"Sheng Chen, a friend from the Independent Commission Against Corruption told me that Hisense Bank intended to give them some benefits, letting them turn a blind eye and investigate the matter later, but the expression was very vague and there was no way to pursue it." After Li Haonan got the news, he immediately found Chen Zhiwen to report.
"I'm smarter. I don't want to escape. I just want to postpone it. This is Hisense's only chance at the moment, although the possibility of turning around is not high." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. Over the years, Chen Zhiwen's group has grown in Hong Kong. Its influence is no less than that of HSBC and Jardine Matheson. Naturally, it has many friends in the Z community, and the same goes for the Independent Commission Against Corruption. However, there are no illegal transactions. Just the tax payment and the employment generated by Midea are enough to make the Hong Kong Governor's Government They all showed courtesy to them.
"The ICAC has rejected them and has now stationed at Hisense Bank to investigate. However, because many transactions involve overseas banks, the Hong Kong government still needs to apply to overseas banks. This process may take some time." Li Haonan said.
"Then we can't wait anymore. There's no need to wait so long." Chen Zhiwen paused and said, "How is the run on Hisense Bank now?"
"People are already withdrawing money from Hisense's more than 40 branches in Hong Kong, as well as the two branches in Macau. But at present, it is estimated that tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars are being withdrawn every day, which is not very serious. Hisense seems to be able to withstand it. In addition, Hisense’s senior management has refused to admit that it concealed bad debts several times, and the Hong Kong government will not release information at will because there is not enough evidence.” Li Haonan said.
"Then it looks like we have to push it again. Check out which major bank customers Hisense currently has. We will give them some benefits and let them go to the bank to withdraw money on a large scale. If there is any interest loss, we will To compensate, we must cause a run in a short time." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.
After all, it is the third largest local bank in Hong Kong. It has a history of 30 years and is also very well-known in Hong Kong. As there is no confirmation of the news yet, it only relies on a report from an internal employee and there is no official announcement from the government. It is still not enough for many people to withdraw money at the risk of losing interest on their deposits. Otherwise, if any bank insider reports it, everyone will be run, and the financial system will be in trouble.
It turns out that the great crash in history was caused by the fact that the losses were much greater than they are now, and Hong Kong officials announced the news, which led to a great run.
In the absence of other big news stimulation, a run on the bank will either become more serious and collapse when it reaches a critical point, or depositors will stop withdrawing money when they see that there is no problem with the bank, and eventually subside.
Although Chen Zhiwen knows that Hisense Bank has more than 60 million US dollars in bad debts, but relying on the Hong Kong government departments to investigate according to the procedures, he does not know that he will have to wait until the end of the year of the monkey. An example that can be referred to is the Jiani Group that was originally investigated next year. It took a year or two to convict a bunch of Jianing's top executives, and that was only for a small part of their crimes. There was no evidence at all for the rest, even though they knew there were problems.
Chen Zhiwen was not willing to wait that long. For him, banks played an important role in the subsequent real estate crisis.
Li Haonan nodded and said, "Okay, that's no problem, and it doesn't require a lot of funds. As long as these people withdraw a few hundred million, Hisense Bank will collapse immediately."
Hisense's deposits are 12 billion, and it is estimated that only about 2 billion can be used for its own use. Once a few hundred million are withdrawn, the funds will shrink immediately. The Financial Management Bureau is also watching Hisense and will definitely require them to replenish it immediately, plus appropriate The media's campaign can easily attract more depositors to withdraw their money, especially those who have just saved it for a short period of time. There is not much interest anyway, and it will definitely feel more secure to withdraw it. Only those who have saved it for a long time are more entangled.
In addition to deposits, banks in Hong Kong are generally involved in investments, and these investors will probably do the same. When I withdraw the money, I can invest it myself or find another bank. Why put it in Hisense, which is risky?
All problems are confidence issues. Once social confidence is insufficient, banks will collapse immediately.
The cost they have to pay is not high. They only need to find some of Hisense Bank's big customers and compensate them for the loss of interest. And they will definitely give priority to those who have deposited money recently. Anyway, Hisense Bank is so big, there must be such depositors. Quite a few.
