series of strategies had made Shen Bi feel uneasy and unable to eat or sleep.

Each time, they thought the storm was about to pass, but Lin Haoran always managed to pull off a surprise move, causing Huifeng Bank's market share to continue to shrink.

Therefore, Shen Bi now harbors deep fear of Lin Haoran and dares not show the slightest contempt for him.

John Bao gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, and asked, "Mr. Shen Bi, what should we do now? We can't just sit here and wait to die. Such a big thing can't be hidden, it will get out sooner or later!"

Even Lin Haoran and the East Asia Bank are probably eager to see us fail, and may already be secretly fueling the fire to spread the news faster and wider.

A resolute glint flashed in Shen Bi's eyes: "Immediately activate the emergency plan. On the one hand, arrange for a dedicated person to coordinate the transfer of funds with Liu Luanxiong's side. Make sure the process is compliant and smooth, and do not make any mistakes at this stage, so as not to leave any handle for outsiders to use against us."
On the other hand, the public relations department immediately prepared a press release. Once the news was released, we would issue a press release emphasizing that Huifeng Bank has ample cash reserves and that Liu Luanxiong's fund transfer was merely a normal fund allocation by an individual client and would not have any substantial impact on the bank's operations.

“But Mr. Simbir, market sentiment is already very sensitive. How effective can such a press release be?” a senior executive asked with concern.

Shen Bi glanced at him and said coldly, "Regardless of the extent of its impact, at least we need to show our attitude and stabilize morale. In addition, notify the risk control department to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the bank's current financial situation, especially liquidity risk, and formulate contingency plans to deal with further capital outflows."

"Understood, Mr. Shen Bi." Everyone nodded and prepared to get to work.

However, things turned out to be far worse than they had imagined.

Just as the senior executives of Huifeng Bank were about to leave the meeting room to urgently deploy countermeasures, a middle-level manager rushed back into the meeting room, his face as pale as paper.

“Mr. Sir Michael Sandberg, several companies under Mr. Guo Henan’s control have just submitted applications to us for the transfer of funds, involving more than HK$5 billion,” the middle-level manager said, his voice trembling.

Shen Bi's face turned deathly pale instantly. He braced his hands on the conference table, leaned forward slightly, and stared at the table in disbelief: "Guo Henian? How could he also..."

The other senior executives were also in an uproar, whispering among themselves in shock and panic.

The already tense atmosphere became even more strained, like a fully drawn bowstring, ready to explode at any moment.

Guo Henian was the richest man in Southeast Asia and had a considerable fortune.

In recent years, they have gradually increased their investment in Hong Kong, and even intend to make Hong Kong their future base.

Therefore, Guo Henian has a considerable amount of capital behind him.

Since entering the Hong Kong market, Guo Henan has been cooperating with Huifeng Bank, and the two parties have maintained a cooperative relationship for more than ten years.

Unexpectedly, they suddenly decided to withdraw today, which is undoubtedly another heavy blow to Huifeng Bank.

"This...how is this possible? Guo Henian has been cooperating with us for many years, and our relationship is quite stable. How could he suddenly make such a decision?" A senior executive looked incredulous, his voice trembling slightly.

John Bao, his face flushed with anger, slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Lin Haoran! It must be Lin Haoran pulling the strings behind our backs again! He's trying to drive us to our doom!"

Before Shen Bi and others could recover from the shock of Guo Henian's fund transfer, another middle-level manager rushed into the meeting room looking flustered.

Before the other party could even knock on the door, they urgently shouted, "Mr. Sir Michael Sandberg, something terrible has happened! Mr. Shaw Brothers' film company, along with TVB and other related businesses, have decided to transfer funds out of our bank. The preliminary estimate is that the amount involved is as high as HK$1.5 billion!"

One after another, the middle-level managers knocked on the door and brought increasingly bad news.

John Bao suddenly stood up, kicked the chair behind him, and roared, "Have they all gone mad? Have they all been bewitched by Lin Haoran?"

At this moment, the senior executives in the conference room were in complete chaos. Some were cursing angrily, some were pacing back and forth anxiously, and others were sitting blankly in their chairs, their eyes vacant, as if they had lost their souls.

Lin Haoran's series of unexpected moves came down like a heavy hammer, leaving them completely bewildered and caught off guard.

