Chapter 530: 0528 Bank’s Clutches
Originally, Lynch’s idea was to speed up the pace and acquire those factories.
In the eyes of many, these factories are still burdens, but Lynch does not see them as such. On the contrary, he has already found a way to use these factories to make money for him.
Sometimes capitalists... no, even capitalists aren’t as skilled as Mr. Lin in this "money for money" game. Only those in his field can understand how to use a hundred dollars to satisfy more people’s desire and satisfaction for having a hundred dollars.
Although he couldn’t physically inspect those factories during this period, he could start by doing research.
In the morning, after bidding farewell to Vera, Lynch went directly to the Sabin City branch of the Golden Exchange Company. This is a city-level direct bank, not the kind of branch on various streets.
The bank manager personally received Lynch. Lynch is now a major client of the Golden Exchange Bank, and his rank in the bank has been elevated to just below that of the board’s main members, the third tier.
According to the hierarchy within the bank, the branch manager was not higher than Lynch, so he proactively greeted him outside the bank.
When Lynch’s convoy slowly stopped by the roadside, and the bank manager shivering in the cold personally opened the car door for him — at that moment, when the eyes of passers-by and bank employees, shocked and even envious, focused on him, Lynch seemed to hear the voices in their hearts.
"Having money, it’s damn good!"
"I didn’t know you would personally come to meet me, otherwise I certainly wouldn’t have made this call."
Stepping out of the car, Lynch removed the gloves from his hands, revealing a soft, tender, white with a hint of red right hand. Only after he extended his hand did the bank manager shake it.
Perhaps not wanting his cold and stiff hand to give Lynch an unpleasant experience, he deliberately let go of his hand. The smile on his face did not betray the fact that he was almost numb from the cold, with a purplish tint from the frost, "It’s what I should do. Both the state office and the head office have issued documents thanking Mr. Lynch for your assistance to the Golden Exchange in Nagariel."
Lynch is not the only senior executive of the United Development Company standing with the Golden Exchange on the Nagariel issue, but the bank cannot dilute this matter just because he is not the only one. That would offend people.
So internally, they not only elevated Lynch’s rank but also indeed issued documents. On one hand, it was to inform everyone that the Golden Exchange had already established a foothold in Nagariel, with unprecedented business growth, leaving those who hesitated to regret missing the opportunity. On the other hand, they also mentioned the help Lynch and others provided to the bank.
To have achieved this level is already beyond many.
"Let’s discuss inside, it’s too cold outside." Lynch patted his arm, and the manager immediately agreed.
The two walked side by side into the bank, and at the moment Lynch stepped into the bank, almost everyone in his line of sight stopped their work and stood up, watching him.
This also led to some people who did not understand the situation, standing up in a daze, following suit as if they were considering whether they should also bow like the bank employees if those people happened to pass by.
Fortunately, such things did not trouble everyone for long. The manager took Lynch directly into the manager’s private elevator and went upstairs. Banks in various places, whether branch or state level, have always been learning some aspects from higher-ups, such as elevators not usually for public use.
Once inside the warm room, the manager seemed to relax significantly, his complexion returning to normal. He personally brought Lynch a cup of coffee and then sat beside him, "Mr. Lynch, is there anything that the Golden Exchange can do for you?"
He didn’t use "I" or "Sabin City branch," but directly used the name "Golden Exchange" because he and the district branch simply could not represent the entire bank’s attitude.
Lynch spoke directly about the purpose of his visit, "I hope to review some companies’ financial and debt situations..."
The bank manager was taken aback. The business situation of a company, its debt situation, asset situation, and in any case related to whether the company has money, is recorded by three institutions.
The first is the bank. Operating a business cannot do without the bank’s support, whether it’s deposits, remittances, or other finance-related services, all are inseparable from the bank.
The second institution is the Tax Bureau. How many accounts a company has, how much money is there, how much debt is there, what is the nature of every penny, no one knows better than they do.
The third institution is the locally natured social service bureau. This bureau is responsible for registration and continued existence information of companies, including some but not much of the business situation.