The Hong Kong real estate market has declined over the past year. Instead, many people have saved money because they have no place to invest. This has led to a decline in bank interest rates. In other words, it may only take 20 to 30 million to leverage 1 billion level deposits, and so many deposits.
"Then do it. I want to take down Hisense in the shortest time." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
A few days later, Hisense Bank, Admiralty Branch:
Inside the bank, many depositors are queuing up to withdraw money, and service staff are politely offering tea. At the same time, they advise customers who have not withdrawn money to think about it carefully and explain the pros and cons of withdrawing money.
This is a task assigned by the superiors before, to win back customers with the best service. The air conditioners in the bank can be turned on to the coolest level, and each branch has specially prepared tea, drinks, and candies for customers to enjoy.
I don’t know whether it’s because of the good service provided by their branches or because of the good publicity promoted by the leaders in the media. In the past few days, fewer and fewer people have come to withdraw money, and among those who come to withdraw money every day, only 10% of them have been persuaded to withdraw money. More and more customers are giving up. As long as no other accidents occur, it is unlikely that a run will occur.
Suddenly, a Rolls-Royce parked at the door of the bank. This was obviously illegal parking. However, the security guard outside the bank hesitated for a moment and still did not come forward. He did not dare to offend the owner of such a car. If you get angry, the bank will not offend a big customer for a security guard.
The driver of the Rolls-Royce got out of the car immediately after parking it, then walked to the back and opened the door. A man about 50 years old, thin but energetic, walked out of the car. The sky was already starting to fall. After the light rain stopped, the men in suits in other cars immediately stepped forward and opened rows of umbrellas to form a road.
The movement outside naturally alerted the account manager in the bank. She immediately came out and said with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Zhao."
The visitor is a well-known real estate developer in Admiralty. He has developed several properties in Admiralty and owns many properties. He has dozens of street-facing properties on the famous Zhengyi Road in Admiralty District, known as Zhao Style. Street, although there is still a big gap compared with those well-known real estate developers, he can still be regarded as a local hegemon. It is said that this person has a certain relationship with Hutchison Whampoa. He once took over several Hutchison Whampoa properties a few years ago. Small business, make a fortune from this.
"Yes." Zhao Chengwei nodded, then walked into the bank and said to the unknown account manager beside him: "I'm here to withdraw money."
"Withdraw money?" The account manager was stunned for a moment, then asked with a smile: "Does Mr. Zhao have any big business? Our bank can also transfer funds or provide you with checks?"
"What? When I withdraw my money, do I still need to report the purpose to you?" Zhao Chengwei said coldly. If it were several senior executives or shareholders of Hisense Bank, then he would still give some face, but an account manager , but I am not qualified to make irresponsible remarks to him. After all, he is worth hundreds of millions. Although he is not a wealthy person in Hong Kong, it is not his turn to waste time with an ordinary person.
"No, no need. I wonder how much Mr. Zhao needs to withdraw?" the account manager immediately replied politely. Zhao Chengwei's voice was quite loud just now, and with the arrival of the owner of the Rolls-Royce, everyone in the bank calmed down and paid attention. Basically, everyone in the bank has heard it. Hisense Bank is currently at the forefront of the storm. He dare not say anything more, otherwise unscrupulous reporters will make the news. He doesn't know how the bank is doing, and he will definitely be exposed at any time. Expelled.
"These are my five accounts with Hisense. There are a total of 30 million funds in them. Some of them are deposits. I don't want the interest. I want to withdraw them all today." Zhao Chengwei moved his hand, and the person behind him immediately handed over all the deposit certificates and Information, etc.
"30 million?" Not only the account manager was shocked, but also other depositors on site. They were still debating whether to withdraw money. When they heard this number, they immediately made up their minds. Are you kidding? This person is withdrawing money. If they take away 30 million, will they still have any money?
The bank president had just come down. After hearing this number, he almost fainted. When he was in the office upstairs, he knew that a Rolls-Royce was coming down below, and he had to come down immediately to prepare to personally invite the guests to the VIP room. But I didn't expect it to be like this.
So, without waiting for others to react, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Sheng Zhao, there are a lot of people talking here. If you have any questions, how about we talk alone upstairs?"
