I am a necromancer, and I absolutely love America.

Chapter 235 Professional Ethics of Bank Executives

Sterling smiled, but his words were direct and decisive, rejecting Catherine's request.

Catherine wasn't in a hurry at all. She listened quietly until the end before saying, "Mellon Bank hasn't disbursed the loan yet, right?"

Sterling shrugged and smiled. "No."

He didn't even bother to hide his attitude.

Does this woman really think she can stop Mellon Bank from issuing loans with just a few words?

too naive.

Catherine indeed said, "I hope Mellon Bank doesn't lend money to Harkers."

Sure enough... Sterling's first reaction upon hearing this was to laugh.

Does this foolish woman think Mellon Bank is the finance department of a newly established company?

To be honest, Sterling had encountered many clients who tried to use the bank to attack competitors, but never one...

This person is so outrageous that he directly asked the bank to adjust his loan amount to facilitate a business acquisition.

Sterling relaxed and leaned back in his chair.

Clearly, this woman, who has only recently risen from a small-time businesswoman to the president of a large company, is completely incompetent.

“Ms. Catherine Dixon, you may not understand how complicated this matter is. If I wanted to do it, how many layers of approval would I have to go through within the bank, how many contracts would I have to revise, and how many meetings would I have to coordinate to get it done?” Sterling's smile faded, and he said calmly, “Besides, Mellon Bank is a commercial bank, not a charity, nor is it a toy in your hands. Banks make money through interest rate spreads and fees. If I were to refuse a loan that a client had agreed upon without a reason, not to mention whether Harker would be angry and refuse to continue working with Mellon Bank, causing me to lose this major client and suffer losses of more than ten million dollars over the next few years, just personally… I wouldn't do something so unethical.”

"Madam, I understand the pressure you're under right now, but I simply don't have a valid reason to explain to my loan committee why I would default on a long-term client."

"And what I just mentioned is only the apparent loss. If this gets to other clients' ears, they will worry that Mellon Bank might collude with competitors to sabotage them at a crucial moment. A bank's most core asset is trust, not deposits. Although Mr. Haxes' company brings Mellon Bank only average profits each year, his trust is even more important! Once this matter is exposed, the reactions of other clients, the damage to the bank's reputation, and the potential lawsuits will be disastrous for both me and Mellon Bank. Perhaps you haven't considered these risks and losses I will face."

"I, Sterling Callahan, am a man of professional ethics; I would never do such a thing!"

Sterling's words were resounding.

Catherine remained unfazed, waiting for him to finish before calmly saying, "If you're willing to cooperate, the new company will place its corporate account in Mellon Bank for daily operations, supply chain payments, employee salaries, and future sales revenue from ACE products. I believe you're well aware of the scale of this funding."

Huh? Sterling's hand stopped.

this...

Sterling regretted making such a bold statement earlier.

To buy himself time to think, he discreetly picked up his cup, took a sip, and began to ponder quickly.

The new company is a company with assets of at least tens of billions.

Moreover, the new company's business prospects are far better than those of the Haxes Hotel Group!

Newborn is a technology company that possesses cutting-edge, monopolistic technologies.

The scale of this technology company's cash flow, loans, and daily operations far exceeds that of Hax's real estate company.

If Catherine keeps her promise and puts all of the new company's accounts in Mellon Bank, it means that Mellon Bank will have another client worth tens of billions!

The annual revenue and deposit balance generated by the new company are enough to cover Hax's losses by several times.

The financial size of the newly established company.

Production, sales, and payment collection for ACER products under development.

The overall financing needs of the Bellow Group after the acquisition.

These numbers raced through Sterling's mind, and he immediately forgot about professional ethics and the bank's reputation.

What kind of bullshit reputation is this?

What kind of blah blah shit is this?!

If there's enough profit, he'd dare to take off his underwear and dance in front of the White House!

Sterling looked at Catherine again, trying to suppress the eagerness in his eyes: "Hacks is a long-term client of Mellon Bank. The hotel group's annual interest income, deposit balance, and derivative transactions with Mellon Bank are very considerable."

"If we cooperate with you to suppress him, he may terminate all dealings with Mellon Bank, and may even sue us. Shouldn't this loss also be included in the calculation?"

"In reality, no bank wants to damage or ruin its long-term relationship with an existing customer for the sake of a new one."

Sterling was being pretentious, though of course that was just talk.

The asset size of Haxes' hotel group is actually very small compared to the size of the new company.

However, Haxes' business is stable, and the new company is in the expansion phase.

Expansion means huge and frequent loan demand, account growth, and more fee income.

His position at Mellon Bank has remained at this level for many years.

If he can personally bring in a client worth tens of billions, it will give him the opportunity to be promoted!

