Chapter 509: Calculating Two Major Banks

Temporary confusion, Liu Tianci also didn't bother to think too much, directly stating the two banks he had set his sights on: "Chairman, I intend to acquire Henglong Bank and Jiahua Bank, but the current owners of these two banks are unlikely to be interested in selling, which poses a challenge."

Upon hearing this, Xia Yu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Henglong Bank and Jiahua Bank were both long-established banks with Chinese capital. Although their strength was not as great as the current Jiuding Bank, they were considered top-tier among medium-sized banks.

Among them, Henglong Bank was stronger than Jiahua Bank.

When Xia Yu initially entered the banking industry, he specifically gathered basic information about the banking sector in Hong Kong. Coupled with his strong memory, he had a deep impression until now.

Founded in 1935 by the Sun family, Henglong Bank had been developed diligently over three generations of the Sun family, overcoming numerous hardships to grow into a medium-sized bank it is today.

Especially in the 1970s, the third-generation leader of the Sun family had ambitious plans, leading Henglong Bank to expand vigorously, resulting in rapid development.

However, unfortunately, in the sudden stock market crash of 1976, the Sun family suffered significant losses in their other industries, and most importantly, the ill effects of Henglong Bank's rapid expansion emerged. Many funds were not recovered, leading Henglong Bank into crisis and dragging down the entire Sun family.

Helpless, the Sun family had to make a painful decision, selling 80% of their shares to the Filipino Min businessmen Zhuang Rongkun and Zhuang Qingquan.

In recent years, the Zhuang brothers relied on the slogan "All Min businessmen are one family" to quickly align with the Min business association in Hong Kong, befriending a group of prominent Min businessmen such as Li Jiacheng, allowing Henglong Bank to speculate extensively in the real estate industry, achieving considerable success.

As for Jiahua Bank, with an even longer history, it was founded by Lin Zifeng in 1922 in Guangzhou. Over the decades, it had developed steadily and is now also a medium-sized bank.

However, after Lin Zifeng's death in 1971, subsequent generations were incapable and uninterested in managing the family's legacy, eventually selling the controlling interest to the Singaporean overseas businessmen Liu Cansong brothers in 1975.

Under the management of the Liu Cansong brothers, Jiahua Bank's client base mainly consisted of overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia, causing Hong Kong's peers to have increasingly shallow understanding of Jiahua Bank, thus becoming more cautious.

Nevertheless, it couldn't be denied that Jiahua Bank had developed its business well in Southeast Asia.

If both Henglong Bank and Jiahua Bank were acquired, the local strength of Jiuding Bank in Hong Kong would surge, while also opening up business in Southeast Asia, providing a huge boost to future development.

Of course, apart from these circumstances, Xia Yu also recalled many memories from his previous life.

It seemed that whether it was the Zhuang brothers or the Liu Cansong brothers, none were peace-loving individuals.

The Zhuang brothers were caught in the quagmire of irregular lending that led to financial crises, while Liu Cansong and his brother were even implicated in defrauding nearly 800 million yuan and were arrested by the police, eventually going into hiding.

So there were many ways to deal with such obviously vulnerable individuals.

There was no need to feel guilty about taking action, as both banks' current bosses were newcomers and not necessarily benevolent. It would be a waste for the banks to remain in their hands, and it would be more profitable to acquire them.

"Tianci, since you favor these two banks, then acquire them. As long as the operation is handled properly, even if they are unwilling to sell, they will have to sell, and the price won't be high."

After pondering for a moment, Xia Yu said to Liu Tianci.

"Chairman, please instruct!"

Liu Tianci's heart was filled with anticipation as he spoke, awaiting Xia Yu's specific instructions.

"Within ten days, I will have Jiuding Real Estate provide substantial loans to both banks. We'll drain their funds as much as possible. Then, not under the name of Jiuding Bank, prepare manpower to buy gold products from Henglong Bank and Jiahua Bank. The more, whether paper or physical gold, the better. We'll set traps for them!"

After Xia Yu finished speaking, a mysterious smile appeared on his lips.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Tianci revealed a fox-like smile and admired, "Chairman, this method is excellent. With substantial business opportunities knocking on their doors, Henglong Bank and Jiahua Bank will definitely not refuse. By setting traps for them, if they become greedy or fail in management, it won't be our fault even if it blows up in their faces!"

"Exactly! Haha!"

Xia Yu and Liu Tianci glanced at each other and burst into laughter.

Although Xia Yu was scheming against both banks, if they operated honestly and didn't succumb to the temptation of profits, then there wouldn't be any issues. Instead, they could profit greatly by providing large loans to Jiuding Real Estate Group.

But if they got greedy, this large cake would become poisonous, potentially costing them dearly.

Currently, Hong Kong was still under British control, and banks there generally offered gold products such as paper gold, physical gold, and consigned London gold. Even stores like Sherry's Gold Shop could open gold accounts and launch the "Thousand Feet Gold Accumulation Plan" to attract funds.

Despite Henglong Bank and Jiahua Bank's insufficient strength to qualify as London gold market makers, they could act as intermediaries, selling London gold for Hong Kong citizens. Selling first and then buying to cover would require some time and procedures but could earn fees. Similarly, deeper penetration into local gold prices could yield more profits.

With the funds of both banks tightening, selling more gold products would leave them with no money to buy London gold futures in the short term. If international gold prices suddenly skyrocketed, buying gold again would bleed them dry, definitely pushing their already stretched funds to the limit.

Of course, they could delay replenishment and wait for international gold prices to drop again before buying low.

However, the premise was that customers did not demand gold or delivery futures; otherwise, if the bank refused acceptance, things would definitely escalate into a major crisis, with a bank run storm erupting instantly.

Even banks could lose half their lives if they didn't die!

To avoid these situations, the only way was for both banks not to get greedy and to refrain from stretching themselves beyond limits to exploit time differentials for all business transactions.

However, since Xia Yu had made his calculations, he naturally had to find ways to succeed. Money paved the way—was it possible that the executives of both banks were all upright gentlemen?

Once he set his sights on these two banks, they couldn't expect to escape!

"Tianci, our bank's liquidity is not particularly large. Besides being used for targeted consumption against these two banks, there shouldn't be much left. If you want to speculate in gold, go to HSBC and Standard Chartered. I won't take you to London."

Xia Yu said again.

"Chairman, are you going to London?"

Liu Tianci looked at Xia Yu in surprise. He had just returned from the island nation after more than a month, and now he was going to London again!

"With such a large sum of money, Hong Kong cannot accommodate it!"

Xia Yu made it clear, and Liu Tianci nodded in understanding.

The chairman had brought back a large sum of money from the island nation, now lying in Jiuding Bank's account. With such a large amount of money, Hong Kong was unlikely to accommodate it. HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank's focus was on Hong Kong, and they certainly couldn't handle such a large amount of gold business.

Moreover, with the chairman's temperament, he wouldn't want such a large sum of money to be exposed.

So going to London was the best choice.

Afterward, Xia Yu and Liu Tianci discussed for a while longer. Seeing that Liu Tianci fully understood the operating procedures, Xia Yu left Jiuding Bank with peace of mind.