If this situation continues, Huifeng Bank will undoubtedly fall into an abyss of no return.

These senior bank executives and Huifeng Bank were already bound together by a shared destiny, where their fortunes were intertwined.

Once Huifeng Bank collapses, the status and reputation they have painstakingly built up over the years in the financial world will burst like a bubble.

After all, in the fiercely competitive financial industry, who would dare to give important positions to a senior executive who led a giant bank to collapse?
Originally, Liu Luanxiong's transfer of funds had already caused them a great deal of trouble. Now, with Guo Henan and Shao Yifu, influential figures in Hong Kong's business community, following suit, it was undoubtedly adding insult to injury, plunging Huifeng Bank into an unprecedented crisis.

"Mr. Sir Michael Sandberg, what do we do now? With so many funds being transferred at the same time, our cash flow will be severely impacted," a senior executive said with a look of despair.

Once these funds are transferred from Huifeng Bank to Bank of East Asia, Huifeng Bank will no longer be concerned with maintaining its dominant position in Hong Kong's financial industry, but rather with how to deal with the problem of a broken capital chain!
Shen Bi took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

He knew he couldn't panic at this moment; if he lost his composure, Huifeng Bank would be finished.

"Stay calm and don't panic," Shen Bi said in a deep but firm voice. "Immediately activate the emergency plan, assess the specific impact of the fund transfer on our bank, and at the same time communicate with relevant departments to see if we can supplement funds through other channels."

“We at Hengsheng Bank currently have nearly HK$10 billion in funds on hand, which can provide assistance to Huifeng Bank at any time!” said Pu Weishi, who had just taken office as chairman of Hengsheng Bank.

In this fund transfer scandal, most of the funds flowed out of Huifeng Bank, while Hengsheng Bank seemed to be an unaffected "lucky one" and was not affected at all.

However, at this moment, both Shen Bi's words of comfort and Pu Weishi's promise of assistance seemed so pale and powerless.

The higher-ups knew perfectly well that such a large-scale wave of capital transfers could not be easily resolved with just a few words.

What plunged them into despair was that the fund transfer applications from Liu Luanxiong, Guo Henian, and Shao Yifu were just the beginning, far from the end of this "disaster."

Over the next half hour, the conference room door was knocked on repeatedly, and employees rushed in to report. More than a dozen Hong Kong business owners or managers arrived one after another, all with a strikingly consistent demand—to transfer their company's or their personal funds out of Huifeng Bank.

This includes Lin Haoran's elder brother, Lin Haoning, and his two brothers-in-law.

Huifeng Bank is in deep trouble.

For Shen Bi and others, it was as if the sky had fallen.

They calculated that the amount of funds to be transferred had reached a staggering HK$273 billion.

The senior executives present were well aware of what this meant.

Originally, Huifeng Bank had only about HK$870 billion in funds left, but now it will shrink by nearly one-third, with its funds falling to less than HK$600 billion.

As senior executives at Huifeng Bank, they all knew that although Huifeng Bank had tens of billions of yuan in funds, some of these funds were invested, some were lent out, some were used as reserves for the bank's daily operations, and some were deposited in projects in cooperation with other financial institutions.

The actual amount of liquid funds that can be readily allocated to cope with sudden capital outflows is far less than the figures on the books suggest.

Now, with HK$273 billion about to be lost, the bank's liquidity has instantly become precarious.

It's fair to say that once this sum of over HK$20 billion is transferred out, Huifeng Bank will have virtually no liquidity left. At that point, Huifeng Bank will face significant problems with its daily operations, with funding gaps for many short-term loans, daily business settlements, and employee salary payments.

At that time, any slight disturbance could trigger a break in the capital chain, not to mention the very likely possibility of a bank run.

Once a run on the bank occurs, Huifeng Bank will fall into an abyss like Hengsheng Bank did back then, ultimately either being acquired or going bankrupt, leaving a painful mark on the history of Hong Kong's financial world.

They might even be eliminated by the market, becoming topics of conversation and typical negative examples in business cases.

Everyone can already imagine how serious the consequences would be.

They may have the backing of those British financial groups, but now a lot of their funds are abroad, such as those investments and loans, which cannot be recovered in a short time.

“Mr. Simbir, we can’t just sit here and wait!” John Bao paced anxiously back and forth in the conference room, hands on his hips. “We have to think of a way to keep those funds that are going to be transferred, even if it’s just a portion of them.”