If the newly established company grows into a company worth hundreds of billions in the future...

This is quite possible, because the new company possesses a monopolistic ACER technology.

That would be of immense help to Sterling's career!

The Hax Group is good, but this major client wasn't developed by Sterling; it was a client inherited from his predecessor.

And the newly established company was one of his new clients!

For Sterling, these are two completely different concepts!

Catherine's voice remained calm: "No problem. I can issue a written commitment on behalf of New Life Company: for the next three years, all of New Life Company's loan business will be given priority to Mellon Bank under the same conditions. This includes all financing projects, including asset integration financing after the acquisition of Bellow Group, as well as any future liquidity needs. This commitment can be written into a memorandum and will be legally binding."

For Catherine, this condition didn't matter; it didn't matter which bank she borrowed from anyway.

Sterling couldn't hold back any longer; his eyes became completely eager, and he looked at Catherine with the eyes of a god of wealth.

If the new company acquires the Bellow Group, it will need a lot of working capital to integrate hundreds of chain stores, which will be used for hiring, purchasing new equipment, renovation, building factories, and putting ACER products into production.

Every step here involves huge loan demands, enough to offset the losses from losing the Hacks Property & Hotel Group!

Catherine continued, "If Harkers sues Mellon Bank, you should have perfectly reasonable grounds to respond, right? If you can't even do that, it just makes me seriously doubt your professional competence."

"Of course I can handle it!" Sterling's mindset had completely changed. Forget about old clients; he was now considering Catherine's best interests. "We can refine this process. I can submit a proposal to the loan committee to reduce Harker's loan amount to $30 billion, with a slight increase in interest. The reason given is the downgrade in collateral valuation due to changes in the macroeconomic environment."

Sterling's approach was cunning; he didn't refuse to lend, but rather lent less.

Sigh, you can't say I breached the contract, can you?

That at least explains it.

Although we had agreed on the amount of the loan secured by the collateral beforehand, things can change in an instant.

Catherine frowned in dissatisfaction: "What I need is for him to withdraw, just by lowering the loan amount. He might be able to quickly raise some money through other means, make up the difference, and then compete with me again."

Sterling explained, "Completely refusing Hax would only enrage him and put me in a passive, defendant-like position. In fact, even if I gave Hax money, I could still cooperate with you to ensure he posed no threat to you."

Catherine frowned: "Oh? What action?"

"It's simple. We just need to make some technical adjustments to the loan disbursement timeline." Sterling had completely sold off Hax. He lowered his voice and said softly, "As far as I know, the second round of bidding for Bello is in five days. According to my and Hax's previous agreement, Mellon Bank will disburse the loan to Hax the day after tomorrow. I will first do some internal maneuvering and find a reason to delay the time to four days later, which is the last day before the bidding."

"Then, I will communicate with some members of the loan committee to ensure that on the fourth day, one of them raises an objection and suddenly reduces the loan amount. Finally, I will inform Mr. Hax of the unfortunate news that the loan amount has been reduced."

"I'll be very precise with the timing. If I say it too early, Hax will still have room to maneuver; if I say it too late, I won't be able to fulfill the contract with Hax, which would be a breach of contract. Four days later, I think, is a pretty good time..."

"No wonder he's in finance, he's really ruthless..." Catherine gave Sterling a deep look, but she didn't say anything. She just stood up, extended her hand, and smiled, "I will send a vice president over to discuss this matter with you in detail and sign an agreement as soon as possible."

Sterling laughed excitedly, "Melon Bank would be delighted to serve you!"

Catherine turned and left, a cold laugh running through her mind.

Businessmen are just that ruthless.

They said they wanted to serve their old customers, but when they saw a bigger profit, they didn't hesitate to sell out their old customers, even sharing their losses with new customers.

A private bank is talking to me about credit?

ridiculous!

It's all about profit.

As long as the new company can provide Mellon Bank with more benefits, Catherine is not worried that Mellon Bank will turn against her.

Of course, even if Sterling dares to betray them, the master will make Sterling and the entire Mellon Bank pay an unimaginable price.

Mann drove Zhang Bo into Baytop Villa. When they arrived at No. 1200, Mann felt a pang of emotion upon seeing a row of black SUVs parked outside.

The owner of this house is no longer someone he can easily judge.

He still remembers the scene when he first met Richard.

Unexpectedly, the situation has changed so drastically in such a short time.

People from Tokyo University really like to keep a low profile.

When he first met Richard, he never imagined that this young man would have such a great influence in the United States!

"Richard's backer is an incredibly powerful figure!" Mann said seriously.

Zhang Bo saw several bodyguards walk out of the room from the passenger seat, nodded in agreement, but did not speak.

