Rebirth of the Hong Kong Millennium Conglomerate

Chapter 70 Bank Run

Although Qian Gu Securities had already cashed out and left, its subsidiary "Qian Gu Bank," as a medium-sized bank, would inevitably be affected by the bank run.

"We have to go and check it out to make sure that Qian Gu Bank can weather this crisis smoothly, and we need to prepare in advance!"

Zhang Zeyang made a quick decision, finished his breakfast, and stood up to instruct the butler, Li Fu, "Prepare the car; I'm going to the bank. Also, have the security personnel take Lingyun to school; please be careful on the way."

Since the stock market crash and the social situation became turbulent, Zhang Zeyang has been particularly worried about his sister's safety, and he reminds the security personnel to pick her up and drop her off safely every day.

Ten minutes later, Zhang Zeyang changed his clothes and walked out of the villa.

A black Rolls-Royce was already waiting at the door, and the driver respectfully opened the door for him.

The car slowly drove away from Repulse Bay and headed towards Central along the coastline.

Along the way, he saw long queues outside many banks, and the anxious faces of depositors and the figures of police maintaining order confirmed his judgment.

Zhang Zeyang leaned back in his leather seat, looking at the scene outside. Instead of panicking, a surge of excitement rose within him. Crisis, crisis, but within crisis lies opportunity.

If Qian Gu Bank can stand firm in this storm, or even rise against the trend, it will not only be able to completely break free from the constraints of a mid-sized bank, but also join the ranks of Hong Kong's top financial institutions by relying on its soaring credibility.

The car came to a smooth stop in front of Qian Gu Bank. The entrance to the bank was already packed with depositors.

I

The line stretched from the entrance all the way to the roadside. Security personnel linked arms to form a human wall, trying their best to maintain order, but they could hardly calm the depositors' agitated emotions.

"Is Qian Gu Bank going to go bankrupt too?"

Shouts of "Let us in!" echoed throughout the area, with some agitated depositors even attempting to break through the human wall, creating a tense atmosphere that was on the verge of exploding.

Zhang Zeyang opened the car door, and the driver immediately stepped forward to push through the crowd and head towards the bank entrance.

The depositors along the way looked at Zhang Zeyang and his group, and many of them looked at him with puzzled eyes.

As soon as I entered the bank lobby, a cacophony of noise hit me. The staff behind the counters were working frantically, their fingers flying across the keyboards, and the money counting machines whirring incessantly.

In the center of the hall, a middle-aged man in a dark blue suit and gold-rimmed glasses stood beside a makeshift platform, methodically directing operations through a megaphone: "Attention all windows, prioritize withdrawal requests from the elderly and disabled. Explain the situation patiently to depositors and avoid causing conflict!"

"The funds allocation team should immediately contact all branches to release all idle cash!"

"The public relations department will immediately contact the media and release an official statement!"

This man is Li Bin, the president of Qian Gu Bank.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Li Bin turned around and saw Zhang Zeyang. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He immediately gave a few instructions through the loudspeaker and walked over quickly.

"Boss, you've finally arrived!" Li Bin extended his hand and shook hands firmly with Zhang Zeyang. His voice carried a hint of fatigue, but more so, it was calm.

"The situation is quite urgent. Depositors are very agitated. Since we opened this morning, more than 2,000 depositors have come to withdraw cash, and cash consumption is more than ten times higher than usual."

Zhang Zeyang nodded, his gaze sweeping over the anxious crowd in the hall, and said in a deep voice, "I saw everything. Let's talk in your office first."

"Okay, this way please." Li Bin stepped aside and led Zhang Zeyang through the crowded lobby and into the private elevator.

The elevator doors slowly closed, shutting out the noise outside. Li Bin finally breathed a sigh of relief and gave a brief report on the current situation: "After the news of Wing Hang Bank's bankruptcy spread, we strengthened our vigilance. We had already allocated some cash yesterday, but we didn't expect the scale of today's bank run to be so large."

However, please rest assured that our current cash reserves are sufficient to support the supply, and there has been no disruption to the supply chain.

Upon arriving at the bank manager's office, Li Bin opened the door and poured Zhang Zeyang a glass of warm water. As soon as they sat down, Zhang Zeyang gave them a direct instruction: "Manager Li, immediately take stock of the bank's cash reserves and high-quality assets, and prepare for a large-scale bank run. There can be no oversights."

However, Li Bin's response exceeded Zhang Zeyang's expectations.

He took a thick report from his desk drawer and handed it over, saying, "Boss, no need for inventory, I've already done it beforehand. This is the latest balance sheet. As you can see, our current cash reserves are as high as HK$82 billion, and our high-quality assets, including bonds and real estate mortgages, total HK$156 billion. Meanwhile, our non-performing loan ratio is only 0.8%, far below the industry average."

Zhang Zeyang took the report and quickly flipped through it, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He knew Li Bin was a reliable and steady person, but he hadn't expected the other party to have such a forward-thinking plan. "You predicted this all along?"

"At the end of last year, when the stock market was in a frenzy that went against reason, I felt the risks were too great," Li Bin explained. "At that time, many banks were issuing stock loans like crazy, but I felt that this bubble would burst sooner or later, so I started to take precautions from November last year."

