The Draw
The acquisition of the two banks proceeded rapidly. While the branch manager to whom I had handed the checks and documents had been incredibly proactive, the two bank runs that had occurred in Chicago seemed to have put significant pressure on the state government and the legislature.
Thanks to that, it took only two weeks to receive the signatures of the chief examiner and the director of the Department of Banking and to obtain approval for the merger from the court.
"Standard Industrial Bank, it has a nice ring to it."
"Since it will be a subsidiary of SCC, it’s best to align the names, wouldn't you agree?"
I smiled at Ahern’s comment as he checked the new name of the bank written on the merger approval document. In reality, this bank was intended to hold the cash reserves of SCC and its subsidiaries, so it was a fitting name. It was also perfect for masking the fact that the organization's massive amounts of dirty money would be mixed in during the process.
"But... Consigliere?"
"Yes?"
"Is there a reason you chose Travelers for the surety insurance instead of Lloyd's? Travelers isn't a bad firm, but it’s a fact that they are a bit behind Lloyd's."
He wasn't wrong. Even in my past life, Britain's Lloyd's held a prestigious reputation in the insurance industry, and in this era, it was arguably the number one insurer in the world in terms of credit alone. Travelers could be considered the leader within the United States, but compared to Lloyd's, it was indeed a step down.
However.
"Because it's too far."
"Too... far?"
"Of course, they have a branch in New York, so there shouldn't be any major issues, but if a problem arises at the headquarters in Britain, immediate response might be difficult. Since Travelers is at least based in New York, we can respond immediately if a problem occurs."
I know for a fact that London will be a sea of fire in a few years; why on earth would I choose to do business there? Besides, by that time, the pound will be worth next to nothing, so it’s the right decision to use an insurance company within the United States where we can collect in safe dollars.
"Is... that so?"
"Well, it might be an unnecessary worry."
After finishing my sentence, I looked at Gu-jik, who was walking beside me.
"Have you checked the bank's internal situation?"
"With the 2 million dollars we put up as a security deposit, we’ve reached a level where operations are possible. There was a loss of about 200,000 dollars due to significant withdrawals, but even so, our equity ratio is over 80%, so we actually have an excess of cash."
"Then, we can put about 1 million dollars back into circulation."
With this money, we could make a decent profit by doing work befitting an 'Industrial' bank. Of course, that would depend on the friends in the conference room we were about to enter doing their jobs well.
"Let's go in."
Creak-!
With those words, I entered the conference room on the second floor of the building that had once been Lake View Bank. Soon, the executives who had previously worked at Lake View Bank and Immel Bank came into view, sitting with anxious expressions. They were likely desperately searching their minds for ways to keep their current positions.
"Nice to meet you. I am Jun Lee, the president of SCC. This is our first time meeting in person."
No response came, but I wasn't waiting for one, so I uttered the words they were most eager to hear.
"First, I plan to maintain the current employment status if possible."
"Whew."
At my words, several people sitting in the conference room let out sighs of relief. In a country of primitive, ancient liberalism where a president could literally 'just' fire people, it was quite rare to maintain surplus staff after merging two banks, so it was only natural.
Of course, I didn't intend to let them just sit around.
"The buildings previously used by the two banks will also be maintained. This location will handle most of the bank's operations, and the Immel Bank building will be converted into an office dedicated to non-performing loan recovery. Your workplaces will also be divided between these two locations."
In effect, this meant half of them would be demoted to the place where they collect defaulted debts. Watching the executives' expressions darken again as they understood the meaning of my words, I moved on to the main point.
"This will be decided by your performance over the next month. It doesn't matter if it's something from your previous bank or something you found outside the bank. Whoever brings something of more value than the others will be able to remain in this conference room."
So, if you want to survive, scrape the bottom of the barrel.
After finishing the brief discussion at the bank, I returned to the Lexington Hotel.
"So, you're saying we have the bank in our hands now?"
"Yes, Boss. It's only the beginning, though. There will be many businesses we need to conduct under the bank's name."
Having acquired a bank, the root of finance, it was now time to truly exchange money for power. Just by doing business with a bank in the mix, our credit rating would skyrocket, and that in itself would become the influence of my father-in-law, myself, and the organization. The task now was to use that influence to build a shell to protect the organization. It was a task that had to succeed, if only for the sake of our family.
"So this is the beginning..."
At those words, my father-in-law chuckled and looked at me.
"Lee, it seems you and I are already looking at different things."
"...Boss?"
What is this man doing all of a sudden? Is he testing my loyalty now of all times? I tensed up for a moment at the words of my father-in-law, whose usual swagger had vanished without a trace.
"I am merely working for you and the organization."
"That goes without saying. You, me, and the organization are family."
As I quickly bowed my head, my father-in-law nodded and continued.
"I subdued people with guns, but you brought a bank to its knees with words and documents. If Gu-jik is the warehouse keeper guarding the treasure, you could say you are the warrior who pulls Excalibur out of that warehouse and wields it."
Did he drink too much whiskey? He seems to be rambling more than usual today.
