Mediterranean hegemon

On the evening of September 22, Livermore, like the reporters, was sitting there waiting for the press conference to be held. The president said that there was a big gift package for the investment community that was eyeing United Group. He was very concerned and curious about it, and wanted to know what it was. What, I just guessed for a long time, and I vaguely touched some edges but couldn't fully understand it. Every time I wanted to ask, I suppressed the words when I said it - if the president was willing to say it, he would tell himself on the spot. If he refused to say it, then It just has to be detonated at the last critical moment.

The reporters thought that Alessandro would read the press release as usual, but when the scheduled 7 o'clock came, everyone did not see the familiar scene of Contini and Francisco joining forces. Only the spokesperson read a brief Statement: "Currently, the company's core management is conducting final negotiations. This press conference will be delayed by one hour. At that time, the president will personally announce major news. I will be responsible for reporting several daily news:

First, the queues and runs on withdrawals that started on September 16, which is Monday, have basically disappeared. On Friday, the bank closed at 2 o'clock in the evening; on Saturday, the bank closed at 10 o'clock in the evening. , the end of business today is 6 pm, and every depositor can basically withdraw money at any time. Therefore, United Bank officially announced the end of the 24-hour work system and the return to normal business hours;

Second, withdrawal restrictions were lifted. It was announced at that time that the policy of US$1,000 per person per time no longer existed, and any institution or individual could withdraw all the money needed at one time;

Third, from September 16th to September 22nd, in a total of 7 days, our bank’s depositors (regardless of corporate or individual) withdrew a total of US$516 million. The Bank separately returned an additional US$100 million of matured lending funds, a total of 6 More than 100 million U.S. dollars have flowed out. The bank's 4 billion yuan gap claimed by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of China has been solved by at least 600 million yuan. To ensure liquidity, the United Group returned 200 million U.S. dollars in advance and provided additional assistance as needed;

Fourth, the case of Richardson, an employee of our bank’s New York Manhattan branch, who jumped from a building has been fully investigated..."

When they heard about the case of Richardson jumping off a building, everyone became interested - this issue was brought up at the press conference on Friday, but they were excused at that time by saying, "The situation is true, and the inside story needs to be investigated." Now I can finally hear the full answer.

"Mr. Richardson was originally an employee of the National Bank of Manhattan in New York. After the bank was acquired by Union Bank, he joined Union Bank at the same time. Due to his good work performance, he was promoted to the deputy manager of the savings department of the branch... In the early hours of this Friday morning, Li Mr. Chadson left a suicide note and then jumped off the building and died on the spot. After investigating the scene, the police determined that there was no sign of foul play and that he indeed committed suicide. This statement was also recognized by his family. We feel very regretful and regretful about this.

After the incident, President Ciano, President Francesco, President DelVecchio's US branch and other major senior executives went to the deceased's home to visit and express condolences to the family. They did not hold a press conference for two days this weekend to deal with this matter.

In accordance with the emergency plan management regulations of the United Group, the U.S. branch established a aftermath team for the Richardson incident, with President Ciano as the team leader and President Francisco as the first deputy team leader, taking direct command, fully initiating the aftermath, and fully expressing Recognizing the high-level attention, the managers of the U.S. branch, headed by Mr. DelVecchio, quickly implemented their main responsibilities and responded appropriately.

President Ciano personally donated US$20,000, Mr. Francisco donated US$10,000, and colleagues from other US branches donated a total of US$20,000. A total of US$50,000 in follow-up donations was received. At the same time, the employee mutual aid association of the bank passed unanimously form, decided to allocate US$5,000 from the employee mutual aid fund. The Manhattan branch has fully allocated Mr. Richardson's remaining salary and full-year bonus in advance to help the bereaved families tide over the difficulties. The family members of the deceased are currently in a stable mood...