Shen Bi frowned, barely able to remain calm: "The clients are determined to leave now, and it's not easy to keep them here. However, we still have to give it a try."

Mr. John, you'll be in charge of contacting these clients, especially those with long-term relationships with our bank. See if you can negotiate to understand their true needs and offer them some preferential terms, such as higher deposit interest rates or reduced fees, to try and change their minds.

John Bao nodded: "Okay, I'll take care of it right away. But Mr. Shen, even if we can keep some of it, there's still so much money to transfer out, so our cash flow will still be in big trouble."

"Don't panic, everyone. Even if we're in dire straits, we still have Haifeng Bank. If all else fails, we can apply for financial assistance from Haifeng Bank to help us get through this difficult time!" a senior executive suggested.

"Want help from Haifeng Bank? Haifeng Bank's board of directors would be the first to object, and the US financial regulators would never allow it. That idea is best left unsaid." However, someone immediately shook their head and rejected the proposal.

In 1978, they reached an agreement with OceanMillan Bank of the United States to acquire 51% of the bank's shares for $3.41 million.

After taking control of Ocean Millennium Bank, Huifeng Bank renamed the bank Haifeng Bank.

Today, SITC is the thirteenth largest bank in the United States, with total assets of US$255 billion, which, when converted to Hong Kong dollars, is roughly equivalent to that of HSBC at its peak.

Despite its high asset value, SITC Bank has actually been losing money year after year.

Even after Huifeng Bank took over, it had to inject capital into Haifeng Bank multiple times. It can be said that, in the short term, acquiring this American bank was a burden for Huifeng Bank!
This is why they were able to take control for only $3.41 million, because the original shareholders couldn't hold on any longer.

If they hadn't suffered losses year after year, the price they would have had to pay to acquire it would have been far more substantial.

A bank that has been losing money for years will naturally become a key focus of US financial regulators, who will scrutinize its fund flows and business operations with extreme rigor, especially when funds flow overseas, as the approval process is cumbersome and has a very low success rate.

If Huifeng Bank wants to transfer funds from Haifeng Bank to Hong Kong to deal with this crisis, it will not only have to face strong resistance from Haifeng Bank's board of directors, but also overcome the almost insurmountable barrier of the US financial regulatory agencies.

After all, although Huifeng Bank has become the controlling shareholder of Haifeng Bank, it does not mean that Huifeng Bank can do whatever it wants with Haifeng Bank.

Those two hundred billion dollars all belong to American citizens. How could the US financial regulators allow HSBC, an overseas financial institution, to move them so easily?
If mishandled, it could trigger turmoil in the US financial market, leading to the demise of both HSBC and SITC, and potentially even sparking international financial disputes.

In other words, it is simply impossible to get assistance from Hafn Bank, the controlling bank that was recently acquired!
Haifeng Bank was their biggest hope overseas, but now that path is blocked, the senior executives of Huifeng Bank feel that the road ahead is dark and they can't see a glimmer of hope.

Besides SITC Bank, HSBC has two other major overseas investments: HSBC Bank and Bank of England Middle East.

However, it's even more impossible for Huifeng Bank to get help from these two banks.

First, let’s talk about the Li & Fung Bank. It was originally a British-owned Indian bank that held a special permit to issue banknotes in Hong Kong for a long time. It was acquired by the Hui Fung Bank in 1959.

However, as the role of the bank weakened, it stopped issuing banknotes in 1974 and now has virtually no presence in Hong Kong, having become a small bank with negligible capital.

The Bank of England for the Middle East, a bank that primarily operates in the Middle East and provides financial support for local trade and economic activities, was also acquired by HSBC in 1959, becoming the foundation for HSBC Group's expansion in the Middle East.

However, the Bank of England in the Middle East continues to face various challenges, including regional political instability, economic volatility, and intensified competition in the banking sector. HSBC's hopes of relying on the Bank of England in the Middle East are also dashed.

Faced with this desperate situation where external aid could not provide assistance and the internal funding chain was on the verge of collapse, Shen Bi felt his temples throbbing and every nerve was stretched to the limit.

"Are we really just going to watch Huifeng Bank decline?" Sir Michael Sandberg kept asking himself. He was unwilling to accept it. Huifeng Bank was the pride of them, the British, and a landmark in Hong Kong's financial world. It could not be destroyed in Lin Haoran's hands.