Starting in [month], we gradually withdrew a batch of high-risk stock-pledged loans, while simultaneously reducing new lending and focusing on attracting long-term deposits and funds from high-quality corporate clients. Unexpectedly, my guess was right.

Zhang Zeyang put down the report, secretly rejoicing. When he initially approached Li Bin, he was drawn to his abilities, and now it seemed that decision was absolutely correct.

At this moment, Li Bin changed the subject and expressed his concerns: "Boss, although we have sufficient funds and are not afraid of a bank run, if we allow depositors to withdraw cash without limit, on the one hand, our cash will be depleted too quickly, and on the other hand, many depositors may transfer their funds to other banks out of panic, resulting in the loss of our customers."

"Do you think we should follow the example of other banks and appropriately limit the amount customers can withdraw? For example, a maximum of HKD 1 per person per day. This would stabilize cash flow and alleviate pressure."

Zhang Zeyang did not respond immediately. Instead, he walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looked at the still long queue downstairs, and fell into deep thought.

Li Bin's proposal seems reasonable, but it only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause. Restricting withdrawals, while temporarily reducing cash outflow, will further exacerbate depositors' panic.

This could ultimately trigger a larger-scale bank run and even damage the bank's reputation.

Memories of his past life flashed through his mind—some of the banks that suffered from bank runs became infamous for blindly restricting withdrawals and eventually went bankrupt.

Some, on the other hand, have expanded against the trend by taking bold measures.

The most classic example is demonstrating strong financial strength to dispel depositors' panic and cause a bank run to collapse on its own.

A brief silence fell over the office. Li Bin sat to the side, not disturbing the conversation.

He understood Zhang Zeyang's personality; the more critical the moment, the more calm thinking was needed, and this silence was precisely the process of making a decision.

Sunlight streamed through the glass window, casting a long shadow on the floor, with only the ticking of the wall clock in the air.

A full ten minutes passed before Zhang Zeyang slowly turned around and said, "We will not restrict customers from withdrawing money."

Li Bin was stunned for a moment, and just as he was about to speak up to persuade them, he heard Zhang Zeyang continue, "Restricting withdrawals is a last resort; it will only make customers more panicked."

We must do the opposite, using the most direct and impactful methods to convince all depositors that Qian Gu Bank has no shortage of funds and that their deposits are absolutely safe.

"So you mean—" A hint of curiosity flashed in Li Bin's eyes.

"First thing tomorrow morning, have someone remove some of the gold from the vault."

Then Zhang Zeyang pointed his finger and said, "Take a billion US dollars worth of gold and display it in a specially made transparent display case in the most conspicuous place in the lobby of the bank's headquarters, so that every depositor who walks in can see it clearly."

Gold worth a billion US dollars!

Li Bin gasped, his eyes wide with shock. He knew the bank vault held a large amount of gold, but withdrawing such a massive sum at once was unprecedented.

This requires not only enormous human and material resources, but also immense courage. The consequences would be unimaginable if any flaws occurred during the gold exhibition.

But before he could think it through, Zhang Zeyang's next words made him suddenly realize: "At the same time, you should immediately contact the editor-in-chief of Qian Gu Daily and ask them to fully cooperate with our publicity efforts."

The newspaper's front page and full page featured a headline that was eye-catching, with the core message being: Qian Gu Bank has abundant funds and ample gold reserves, and depositors can withdraw their funds at any time; whether or not to withdraw their deposits is entirely up to them.

In addition, they were instructed to send photographers to take pictures of the gold display, to convey confidence to depositors to the greatest extent possible.

Also, contact Qian Gu Security Company and have them handle the security tasks; absolutely no problems can occur!

Upon hearing this, Li Bin instantly understood Zhang Zeyang's deeper meaning. Rather than making empty promises, it was better to demonstrate strength with real money.

The fact that a billion dollars worth of gold is displayed in the lobby is the most powerful proof and can dispel depositors' doubts more effectively than any publicity.

Extensive media coverage can not only stabilize existing customers but may even attract more new customers to deposit money.

"Boss, your idea is absolutely brilliant!" Li Bin stood up excitedly, slapping the table in admiration. "This way, we can not only resolve the current bank run crisis, but also take this opportunity to enhance the bank's reputation and credibility—it's a win-win situation!"

"That's right. This crisis is a challenge for us, but also an opportunity. As long as we handle it properly, Qian Gu Bank can stand out from this storm and become the most trusted bank for the people of Hong Kong."

"I'll arrange it right away!" Li Bin didn't hesitate any longer. He picked up the phone on his desk and began to systematically deploy various tasks.

He first called the vault manager and asked him to immediately take stock of the gold reserves, and then arranged for the logistics department to prepare specially made transparent display cases.

Subsequently, he contacted Fang Wenshan, the person in charge of Qian Gu Daily, and conveyed Zhang Zeyang's requirements in detail, emphasizing the importance of this publicity campaign.

He then instructed the public relations department to prepare official statements and press releases, ready to be released to the media at any time.

Finally, Li Bin called Zhao Gang of Qian Gu Security and conveyed Zhang Zeyang's instructions, asking him to arrange reliable security personnel to be in charge of security for the next few days.

Zhang Zeyang also believes that this gold, worth one billion US dollars, can not only stabilize depositors' confidence and resolve the bank run crisis, but also enable the bank to grow stronger against the trend in this financial storm sweeping Hong Kong!

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