50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 404 Making Money
"Mr. James, based on the value of the gold you currently hold in our bank, it can be used as collateral."

"No, it's not a mortgage."

"If I need a mortgage loan, why would I need to contact you? I can get a loan from any bank."

"What I need is an unsecured credit line of at least $2000 million."

"But sir, the amount you requested is indeed too high. Our bank has never issued such a high credit limit for a single person before."

Sun Zhiwei scoffed at his words.

Bank of California is no small bank; many of California's wealthiest individuals are its clients.

It's quite normal for high-end users to have credit lines of tens of millions of dollars. The fact that this manager, Johnson, didn't know only shows that he wasn't at the right level.

"Mr. Johnson, how many years have you worked at the Bank of California?"

"It's not a long time, but I've been a long-time employee of the Bank of California."

"I've been working at the Bank of California for 15 years now."

Johnson spoke modestly, but his words were incredibly arrogant; after all, being able to work at a major bank for over a decade was certainly something to be proud of.

"Fifteen years have passed, and you're still just an ordinary account manager. You don't even know the basic benefits for your bank's high-end clients. What does that say?"

Upon hearing this, Johnson opened his mouth awkwardly, but couldn't say anything.

Yes, if someone has worked for more than ten years and hasn't even reached a middle management level, then it means there is definitely something wrong with him.

Leaving aside this era, even if we push forward 30 years, those who have worked in a company for more than ten years and still haven't made it to management are considered lowly employees, and their chances of advancement in the future are slim.

During periods of economic hardship or when businesses encounter operational problems, these "oxen and horses" are among the first to be laid off.

Because they do not possess any indispensable attributes for a company.

Seeing Johnson fall silent, stunned by his words, Sun Zhiwei continued:

Do you know what you're lacking?

"What's missing?" Johnson asked instinctively.

"You're missing a high-end client as a stepping stone."

Sun Zhiwei wasn't just making this up. As long as Johnson could bring in a super-rich client, his status at the bank would immediately rise.

In the future, he will be able to access more high-end information and resources, which is a promotion in rank.

Although Johnson didn't have much talent, he had worked as an account manager for many years and had developed the ability to read people's expressions.

"You mean, you're that high-end client?"

“To you, I am that.” Sun Zhiwei was very confident about this.

Although he is not yet a tycoon, it is clear that his wealth is growing rapidly, of course, referring to his publicly known wealth.

His two gold mines will enter their peak production period this year, producing at least 4 to 5 ounces of gold per month.

Even at today's gold price, its value is over ten million US dollars, and that's just per month.

However, international gold prices are currently soaring.

Didn't you see him scraping together every penny to hold onto his gold and not sell it? He'll wait until the gold price peaks before dumping it all at once, which will bring him the biggest profit.

Even without considering the appreciation of his gold holdings, it's expected that his wealth will reach the level of a billionaire by the end of this year. This only includes gold; his other assets are not included.

If Johnson is obedient and useful, then Sun Zhiwei will be an opportunity for him. If Johnson is useless to Sun Zhiwei, then Sun Zhiwei will naturally make another choice.

Given Johnson's typically composed personality, he shouldn't be easily fooled by Sun Zhiwei's words.

But as they say, life's opportunities are truly wondrous. Now, the opportunity is right in front of us. Should we go left or right?

In a rare move, Johnson did not follow his own experience and understanding accumulated over the past decade, and decided to listen to his heart.

“Mr. James, I will do everything in my power to secure this credit line for you.” Johnson solemnly extended his right hand.

Upon seeing this, Sun Zhiwei burst into laughter and extended his right hand to shake hands with him.

"Then I'll wait for your good news. You only have three days. I'll fly to Seattle in three days. This is my phone number."

Sun Zhiwei handed over his business card and said goodbye to Johnson.

The next step is to see if he can secure this credit line. If not, he can always use the gold mine as collateral when he needs to cover the cost of that shipment of fertilizer.

The reason he didn't choose to use collateral initially was simply because he naturally distrusted these bankers.

Once the gold he deposited becomes collateral, as the art of war says, "the balance of power shifts," and the bank will then have the upper hand.

At that time, it wasn't up to Sun Zhiwei to make the decisions.

The bank can ask him to repay the loan early for any reason, and then confiscate the pledged gold at an extremely low price if he fails to repay on time.

It is very likely that this gold will not even cover the amount he borrowed, and he will have to use more of his assets to repay the remaining debt.

Everyone knows what happens to those who default on their mortgages.

These capitalists are experts at this kind of thing: selling umbrellas on sunny days and taking them back when it rains. They've done it before, and they'll continue to do it in the future.

As international gold prices continue to rise, the risks associated with this situation are gradually increasing, and Sun Zhiwei is unwilling to get himself into such trouble.

In fact, storing the gold from the mine in a California bank vault is not a safe practice.

Most gold mine owners build their own security teams, which is expensive, but at least they have more control.

A more advantageous approach would be to have one's own bank.

Therefore, there is no risk in storing gold in one's own bank, and these gold reserves can be used to enhance the bank's creditworthiness.

Building his own bank was out of the question; he didn't have anyone with the ability to run a bank, and such people wouldn't stay in a subordinate position for long. The only solution he could think of was to find a bank to invest in.

Based on his research and insights into the future, a good opportunity has now arisen.

Cathay Bank in Los Angeles was the first Chinese-owned bank founded in 1962 by Wu Pingyuan and his friends in Los Angeles, California.

He is currently using his Chinese identity to conduct various cross-border financial transactions involving Chinese people.

For example, it provides remittances to Chinese communities in Hong Kong Island, Taiwan, Borneo, Singapore, and other areas with large Chinese populations, as well as loan services for Chinese businesses.

Why is this year a good opportunity? Because Cathay Pacific officially enters its expansion phase this year.

It is preparing to open branches in New York State, Massachusetts, Seattle, Washington, and southern Texas to expand its business.

(End of this chapter)