Chapter 876: Cutting the cake

'Sir Carter, do you think this is a coincidence or human manipulation? Could it be the Rothschild family's doing?'

George Berkeley, sitting face-to-face with Duke Carter Howard in the chairman's office at the London Locke Fund's residence, asked straight to the point.

Although he was quite sure in his heart, he still wanted to hear Duke Carter Howard's opinion.

Duke Carter Howard shook his head and said, 'At the current level of outbreak, it is definitely not an accident. We did not do it, so the biggest potential beneficiary other than us would be the one who did it. Apart from the Rothschild family, there should be no other forces.'

George Berkeley nodded slightly and pondered for a moment before asking again, 'Sir Carter, since the Rothschild family has done it, they definitely don't want to drag it on for too long. We should also take action. I wonder how Prince Philip is doing?'

George Berkeley looked at Duke Carter Howard expectantly.

Duke Carter Howard nodded with a smile and said, 'Prince Philip has agreed to cooperate, and I have also directly agreed to his conditions. Now that you are not here, I am also prepared to talk to you in the morning and listen to your opinions.'

'Prince Philip's conditions are very lenient. According to the situation of the Bahraini bank, there is a high possibility that it will take over the debt for free. If the operation is successful, he will need 20% of the equity, but will not participate in the management and operation of the Bahraini bank.'

'We have no objections either!'

George Berkeley said with a smile, secretly thinking that Duke Carter Howard was awesome.

Prince Philip's condition was indeed very generous. When Boss Xia Yu communicated with him, he set a limit of 30% equity. Now Prince Philip only wants 20%, and they will share the extra 10% with Duke Carter Howard.

'Sir Carter, how should the remaining 80% of the equity be divided?'

George Berkeley did not mince his words, and directly asked the most central issue of interest.

Although Boss Xia Yu had already told him to take direct responsibility, he still hoped to get as much equity as possible for the boss, which would reflect his abilities.

When it came to the division of interests, Duke Carter Howard suddenly became cautious. He couldn't help straightening his back and staring at George Berkeley with burning eyes, saying, 'Mr. Berkeley, I need half of the remaining 80% of the shares, and the company's management rights will be based in London. Considering the efforts made by my side, this is not an excessive request.'

George Berkeley agreed with Duke Carter Howard's claim of hard work. Although the short selling of Barings Bank was proposed by the Bright Foundation, the Howard family contributed a great deal to it.

And at critical moments, the Howard family also played a huge role, such as discovering the Rothschild family's hidden agenda and dealing with Prince Philip.

These two crucial roles were the premise for taking over Barings Bank as a whole.

Without the efforts of Carter-Howard, Bright Fund would not have been able to take over Barings Bank as a whole, even if they were able to make a profit by shorting the bank. They might even have ended up with nothing at all and having their shares swallowed up by the Rothschild family.

But as I said, I know, but when it comes to a fight over key interests, George Berkeley will not be embarrassed.

Although the boss Xia Yu did not say explicitly, George Berkeley knew that in this matter, the boss was not in a good position to fight, and as a subordinate, he naturally had to work for the boss.

George Berkeley therefore immediately shook his head and said, 'Sir Carter, I can see what you're doing, but our role should not be overlooked. If we hadn't used our capital to withstand the main pressure, the prices of LME copper futures and LME aluminium futures would not have risen so high, the Bank of Bahrain would not have lost so much money, and we would not have been able to make a profit short selling, let alone make a profit from the acquisition.'

'Another thing is that after the acquisition of Barclays Bank, the most critical thing is to get Barclays Bank through the difficulties and develop it. In this regard, I think we can do a better job.'

'So I think we should hold 45% of the equity, which is what we deserve!'

Although 35% is also within an acceptable range, Duke Carter Howard still intends to fight for a bit more.

He argued, 'Mr. Berkeley, our role is also irreplaceable, but considering that the Bright Fund did invite me to join the plan, then I will step back, and you will take 41% of the remaining 80% of the equity, and I will take 39%.'

George Berkeley did not answer, but directly asked, 'Sir Carter, if we acquire Barings Bank, are you confident that Barings Bank's assets will multiply five times within ten years?'

'Now the main business of the Bahrain Bank is in the field of commercial banking, and it has not achieved outstanding results in investment banking. However, with our full support, I think the Bahrain Bank will certainly complete its transformation quickly.'

'In your opinion, is a 39% stake in the original Bahrain Bank more valuable, or a 35% stake in a rapidly developing Bahrain Bank more valuable?'

'As for your suggestion of taking turns at the helm of Bahrain Bank, I have no problem with that. It will definitely be the most difficult at the beginning, so you can take the lead first, or we can start.'

Duke Carter Howard frowned and asked in a deep voice, 'Are you confident that you can develop Bahrain Bank rapidly?'

George Berkeley nodded confidently and said, 'Of course, Sir Carter, you should have learned about Jiuding Bank in Xiangjiang and Chinese Mercantile Bank in London. What do you think of the development of these two banks?'

'Our boss started out in the financial industry, so there's no doubt about his abilities in this area, is there?'

Duke Carter Howard nodded in silence, acknowledging what George Berkeley had said.

Since he had been told so much, he could accept it. Thirty-five percent was thirty-five percent.

'Okay, let's go with your plan.'

George Berkeley smiled after hearing this, saying, 'Thank you, Sir, for your generosity.'

'So shall we discuss the details of the operation?'

'Of course, but first, I need to make a phone call.'

With that, the Duke of Carter Howard picked up the phone on the table and made a call.

After the call, the Duke of Carter Howard and George Berkeley left the Locke Fund together and went to one of the Howard family's strongholds in London.

Half an hour later, Prince Philip, wearing a bowler hat and sunglasses, arrived at the location in low-key fashion. After deliberating for more than an hour, a plan that had been perfected down to the last detail was born.

George Berkeley returned to the company and set things in motion as planned.

It wasn't until the evening, when it was already eight o'clock in New York, that he used the newly connected covert satellite phone to inform Xia Yu of the specific details.

In the following days, the collapse of the Bahraini bank continued to dominate public opinion, and its impact became increasingly severe.

Not only were the three major markets affected, but even the banking savings sector was hit.

Just because many depositors queued overnight at the doors of major branches of the Bahraini bank to withdraw their money, causing panic among other depositors.

It was also fortunate that the Bahraini bank and the Bank of England had been calling on the public to be rational, and the Bahraini bank had not experienced a shortage of cash, which barely withstood the pressure of public opinion.

But as long as there was no result, the impact would only get bigger and bigger every day, until the day of the explosion.

On the fifth day, which was also Sunday, after news broke that the Bahraini bank was about to go bankrupt, the Bank of England, the UK's central bank, had to announce regretfully that the rescue had failed and the Bahraini bank had gone bankrupt.

After the Bahraini bank announced its bankruptcy, the Bank of England once again stepped forward and solemnly promised to properly handle the Bahraini bank and do its utmost to protect the interests of all depositors.

Once this was announced, many companies that had already been preparing for this situation immediately rushed to the Bank of England, hoping to take advantage of the situation. One of the first to respond was Barclays Bank.

And as the second-in-command of the Rothschild family, Evelyn Rothschild was directly in charge.

Just as Evelyn Rothschild was working hard to win, hoping that his side's plan would win, a special acquisition plan was sent to the desk of the Governor of the Bank of England through special channels at Buckingham Palace.