"Gentlemen, we are far from being at our wits' end. If we really do reach a dead end, we will seek support from other forces, such as Standard Chartered Bank. We are all important members of Hong Kong's financial industry, and I think they would not want to see a Chinese-owned bank dominate and suppress us."

Moreover, I believe the Governor's Office will not stand idly by and watch our Huifeng Bank collapse. After all, Huifeng Bank holds a pivotal position in Hong Kong's financial system, and its downfall would have an immeasurable impact on Hong Kong's economy." Sir Michael Sandberg's gaze slowly swept around the conference room, his voice carrying an undisguised weariness.

Three or four months ago, they were still full of confidence and were planning to acquire the Royal Bank of Scotland, attempting to gradually shift Huifeng Bank's main battlefield from Hong Kong to the UK.

At that time, they seemed to be standing under the spotlight of the world financial stage, ambitious and full of confidence that they could further expand their territory and consolidate their position in the global financial world.

However, reality dealt them a heavy blow.

The British financial industry faced discrimination and obstruction from them, employing various overt and covert tactics, ultimately leading to the failure of the acquisition plan.

Even so, at that time, Huifeng Bank was still at its zenith in Hong Kong's financial world, an invincible giant in the eyes of many, displaying a domineering demeanor in every move.

But who could have predicted that just three months later, the situation would change drastically.

Lin Haoran, like a rising star, led East Asia Bank into the fray with a fierce offensive, forcing Huifeng Bank into a series of defeats, leaving it powerless to resist.

Today, Huifeng Bank is in dire straits, its former glory and honor seeming like a distant dream.

This huge discrepancy was like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the flames of hope in the hearts of the senior executives in the conference room.

They felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, their hearts filled with bitterness and despair. Their beautiful dreams for the future had vanished, leaving only endless confusion and fear.

However, after hearing Shen Bi's words, a glimmer of hope rekindled in the eyes of the higher-ups.

“Yes, yes, we’re not in dire straits yet. Mr. Sir Michael Sandberg is right. Standard Chartered Bank has always done business with us, and they might be willing to lend a helping hand. There’s also the Governor’s Office. They will definitely weigh the pros and cons and won’t let Huifeng Bank collapse like this.” A senior executive hurriedly echoed, as if he had grasped a lifeline.

Just then, the secretary rushed into the conference room in a panic and said loudly, "Mr. Shen Bi, something bad has happened! There are many rumors circulating in the market that are detrimental to our bank, saying that our bank is facing a major crisis and that our capital chain is about to break."

After seeing the news, many customers called to inquire about the situation, and some even started queuing at bank branches to withdraw money.

This news was like a bombshell, making matters worse for Huifeng Bank, which was already in dire straits.

"Lin Haoran! It's definitely Lin Haoran who's behind this! He must have instructed people to spread these rumors, with the aim of instigating a run on our bank and completely destroying Huifeng Bank!" John Bao's eyes widened, his anger was uncontrollable, and the veins on his forehead bulged. His words were full of resentment.

Shen Bi's face was so gloomy it seemed like it could drip water. He knew, of course, that once a run on the bank occurred, Huifeng Bank would be powerless to fight back.

This transfer of HK$273 billion is already giving him a major headache.

If another bank run occurs, the consequences are predictable.

This is the first time in the more than 100-year history of Huifeng Bank that it has come so close to life and death!
Shen Bi took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He knew that any panic at this moment would only make the situation worse.

"Immediately activate the emergency plan for bank runs, notify all branches, increase cash reserves, and arrange sufficient manpower to meet customer withdrawal demands. At the same time, the public relations department should issue a statement as soon as possible to clarify rumors and emphasize that our bank has sufficient funds and the ability to protect customers' funds."

Mr. Pewter, your Hengsheng Bank is ready to allocate funds to assist Huifeng Bank at any time; Mr. John, please go to the Governor to report this matter and try to obtain the Governor's Office's support.

"And I will immediately go to Standard Chartered Bank to discuss cooperation with Mr. Brown, the head of Standard Chartered Bank, to see if we can obtain financial assistance from them to solve our immediate crisis." Sir Michael Sandberg quickly issued the order.

(End of this chapter)