He didn't tell Mann about the people and things he saw with his own eyes during the New Year.

Catherine, Christina, and Brian—these names alone carry enough weight, yet they all appear in the same room, and all maintain a certain level of familiarity with Richard, even displaying a somewhat subservient demeanor.

Zhang Bo couldn't explain why, but he could vaguely sense that these three people respected Richard the most!

In fact, this was completely beyond Zhang Bo's comprehension.

He didn't know how to describe the scene, but it was so clearly presented before his eyes.

Because of his father's business relationship with the Li family, Zhang Bo was very familiar with Li Weihong's capabilities.

Li Weihong is a typical businessman from a second-tier city.

Outside of second-tier cities, let alone in the United States, even in first-tier cities in Tokyo, they wouldn't be able to get by.

Richard's influence in the United States has now reached a level he could never have imagined!

Zhang Bo didn't know how Richard did it, and he didn't want to know.

All he needed to know was that Richard was a man beyond his wildest imagination.

A powerful figure had appeared before him, and he had gained a certain degree of trust due to the old relationship between the Li and Zhang families.

So what should we do next?

Even a fool knows that it's about clinging to Richard's coattails!

If he really manages to get this done, he won't just be a small-time real estate agent anymore; he might be able to build his real career on that foundation!

Zhang Bo knew that Richard was probably a once-in-a-lifetime benefactor.

I absolutely cannot let this opportunity slip by!

Zhang Bo composed himself and got out of the car with Mann.

The bodyguards had been notified in advance and stepped aside.

As Mann walked, he gave Zhang Bo a final introduction: "Mr. Li sent you here this time. House number 1200 was auctioned off by Ms. Catherine Dixon. She also signed a power of attorney, and Richard will complete the remaining contract signing. Ms. Catherine Dixon is too busy and probably won't have time to come back to sign the documents."

"OK." Zhang Bo tried to remain calm and followed them into room 1300.

The two entered the living room, where Richard was sitting on the sofa waiting. When he saw them come in, he stood up and greeted them.

Richard even patted Zhang Bo on the shoulder, showing great affection.

This made Mann glance at Zhang Bo a few more times. Zhang Bo was both excited and nervous, as today's transaction could determine the future of his career!

He couldn't help but be nervous.

Mann said softly, "Mr. Li, these are all the necessary documents to be signed."

"Please sit down." Richard sat down and took the documents.

Mann sat down beside Richard and leaned over to explain the key points and crucial aspects of the conversation.

Zhang Bo only dared to sit in a corner, his body ramrod straight.

Richard didn't rush to sign; he looked at it carefully.

One should always be wary of others.

Although he could tell that Mann and Zhang Bo meant him no harm, it was still better to be cautious.

The two men stood quietly and patiently beside Richard, waiting for him to review the documents.

At that moment, a burly bodyguard walked in, carrying a tablet computer. He approached Richard and said in a low voice, "Sir, we need your confirmation on the lighting system for the backyard pool area. Also, the construction team asked if we want 1300..."

Should the perimeter lights on that side of the fence also be connected to the main control system of number 1200, or should they be connected to a separate line?

He then explained some of the solutions provided by the designers.

After listening, Richard said bluntly, "Connect to the main control system, and also cover the other side of the perimeter wall."

The bodyguard responded, "Also, Madam has made adjustments to the lighting scheme for the courtyard over at number 1200. She wants to change the color tone of the lights to be warmer."

Richard shook his head: "No, it's still the original design."

"OK." The bodyguard then asked, "You previously requested that the floor of Miss's practice room be reinforced. Will that also be done during this renovation?"

"Completed in one go."

Zhang Bo sat to the side, watching the bodyguard report to Richard.

He soon noticed something odd about one of the titles.

The bodyguards addressed Richard as Mr., Catherine as Mrs., and Debbie as Miss.

This title...

That's really bizarre.

What exactly is the relationship between these three people?!

Wasn't Richard supposed to be Debbie's boyfriend?

How should I address you, sir?

Mann also noticed this detail, exchanged a glance with Zhang Bo, and said nothing.

The family relationships of the wealthy are always chaotic, so the smart thing to do is to pretend you don't know.

Furthermore, he noticed that Richard, when giving orders, didn't seem to consider Catherine's feelings at all.

It seems that this house is like number 1300. Number 1300 was bought in Christina's name, while this house was bought in Catherine's name. In reality, it is probably Richard's property.

This young student from Tokyo University is still hiding his wealth; he's just now in a different owner...

Richard quickly flipped through the document, signed it, and handed it to Mann. Then he looked at Zhang Bo and asked, "Zhang Bo, do you know anything about real estate in Princeton?"