According to a joint investigation by the police and our bank, before the crisis, Mr. Richardson owned a total of 1.8 million market value stocks, of which approximately US$300,000 was principal and more than US$400,000 in floating profits. The actual leverage ratio was nearly 5 times. It was learned from the family members that 120,000 US dollars of the 300,000 US dollars came from their inheritance, 30,000 US dollars were the couple's savings over the years, and another 80,000 US dollars were assets handed over to Richardson by relatives and friends, and the remaining portion was from Lee. The loans obtained by Mr. Richardson from outside - known as investment loans or principal loans, were mortgaged by Mr. Richardson with two family houses, suburban farms and other real estate, personal credit, etc., with interest rates ranging from 8% to 15%. , the average interest rate is 12%, some loans are signed by both husband and wife, and some are signed by only Richardson...

On Monday this week, the stock market fell sharply and continued to fall on Tuesday. Mr. Richardson's stock account suffered heavy losses. Brokers forced half of it near the lowest point on Tuesday and required additional margin. On Wednesday and Thursday, he tried every means to raise margin, but failed to do so. At the same time, as his stock continued to fall, the brokerage firm repeatedly liquidated it after the reminder was invalid... As of the close of trading on Thursday afternoon, Mr. Richardson's account was completely liquidated, and the final remaining liquidation funds were US$32,000. Accumulation is destroyed in one moment...

At this time, the couple had a violent quarrel, and faced with demands from relatives and friends, banks and other lending institutions. In despair, Mr. Richardson was unable to think straight and committed suicide. In his suicide note, he said that he was sorry to his family, the branch leaders, and his relatives and friends. He did not blame others, but only blamed himself for being too greedy... The entire investigation report of the incident is placed in the New York Local Police Department. You can interview and read it, but please protect the privacy of individuals and family members as much as possible. After all, no one wants to see such a thing.

The outside world's speculation that Mr. Richardson committed suicide due to excessive work pressure does not exist: Mr. Richardson worked 18 hours on Monday and took a day off on Tuesday morning. He proposed to deal with personal property issues and also asked for leave in the afternoon. The president of the branch agreed and advised him to take advantage of the opportunity to clear the position when the loss was not heavy. Unfortunately, Mr. Richardson did not listen to the advice. He should have gone to work on Wednesday and Thursday, but he did not go to work. The phone inquiry said that there was an emergency and he needed to continue to take leave, but he left his activities in front of other banks or lending institutions and there were eyewitnesses on the scene to prove it.

There is no speculation that Mr. Richardson misappropriated the bank's funds or could not return them: the bank has strict management regulations. In order to prevent moral risks, whether in Europe or the United States, the bank's employees and their immediate family members or business enterprises are not allowed to apply for loans from the bank, nor do they accept applications from the above groups to open investment accounts in the bank. Therefore, Mr. Richardson has no credit exposure in the bank.

After the incident, after checking the manuscript and the emergency check of the work process, no behavior of Mr. Richardson for personal gain or misappropriation of the funds handled was found. Although his personal account suffered heavy losses, he never reached out to the accounts he managed. His personal ethics are commendable and he has kept the bottom line. President Ciano expressed his appreciation for this.

After Mr. Richardson passed away, he left behind his wife and two minor children. His wife has been raising the children at home full-time and has no other source of income. The biggest problem facing the family is that the house will be collected by the bank. Considering Mr. Richardson's unfortunate experience and his consistent personal performance, President Ciano issued the following instructions: If the training is qualified, Mrs. Richardson will be recruited to work as a teller in the Manhattan branch. From a humanitarian standpoint, the president will purchase the house that was taken away from her and provide it for her family to live in. The relevant funds will be used to pay the bank loans that she owes. The property rights will temporarily belong to the Manhattan branch and will be handled on a case-by-case basis in the future.

