Hong Kong Movies: I am Hongxing, what the hell is the intelligence king?

Chapter 410 HSBC Needs to Save Itself!
It's night.

It was already dusk when every household was lit up.

The HSBC building was still brightly lit.

The board members all looked serious and worried.

Someone asked:

Still no news from Ms. Shen?

Someone answered:
"No."

"After receiving two phone calls yesterday, Mr. Shen instructed his secretary to book him a flight back to Chongqing and then rushed to the airport."

"I contacted Chongqing and the customs."

There is absolutely no news about Shen Daban.

"The last time Mr. Shen went through customs was three years ago."

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

“The ICAC officers came today; they had a search warrant issued by the Commissioner.”

"The other party was initially quite polite."

"I don't know why, but after receiving that phone call, I stopped showing any consideration for others."

"They packed up everything in Shen Daban's office and took it away; we couldn't stop them."

Someone sighed softly.

Another person answered:

“I know about this. The ICAC deputy commissioner’s banknotes were stored at our HSBC. When his family came to collect them, they were turned away.”

"That changed my attitude!"

Everyone was incredulous.

"How is that possible?" someone questioned loudly. "That's a family member of the ICAC Deputy Commissioner. Didn't the people at the counter know who they were?"

Someone said:

"How is this impossible?"

“You are all prominent figures in Hong Kong. We are frequently in the media and our public profile is much higher than that of ordinary people. Ordinary citizens may recognize us.”

"But I want to ask you all, do your families have the same level of fame as you?"

"Let alone ordinary people, even I can't possibly recognize all of your family members."

"We're colleagues!"

"Family members are a matter of personal privacy. You all know what kind of organization the ICAC is. If their family members were exposed, how terrible do you think that would be?"

The people who had spoken earlier fell silent, clearly indicating that the blame couldn't be placed on the person who had taken charge.

"At that time, there were so many people trying to withdraw money, and before the deputy commissioner's family could even withdraw their money, the cash was already gone."

"Even if a god came, let alone a clerk, there would be no way to solve it."

We're out of cash!

The office fell into a rare silence.

An old man at the head of the table said:

"Is there absolutely no cash left?"

Someone answered:
"there is none left!"

"There is no cash available at any of our branches in Hong Kong."

"What's scary is that many people have already cancelled their business with us and switched to other places."

"If this continues, we can forget about getting any business at all."

The old man shook his head and said slowly:
"Let's talk about long-term matters later."

"The most important thing now is to get through this difficult time."

"If we can't get through this hurdle, what's the point of talking about the future?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The old man frowned and said:
Is there anything important going on tomorrow?

"Is it necessary to withdraw money?"

Someone immediately said:

“We have a few sums of money from someone with a very powerful background. If we don’t exchange them, we’ll be in a lot of trouble.”

Anger appeared on the old man's face:

"We are HSBC!"

"Who can control us?"

The other party was quite helpless:

"I'll just pick a couple of things to talk about."

“One of them is from the Governor’s Office’s Finance Department. The Governor’s Office’s budget and taxation are basically handled here.”

"The other party said that they wanted to reduce the risk and wanted to take out the silver paper."

"Otherwise, it would affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of civil servants."

"It will also affect the operation of the government."

The old man's expression froze:
What is the total?

He is scared!

The other party said bitterly:
"I discussed it with the Financial Secretary and we decided to pay part of it first, and then pay the rest next month."

"The Finance Secretary agreed."

"The first installment, 30 billion, is due tomorrow!"

The old man swayed slightly.
"Three hundred billion?!"

The Duchess's Mansion has always been a major client of theirs, and the demands of such a major client must naturally be met.

"Give!"

The old man gritted his teeth and forced out those words.

The other party then said:

"There's another sum of money, but it's not much, only six hundred million."

"We have to give it to them too."

The old man angrily said:

"Whose is this?"

The other party remained silent for a long while before speaking:
"garrison!"

The old man swayed again.
"Give!"

He chickened out again!

The other person coughed lightly.
"There are also several sums of money, a large amount, around five billion."

The old man could no longer hold back.

"When did HSBC become so easy to bully?"

The other person said expressionlessly:
"This money belongs to the bigwigs of various triads in Hong Kong."

The old man remained silent for a long time, then said fiercely:

"Give!"

He chickened out again!

There was no other way; at this point, he couldn't afford to offend any of these forces.

We have no choice but to admit defeat!
Someone asked:

"We don't have that much cash on the counter at all."

"How can I give this to you?"

The old man gritted his teeth and said:
"Let's ask Standard Chartered to lend us some money temporarily."

Everyone fell silent, looking at each other with hesitation.

The old man said decisively:
“I know you’re worried about the high interest rates on interbank loans and fear you won’t be able to repay them later.”

"This is not the most important issue."

"The most important issue now is..."

"Can we survive in Hong Kong?"

"Survival is our most important problem."

"If we can't survive, there's no point in saying anything now."

Everyone suddenly realized what was going on.

That's right, if HSBC couldn't weather this wave of bank runs, it wouldn't exist.

What are you still talking about in the future?
There will never be a future!