These pieces of information are not actively disclosed to society, nor do they support personal inquiries because they involve a lot of very confidential company issues, and there is corresponding legislation in the Federation to support the three institutions in keeping this information confidential, unless necessary and with the parties’ consent for limited public disclosure.
To be so blatantly eager to review the financial and debt states of these companies, truth be told, this is the first time the manager has encountered this situation. He hadn’t even heard of it before.
"This doesn’t seem to comply with the rules..." The bank manager explained with a wry smile, "Our bank has regulations. These are non-public consultation information that requires application for administrative orders from above, which can’t be approved in a short time, plus we would need to notify the responsible persons of those companies."
Lynch, however, wasn’t bothered, "You can make a call and ask, but please believe me, making that call is not as good as just letting me see those documents."
The manager hesitated, understanding Lynch’s words. He felt that some non-compliant issues reported upwards could cause trouble if the higher-ups mishandled it.
There aren’t people in the state office who can make decisions either. They also need to continue passing it upwards, and eventually, they might tangle with something that has no direct benefits to them for a long while. Once handled well, the credit doesn’t belong to them, but there’s a possibility that higher-ups might see them as inflexible.
If not handled well, being the first to report this could lead to Lynch holding a grudge, or the lower management considering them incompetent, making it difficult whether to report or not, Lynch’s words trapped the manager into a dilemma.
"They’re just some unnoticeable companies. Once I acquire them, they’ll be mine. Reviewing the finances and debts of my own companies in advance shouldn’t be a problem, right?"
Lynch’s words and attitude were not aggressive; rather, it seemed like a negotiation, yet the manager could feel a firm stance behind this apparent calmness.
He contemplated, and Lynch didn’t disturb him. After about half a minute, he let out a sigh, "I hope Mr. Lynch won’t tell anyone about this, it really doesn’t comply with the rules!"
Emphasizing this non-compliant issue multiple times doesn’t mean it truly dissolved someone’s principles, but after making a decision, the manager was emphasizing his role.
Lynch nodded slightly, "I understand that another person might not comprehend what I mean. Anyway, I appreciate your cooperation..."
Soon, the manager personally brought some documents to Lynch. These were the files of the companies Lynch wanted, recording their deposits in bank corporate accounts, cash flow, whether there are debts, whether something is mortgaged, etc.
If they took out loans from the bank, the more they have loaned, the more detailed these records are. A bank will never put itself in danger. When assessing a company’s current status, they will initiate lawsuits before the company suffers further losses, demanding early repayments when they may not be able to repay the loan.
This is actually very contrary to the loan contract. People might generally think, why asking for the money back early if the due is not yet. However, banks have their ways.
During the loan process, banks ask companies some basic questions, and these are recorded, sometimes in the contract. There’s one point: "If the bank agrees to your loan, where do you plan to use this money?"
Most people would say, I’ll use it to buy raw materials/buy new machinery/build new production lines, etc. At this point, these answers become the bank’s simplest reason to urge for debt repayment — you didn’t use the loaned money for the purpose stated to the bank, you violated the contract first, so the bank has the reason and right to demand early repayment.
Isn’t it such a crap situation? Even crappier, if the company sues back, the bank just asks one question making it impossible to answer — how do you prove the consumption not allowed by the loan contract is not part of the loan, making many rack their brains.
And proving this is very easy for them. We are the bank, we know whether you are using borrowed money or your own money.
That’s why Lynch came to the bank for this information, not the Tax Bureau or the Social Service Bureau.
"Thank you very much for your understanding and help..." Lynch expressed his gratitude and focused on the documents.
These companies are small household product manufacturers, like factories producing items such as basins, buckets, pots, closely related to daily life.
These factories have complete production lines and skilled workers, and they even have warehouses stocked with a large number of leftover orders and piled-up raw materials. Combined with their production lines, these assets’ value far exceeds their market valuation, making it a good time for acquisition.
But acquiring these companies still requires some waiting, needing to create an opportunity for Ferrari, and minimizing issues that could arise during acquisition, such as stubborn refusals to sell or recalculated shareholdings.
Lynch carefully selected seven or eight suitable companies and set them aside. The bank manager casually glanced through them and noticed these companies all had a certain amount of loans...