To prevent such incidents from happening again, the bank has issued an internal warning letter, requiring employees to deal with excessive leverage as soon as possible, especially when high leverage is accompanied by high financing. It must be cleared in time to avoid repeating the same mistakes. It also hopes to appeal to all sectors of society through the media, asking investors to reduce their positions, reduce leverage, control risks, and improve their own tolerance to avoid the recurrence of Richardson's tragedy; at the same time, the bank will initiate cross-checks and surprise inspections of various branches to prevent moral risks such as misappropriation of customer funds. ”

This statement made the audience sigh. In fact, there were many people jumping off buildings this week. There were more than 30 cases in New York alone. Richardson was just a typical microcosm: such a middle-class person who works in the financial system, has rich investment experience, a decent family, and a happy life has accumulated a lot of wealth in the past few years thanks to the rise of the stock market. In order to get rich better and faster, they have used various means to increase leverage, and their relatives and friends either envy their "professional investment ability" or envy their investment returns, and they all come to entrust investment, and everyone shares happily when the stock price rises, but There will definitely be many contradictions when the situation goes down - investment becomes loan, and other tangible and intangible pressures will lead to the deterioration of the situation. For a "decent person" like Richardson, this deterioration or pressure is the final push for him to go to the end.

Because there are too many people jumping off the building, the police can only register them hastily. If Richardson is not an employee of United Bank, and he is also involved in the crime of misappropriation of funds, the police would not even bother to investigate.

Reporters are talking about it. They are all people with great powers, and they are all exchanging their own information - United Bank did not lie about this matter, and an open announcement is more conducive to stability than a secret handling. The market confidence is stabilized. Now everyone is afraid that Richardson will have a financial hole today. Now it seems that although there is a hole, he has not reached out, otherwise the president would not have donated money and given a house - the president is still quite humane, not the kind of stingy person.

You see, when facing the pressure of the bank run, he opened the withdrawal and worked 24 hours a day, and finally he managed it, didn't he? Many people said that from this incident, United Bank can be trusted, and the president's reputation and character can be trusted. If there are no other problems in a few days, everyone can feel free to deposit the money back. And looking at how United Bank treats Richardson The handling of the matter also shows that the United Group is humane. The president from Italy is completely different from the local capitalists.

At 5 minutes before 8, Contini and Francesco hurried over. They looked worried and serious along the way. Everyone was guessing what happened and what kind of shocking news would be given. They were even guessing whether the two had quarreled or even fought. But in fact, Contini and Francesco did not have a meeting at all. There was no need for the two to have a meeting to discuss. Generally, Contini made his own decisions on major matters, and Francesco, the father-in-law, only served as a staff member responsible for providing consulting opinions.

This behavior of the two people was obviously a pretense to deceive. Contini and he, accompanied by Enzo, had just checked various security forces, made contact with the fleet, and at the same time checked the tanks, armored vehicles, and other equipment in the basement. Humvees, assault off-road vehicles, etc., in other words, to inspect combat readiness. After Enzo confirmed that everything was correct, Contini arrived deliberately late.

"I'm sorry that the core-level meeting ended very late. The anxiety caused by the continuous research over the past few days, and also due to Mr. Richardson's unexpected incident, but finally there is a definite result that can be announced." Contini said, "You must be waiting impatiently, shall we start now?"

Everyone welcomed him with applause.

“In the past few days, I have been receiving calls from the industry and the media, asking for our reaction to the practices of the Federal Reserve and some other banks, asking for my thoughts and next steps, and the media is also waiting for our response to certain rumors. ..." Contini glanced at the venue and responded in a cold tone, "I won't let you down! You will get big news that you will never forget!"

All the reporters were shocked: What the president said was extremely domineering. Everyone began to feel a little uneasy, not knowing what kind of shocking news was waiting for them.

"In fact, I have heard these rumors for a long time. I am very curious about the black hand behind all this, exerting pressure, creating runs, tightening money, suspending interbank lending, checking accounts, etc., all of which are aimed at the United Nations. Group and United Bank came... I don’t know when I offended some big shots, and I don’t know whose interests United Group violated, so that they targeted me like this.”

Contini slapped the table angrily, and everyone was frightened. This was the first time they had seen Contini so "lost"!

"Yes, the news you heard is true: the Federal Reserve has made it clear that it will not renew the loan to United Bank after the loan expires; the interbank banks are also ambiguous, either stating that they will carefully consider the loan interest rate, or requesting We reduce risks, or hope that we will provide other guarantees or guarantees - the finger is pointed directly at United Group and United Bank! But I want to say that they will not succeed, and all conspiracies will be settled one day! I just hope that those who play with fire will not come to light! Just scream when you can.”