The old people quickly reached a consensus:

"Then we need to borrow from other banks for short-term loans."

"Let's tentatively set the amount at 50 billion."

Everyone was speechless for a moment:

Five hundred billion? That much?

"Then all our work this year has been for nothing!"

The old man was very cold-hearted, and said in a low voice:

"I'd be willing to work for nothing this year, or even next year!"

"What does it matter if HSBC loses money for three years as long as it can survive?"

"Moreover, we have a lot of high-quality assets on hand. We can easily make some transactions and our financial statements will look very good."

"Survival comes first; nothing else matters."

"You're all important people, how come you don't even understand this?"

Everyone was silent.

The old man tapped on the table:
"Besides short-term interbank lending, there is something else I must tell you."

"Many Hong Kong business families have benefited from our kindness, and now it is time for them to repay that kindness."

"They can't possibly repay the favor we've done."

"Tell them to bring all the cash in the family."

"As much as you want."

“We absolutely do not mind that they bring less.”

Everyone nodded.

Banks are not philanthropists; the things they do are for immediate use, of course.

This is very obvious.

Having received benefits from the bank, how could they expect to get them for nothing?

Someone whispered:
"But even so, it's not enough to get through this crisis."

"This bank run is too fierce."

"We've probably had a million customers at our bank today."

If a million people were to patronize HSBC under normal circumstances, the board members would probably be laughing in their sleep.

But now, I really can't laugh.

Not only could I not laugh, I was also terrified.

These guys aren't here to deposit money or apply for loans; they're here to withdraw money!
Even if someone requests a loan, HSBC won't process it at this point.

Lending carries the risk of bad debts, and at such a sensitive time, every penny of cash is precious.

How could they dare let cash slip through their fingers?

The old man gritted his teeth and said:
"Call a few major clients and offer to waive their fees if they repay early!"

Everyone exclaimed in disbelief:
"No!"

Banks make money by the interest rate spread between deposits and loans. If they eliminate interest on loans, how will they make money?

The old man looked somewhat tired.
"Why haven't you figured it out yet?" "Our most important goal right now is to survive, nothing else."

"If we don't prepare, we won't even be able to make it through this month."

"Want to make money? That's a pipe dream."

“You are all successful businessmen, so you naturally understand the importance of reputation.”

"HSBC's brand must not be ruined."

"Once you fall, who knows when you'll recover."

"We must prepare for the worst!"

"We will do everything in our power to hold onto the HSBC brand."

"Does anyone else have any objections?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Now that things have come to this point, who can still have objections?
This is actually an extremely simple arithmetic problem.

Should we save HSBC's brand?

The board of directors will naturally take care of the accounts.

HSBC is a prestigious brand and a major platform.

Once you're on HSBC's board of directors, you'll naturally be considered superior.

What are the heads of the Three Departments and Thirteen Bureaus?
What are the various families in Hong Kong compared to them?
They all had to be respectful in front of HSBC directors.

Even if you were an ordinary person before, once you become a director of HSBC, it's inevitable that you'll be superior to others.

This is the advantage of being a large platform.

Like the vanished Shen Daban, before becoming the tycoon of HSBC, she was at most a celebrity. But with the support of a large platform, even the Duchess wouldn't put on airs in front of Shen Daban.

Even the Iron Lady of Anssa, Madame de Therese, would humbly seek advice on issues concerning Hong Kong.

What if we remove this brand?

All the glory seemed to have been taken away, and the level dropped by at least five places!
That's just how reality is.

The old man pointed out the key point, and everyone finally reached a consensus.

Therefore, with Shen Daban not showing up, the old man became the head of the board of directors.

The old man glanced at the crowd and waved his hand, saying:
"If you're alright, go back now. I hope that when we get together again tomorrow, I'll only hear good news."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Only the board secretary remained.

The old man frowned slightly:

"Is there anything you need?"

The company secretary smiled wryly:
"Sir, there's something I shouldn't say in this situation, as I'm afraid it might discourage them."

The old man was slightly taken aback:
"Very serious?"

The company secretary nodded emphatically:

"Very serious."

The old man sighed:
"The situation is already serious enough; how much worse can it get?"

"Just tell me, I can handle it."

The company secretary sighed and then explained the current problem:

"HSBC has been targeted."

The old man frowned and said:
"Isn't it obvious?"

"The current bank run is very rare even in the history of finance, both in China and abroad."

“Of course, someone is targeting us.”

The company secretary quickly replied:
“That’s not what I meant. I meant that someone is targeting us in the stock market.”

The old man's eyes widened:
"What did you say?"

The company secretary smiled wryly:
"The market just opened today, and there were over a billion dollars of bold short selling against HSBC, with the short selling margin reaching as high as half."

"I didn't pay any attention to it originally."

“HSBC has always been a high-quality stock, and the dividends it pays out each year are already incomparable to those of other stocks.”

"Most stock investors are holding stocks for the medium to long term."

"Even if this mysterious guy is shorting us, as long as the shareholders remain confident, there will be no problem."

"If the stock price rises by even one or two points, they'll lose everything!"

"How would I know..."

"A sudden run on the bank occurred around noon."