"Okay." Zhao Chengwei nodded. He knew that there was a reporter here today and what he just said has been spread. It would be enough to achieve the first purpose.
Under everyone's surprised and hesitant eyes, Zhao Chengwei went up to the second floor. In the hall, everyone immediately made up their mind to take out the money first.
The president of Hisense Bank's Admiralty Branch was named Qian Lijiang. After taking Zhao Chengwei upstairs, he said, "Sheng Zhao, I don't know why you need to withdraw so much money. According to the bank agreement, you have lost up to one million funds. "
"Losing one million is better than losing 30 million. Do you still know the reason?" Zhao Chengwei didn't bother to talk nonsense and said directly.
"Sheng Zhao, the rumors in the street are not trustworthy. Our Hisense Bank has been based in Hong Kong for 30 years and has a scale of tens of billions. How could we make such a low-level mistake?" Qian Lijiang said immediately.
"Do you think I am one of those people below? Did your bank do that? Of course I have my own sources of information. Although there is no evidence, there is no smoke without fire. You don't have to ask too much about the deposits in the bank. It's my money, I can take it when I want, and you don't have to waste your time." Zhao Chengwei said straightforwardly.
"However, 30 million Hong Kong dollars is also a large amount of money. It will take us a long time to transfer such a large amount of cash. Even HSBC cannot withdraw so much in a short time." Qian Lijiang found another reason to delay road.
"That's right. I'm a reasonable person. If cash doesn't work, then just transfer money and transfer the funds directly to my account at HSBC. This should be completed in the afternoon, right?" Zhao Chengwei said lightly.
"Our branch cannot withdraw such a large amount of funds. We still need to apply to the head office." Qian Lijiang said with some embarrassment. Whether it is cash or transfer, Hisense is unwilling. Their liquidity is limited. Yes, I walked away with 30 million in one go. The higher-ups were not allowed to jump in, but luckily I persuaded the other party to use the transfer. Otherwise, if I took out so much cash, once it was photographed by a reporter, I would not be able to become popular again.
"Then apply. I once transferred 10 million in Bank of East Asia and only had to wait for one day. Hisense has always claimed to be larger than East Asia, so I will give you two days. That should be enough, right?" Zhao Chengwei said.
"Okay, then I will apply to the headquarters immediately." Qian Lijiang could only agree. He could not refuse, otherwise not only Zhao Chengwei would be anxious, but once he informed the people in his circle about the matter, it would immediately cause panic in the rich circle. At that time, there will be no need for ordinary people to squeeze in, and Hisense will not be able to bear it anymore. If a rich man takes away hundreds of millions or a dozen, Hisense will not be able to bear the burden and walk away.
"Okay, I'll come back in two days." Zhao Chengwei nodded and said, "Then I'll leave first."
"Then I'll see you off." Qian Lijiang stood up quickly, sent the other party away, and then returned to the office, looking at the phone in front of him, thinking about how to report this matter to the leaders at the headquarters.
The female secretary didn't know the situation, so she came over and said, "Sheng Qian, there are so many people withdrawing money downstairs, and they can't be persuaded at all."
"Do we have enough cash?" Qian Lijiang asked.
"There are still more than 3 million in cash in the library. If we continue to withdraw it like this, two or three days will not be enough. We don't know what will happen tomorrow." The female secretary said worriedly.
"I understand, you go down first. I need to call the headquarters first, and we will go there together later." Qian Lijiang said.
"Okay." The secretary left after saying that, and Qian Lijiang then made a call.
Hisense Bank Headquarters:
Xie Hongbing took the call, and within a minute, he immediately shouted: "What? Is there someone among you who withdraws so much money?"
Qian Lijiang, the other person on the phone, immediately asked, "What do you mean? Does this happen in other places too?"
Xie Hongbing said: "Yes, there are many rich people in Kowloon, Yuen Long and Tsim Sha Tsui asking for withdrawals, ranging from a few million to as much as 20 million. You are the one I know the most about at the moment. Personally, the withdrawal request has exceeded 100 million.”
"One hundred million?" Qian Lijiang suddenly felt that this matter was not that simple.
(End of chapter)