"That's why... I became certain today, Lee."
"Certainty, you say..."
You aren't going to suddenly pull out a pistol and say, 'I can't keep you alive!', are you? I still want to live a little longer.
Fortunately, no pistol was raised in my father-in-law's hand.
"That bank, you take it."
"...Pardon?"
I blinked at the unexpected words. This bank was the heart that would circulate the blood of the empire that would grow in the future. Yet, he was saying he would entrust that heart to someone else, even if I was his son-in-law. Al Capone, of all people.
If the authority I held as Consigliere was borrowed from my father-in-law, then my ownership of this bank meant that I would literally own the heart of the organization. But my father-in-law's words weren't finished yet.
"The organization's funds are the same. You put them in the bank as you see fit, and you manage them as you see fit. I will only take my share, so as long as the organization runs well, do as you please. Of course, bring a report to my desk once in a while."
A declaration that he would entrust the finances of the massive empire known as the Chicago Outfit entirely to my hands. It sounded like a joke, but I couldn't find a hint of humor in his expression.
"Do you have any complaints?"
If he asks that, there is only one thing I can say, isn't there?
"Thank you. I will not disappoint you."
"Yes, that's the Lee I know. Hahahaha!"
As soon as he heard my answer, my father-in-law finally burst into his signature hearty laughter and patted my shoulder a couple of times. The bank in my hands, huh? In that case, it is only natural that I should repay his trust.
After receiving ownership of the bank from my father-in-law, Gu-jik, Ahern, and the organization members in charge of administration were busy for a while. We had, of course, grasped the bank's financial condition before the acquisition, but to truly understand the value this bank held, we couldn't afford to miss even the smallest detail. It was only natural, as every deposit record and every loan approval document was information that could turn into money.
And today, the place we were entering was the one I was looking forward to the most.
"Next is number 271."
"Let's open it."
At Gu-jik's words, who was checking the ledger in front of me, Arthur Henderson, the branch manager of the Chicago branch of the Department of Banking who had accompanied us, nodded.
"Opening it now."
Whirrr-!
Soon, the technician began to drill into one of the old safes. Ugh, so noisy. I should have brought earplugs.
Creak-!
Before long, the safe door, with a hole drilled through the lock, opened, revealing its contents.
"Hmm... one pocket watch, three letters."
"I will record it."
Click! Click!
Soon, the police officer who had followed as a notary began to photograph the items inside the safe.
"Aw, it's a dud."
"Mr. Lee?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
I waved my hand at Gu-jik, who was looking at me with a puzzled expression, and looked at the doors of the private safes lined up along both sides of the hallway. The bank's main business was storing and lending money or gold bars, but among its other miscellaneous tasks was storing items for a fee, just like this. And what we were doing now was forcibly opening safes where the storage fees were more than a year overdue. Since, legally, items inside that were worth the storage fees and interest belonged to the bank, it was like a game of 'draw'. It had the disadvantage that the sound made when drawing was a bit loud, though.
"Next is... number 312."
I pointed to a line written on the list of overdue safes. What was written there was as follows:
[F.S.N.B]
"Hmm, the name of the depositor is unique."
Most things written in initials were likely hidden because they contained something shady, but I couldn't think of any person's name that would have four initials.
"It's probably Foremen-State National Bank."
"If it's them, I understand it's a quite large bank."
I looked at Henderson, the branch manager, with a curious expression. I felt like I had seen a similar name on a calendar hanging on the wall of the laundry shop.
"It was created last year by the merger of Foremen National Bank and the State Bank of Chicago. It is now the third-largest bank in Chicago."
"Then why are they using our bank's safe?"
"In cases like this, it's usually because the bank's document warehouse is full, so they select the originals of old documents and store them externally to utilize space. They aren't needed immediately, but they can't be thrown away either."
"And such a large bank is over a year overdue?"
"Usually, the accounting department would organize the bills every quarter or half-year, but it seems they were omitted a few times. It happens often."
Is it because they do it on paper instead of electronically? That's quite fascinating.
"Then, let's open it for now."
"Opening it now."
Whirrr-!
While I was tilting my head at Gu-jik's answer, the drill technician had already drilled a hole in the lock and opened the iron door.
Creak-!
As expected, inside the safe were document boxes filled to the brim with papers.
"There are a lot of documents. We need to count them, so let's take out the boxes first."
Following Henderson's instructions, the bank department staff began to take out the boxes stacked inside one by one and open them.
And then.
"...Huh?"
It was then that two short lines of text caught my eye as I watched them take out the documents.
[1929.1.8]
[Foreign Exchange Position: ¥18,325,000]
...What?
It was something I saw in the brief moment the staff was moving the documents, so I wasn't certain. But, if that were true...
"Mr. Gu-jik?"
"Yes, President."
"Is there a way for us to see those documents?"
"We need to take out loss insurance for storage after opening, so we can check them while taking photos then."
"Then, please prepare as quickly as possible."
Those scraps of paper might be worth more than our entire bank.