"HSBC's share price plummeted, a precipitous drop that just wouldn't stop!"

The old man's face darkened, and he quickly asked:
How much has HSBC's share price fallen?

The company secretary smiled wryly:
"It's dropped by half!"

"Just inside the sniper's target area."

The old man exclaimed:
"Who did it?"

The company secretary immediately said:
"The guy who sniped us is a celebrity, actually."

"He is Chen Taotao."

The old man was stunned:

"Chen Taotao, Chen Wanxian's illegitimate son?"

"Is he the one who just sent his father, Chen Wanxian, to Stanley?"

Why would he snipe at us?

The company secretary shook his head:
"I don't know that."

"Based on my guess, he must have learned about the news from Chongqing early on, judged the situation ahead, and acted decisively."

The old man frowned and said:
"News from Chongqing?"

The company secretary whispered:
"You know how outrageous the paparazzi in Ansar are."

"Because of Shen Daban, Xiao Fuhao has always been a celebrity in Chongqing."

"Especially his spending of seven billion Hong Kong dollars in such a short period of time..."

"This is truly infuriating!"

It's natural to resent the rich; there will always be some people who are jealous of others' good lives.

Unfortunately, the wealthy young man is of Asian descent.

He was throwing money around among a bunch of white people; anyone would feel uncomfortable.

The old man shook his head as he imagined the scene.

That's too flashy!
But you can't criticize the young tycoon for this; he did it to save his father, which is a good deed in itself.

Furthermore, he lavishly distributed money to the nobles of the foggy city.

Without the tacit approval of the great nobles, how could such a thing be known to ordinary people?
The old man didn't think there was anything wrong with the young tycoon trying to win over the wealthy nobles of the foggy city.

The only mistake was probably using the wrong force and not finding the right direction.

As for the nobleman who publicly reported the small tycoon, the old man could easily guess that he was definitely being instructed by someone.

Who knows the morals of the nobles of the Fog City better than him?
The old man sighed deeply:
"Can we fight back?"

The company secretary smiled wryly:
"Of course, we are capable of retaliating."

"However, even if we want to fight back, we must first stabilize the run on the bank."

"Otherwise, no matter how much more money is invested, it won't be enough."

The current situation is delicate. HSBC, as Hong Kong's super financial giant, is not short of money.

They have money in their accounts!

And there's a lot of money involved.

They just don't have any cash!

This is dying.

Ordinary citizens want cash, not cold numbers on a bank account.

But HSBC couldn't come up with that much money.

The old man is very troubled:
"What can you do?"

The company secretary looked around and gritted his teeth, saying:

"Why don't we print more banknotes?"

The old man glared at him:
“We print money according to a plan; how can we just print it whenever we want?”

The company secretary smiled wryly:
"Sir, we have money!"

"Once we get through this difficult time and accept depositors again, we can destroy the deposits as long as we have enough depositors."

"No problem."

In fact, this is how currency issuance is usually done most of the time: old currency is withdrawn and destroyed, and an equal amount of new currency is issued, so as not to cause currency instability.

Of course, there are also cases of additional share issuance, which mostly occur when the economy is growing rapidly.

HSBC happens to have the right to issue currency.

The old man shook his head:
"no!"

The company secretary panicked:

"why not?"

The old man remained very calm.

“We are not the only ones in Hong Kong with the right to issue currency.”

“Once new currency is introduced into the market, it can be easily detected.”

"By then, we'll both be in jail."

"HSBC's reputation is indeed very valuable, but my reputation is even more valuable."

"Do you really want to trade your happiness for the rest of your life to save HSBC?"

The company secretary remained silent.

HSBC isn't his personal HSBC, so why should he have to trade his freedom and happiness for the rest of his life?
He is definitely not that great.

The old man said calmly:
"There's no need to say anything else."

"This approach won't work."

The company secretary smiled wryly:
"So, besides this method, what other way is there to save HSBC?"

The old man pinched the bridge of his nose:
"There's always a way out."

The company secretary secretly grimaced. What could be done?

He's already tried every possible solution, and at least for now, there's no other way.

At least in Hong Kong, there is no way to save HSBC.

The old man suddenly said:
"You just said that Chongqing reported on the news about the young tycoon and Shen Daban yesterday?"

The company secretary replied with a stern face:

"Yes!"

"I suspect there are people from headquarters pulling the strings behind the scenes; they've been eyeing us for a long time."

The old man stood there stunned for a long time, then suddenly sighed:

"If we really reach a point where there's no other way, what's wrong with bowing our heads?"

The company secretary didn't understand the old man's meaning for a moment. He pondered it silently, then suddenly realized what he meant and exclaimed in shock:
"Sir, do you mean we should request reinforcements from headquarters?"

The old man seemed to have aged many years in an instant.
"This is a last resort."

"Just wait and see, if the bank run can't be stopped by tomorrow, if people can't be encouraged to save tomorrow..."

"Perhaps, the headquarters in Fog City is our last hope."

The company secretary smiled wryly:
“Shen Daban would never do that.”

The old man suddenly became angry:

"Don't mention that damn guy to me, isn't he the one who caused all this trouble?!"

(End of this chapter)