Zhang Bo was surprised. He had been thinking about how to communicate with Richard, but Richard actually called out his name. He quickly sat up straight and smiled, "I do know a bit about high-end properties near Princeton, but not as much as Mr. Mann. Mr. Mann might know more."

'

Richard didn't respond, but simply said, "Zhang Bo, I need a truly luxurious estate, not just any ordinary villa. It needs to be secluded, with a private driveway, a complete security perimeter, at least five acres of land and gardens—the bigger the better. It shouldn't be too far from Princeton University's campus by car. I'd like to entrust this matter to you; the brokerage fee will be the market rate."

The reason he wants to buy a house in Princeton is that he is about to start attending Princeton University.

He couldn't stay in the Princeton dorms long-term; he needed a safe and secure place to live.

Currently, Richard always carries the bone beads of the Bone Guardian with him.

This is not the optimal deployment method.

He will have more skeleton guardians in the future, and he needs a stable storage location to conduct some research on them.

Although the house is safe enough now, it still doesn't allow him to study the Bone Guardian with peace of mind.

He needs a more private place.

Mann glanced at Zhang Bo with envy and immediately added, "No problem. Our company has a reserve of high-end properties. Zhang Bo can access the relevant resources."

Zhang Bo was so excited he could hardly contain himself, repeatedly saying, "Thank you, thank you for your trust."

Richard stood up and smiled, "Okay, that's settled then. Send me the listings as soon as you find them. Don't rush, but it would be best to give me a preliminary list as soon as possible so I can see it."

"Don't worry! I'll get back and get it sorted out!"

Zhang Bo thanked her several times before leaving with Mann. It wasn't until he got back to the car that he realized what had just happened.

Originally, he was just a small real estate agent dealing in properties worth less than 100 million.

Logically speaking, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to deal with properties worth tens of millions for at least 20 years.

Then, Richard promoted him to an unimaginable level all at once.

Estates of 5 acres or more!

It's also near New York and Princeton.

That's a top-tier luxury home in the 3000-5000 million range!

It's one of the best in the entire United States!

For a Chinese real estate agent, this was almost the pinnacle of Zhang Bo's career.

Mann started the engine and drove out of the gate of Bay Ridge Villa before saying with emotion, "You've met a benefactor, Zhang Bo. You must serve Li well. You may only encounter something like this once in your life."

I don't know why he trusts you so much...

'

Zhang Bo said excitedly, "I don't know why he trusts me. Maybe it's because we're both from Dongda University."

Really? You really don't know? Mann gave Zhang Bo a deep look. He could guess that Zhang Bo had hidden some key information, but since things had come to this point, he didn't dwell on it any longer.

"How Richard remembers you isn't important; he's already called your name." Mann sighed. "You absolutely must do well this time. If you do well this time, Mr. Li and his friends will come to you again if they have similar needs. This is your first big client. I admit I envy your luck. It took me 15 years to get in touch with mansions worth over 2000 million, and you..."

Mann gave a wry smile.

He certainly wanted to take the business for himself, but the client had already chosen Zhang Bo, and he couldn't force the client to choose him.

In this situation, rather than letting jealousy cloud my judgment, I should focus on maintaining a good relationship with Zhang Bo.

In this way, when Zhang Bo has more major clients in the future, he can also participate as a partner.

Zhang Bo said excitedly, "Mr. Mann, thank you so much for your help. I will remember you."

He had already begun to mentally assess potential properties for Richard.

On the outskirts of New Jersey stands a baking factory with a gray metal facade, one of the Vaughn family's properties.

Alger's black SUV drove into the factory area.

The youngest son, Langdon, who is in his thirties, was playing on his phone with his head down, as if waiting for a boring trip to end naturally.

Alger was immediately displeased when he saw Langdon's attire.

Even though he had clearly told Langdon that he was going to inspect the factory today, Langdon was still wearing a sequined leather jacket with the collar open and his hair dyed in various colors. He didn't look like a Harvard elite at all, but more like a star going to a speech contest.

Damn!

How could I possibly hand over my business to this unreliable guy?

Alger suppressed his anger, and the factory manager eagerly opened the door for him. Alger got out of the car.

Langdon was still playing on his phone, not moving an inch.

Knock, knock, knock! Alger knocked on the car window from outside and said coldly, "Get out, we're here."

"Coming! Coming!" Langdon muttered irritably, then put down his phone after about ten seconds, opened the car door, and got out.

As soon as he got out of the car, Langdon stretched and then covered his nose in disgust: "This place smells awful."

Alger frowned, too lazy to waste words with this guy, and turned to walk towards the factory entrance, asking as he went, "I..."

"What is the current coffee bean supply situation?"