Exploiting the Weakness

Accessing the newly discovered pile of documents was an easy task. After all, the person who held the authority to grant access was Arthur Henderson, the Chicago branch manager of the Banking Bureau, who had been with us the entire time.

"Hmm, if it's for insurance purposes, I suppose I have no choice. I will authorize it under my supervision, so go ahead and draft the paperwork."

And just like that, in a single day, I was able to thoroughly examine the photographs of the old FSNB documents.

I picked up one of the photos to verify the details.

"So... that means they invested roughly 8 million dollars into the Yen, right?"

"That is correct, Consigliere. To be precise, it is 8.52 million dollars."

I set the photo down on the desk and looked at Gu-jik. His explanation continued.

"The current exchange rate is 3.52 Yen to the dollar... if they have maintained this position until now, the losses would exceed 40%."

Following the incident at the Bank of Japan, allegedly carried out by someone from the Uiyeoldan, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Japan had suspended all banking operations for three weeks to prevent chaos. It was a natural measure, given that the Bank of Japan, which was supposed to lend money to other banks, was effectively shut down. But the real problem was that the return to the gold standard had been postponed indefinitely. The resulting loss of confidence, combined with the shockwaves of the crash that started in the United States, was enough to shatter the value of the Yen.

I don't know who ordered that investment, but if they were still holding onto it, they would have been fired on the spot. The question was whether they had actually managed to hold this position until now...

"And, I found this in the document warehouse."

It was then that Gu-jik pulled out a pristine document and placed it on the desk.

My gaze naturally drifted to the crisp, unwrinkled paper.

"This is from three weeks ago. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠But they borrowed 50,000 dollars? A bank with assets in the hundreds of millions?"

Not 500,000, but 50,000. If someone heard this, they'd think they were taking out a home mortgage at a local shop.

"It seems the situation is more serious than we thought."

Gu-jik nodded at my question and continued.

"If they actually suffered a loss of around 3 million dollars from that investment, they wouldn't be able to maintain their capital adequacy ratio. They likely had to beg from such a small bank because they were trying to resolve this as quietly as possible."

"...I understand, but it's still fascinating."

To think they had to beg a hole-in-the-wall bank because they didn't have 50,000 dollars. Is this really the third-largest bank in Chicago?

In reality, it was understandable; banks rarely keep more than 10% of their own capital, with the rest of the deposits tied up in loans or investments. You can't exactly hand a depositor a bond and tell them, 'Go collect this yourself' when they want their money back.

Furthermore, they probably never imagined that even if the Yen's collapse was temporary, it would be crushed to this extent. A bomb detonated by an unknown doctor across the Pacific had driven this massive bank into a near-death state.

"Then, we must strike as quickly as possible."

Although the Japanese economy was currently reeling from an unexpected blow, one couldn't ignore its sheer scale. It would be in chaos for a few months, but the situation would gradually stabilize, and the exchange rate would return to normal. We had to land the decisive blow and demand negotiations before that happened.

"How much can we extract from them?"

"Since it's a Jewish-owned bank, it will be difficult to gain full management control due to the backlash, but depending on the circumstances, we could secure a significant stake and one or two seats on the board."

"No need to be greedy and choke on it."

One seat might not be enough, but with two, we could certainly secure veto power. That would be more than enough to control a bank whose assets were at least 100 times larger than SIB's.

"For now, let's start buying up their bank bonds. Having the bonds will make our bargaining power much stronger."

"Understood, Consigliere."

"And... I need to make a phone call."

I looked away from Gu-jik, who was bowing, and picked up the receiver on the desk.

"Connect me to the editor-in-chief of the Chicago Herald-Examiner."

Now, it was time to summon the devil of the press.

A few days later, I headed to Springfield. Inside a quiet villa on the outskirts, Senator Glenn of the Republican Party was already waiting for me.

"It's been a while, Mr. Lee."

"I believe this is our first meeting since the new year, Senator."

Unlike when we first met and he was wary of me, Glenn welcomed me warmly. Perhaps he was quite satisfied with what he had gained from the North Side guys I had handed over to him and the attraction of the new SCC factory.

"As always, you've brought something good this time, haven't you?"

Seeing his subtle smile, it seemed my assumption was correct. Then, I had to satisfy our Senator's expectations, didn't I?

"I truly hope you find it to your liking."

With those words, I took out a photo and a document and placed them on the table. They were copies of the evidence containing the weakness that FSNB had been desperately trying to hide.

"This is...?"

"These are documents related to the Foreman Bank."

"Foreman Bank... that's the bank that had a merger last year, isn't it?"

"Correct."

I nodded and continued.

"I discovered this while acquiring a bank recently... and since it contained some interesting information, I brought it along."

Soon after, I briefly explained the possibility that Foreman Bank's foreign exchange investments last year had resulted in massive losses.

"Of course, I haven't asked Mr. Foreman directly, so it's still just a guess, but it seems highly probable. And this article also appeared."

I placed the [Chicago Herald-Examiner] published today on the desk.

Pointing to the front page, which featured a massive headline stating, 'P Bank failed in foreign exchange investments and suffered massive losses, but hid the fact from its customers,' I continued.

"Since you are a Republican, you might be reluctant to touch a bank, but isn't this ultimately a matter of law and morality? Your area of expertise, Senator."

"...Is this Mr. Lee's work?"

"Haha, of course not. It seems someone else provided the information besides me."

"Hmm."

As I shrugged and smiled innocently, Glenn stroked his chin and fell into thought.

"I'll have to verify for myself whether this is legally problematic. If it is, I'll have to summon Mr. Foreman for a hearing."

A hearing. It was the primary weapon of a federal senator, right after proposing legislation—the ability to summon Mr. Foreman, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who sat at the very top of that bank building, to D.C. and legally torment him. And that was exactly what I wanted from our Senator.

"If you do that, Senator, you will be able to instill in your constituents the image of a 'guardian who protected Chicago's economy.' That is all I want."

There was no need to mention that I intended to get my hands on FSNB. I simply provided what was needed, and he just had to accept it. Even if he hadn't said it, he probably already had a rough idea.

"Thank you for the tip. I can feel Mr. Lee's heart for the state and Chicago."

"Chicago is my hometown. If I, a local, don't care about it, who will?"

After finishing our conversation, Glenn and I looked at each other and grinned.

[Foreman Bank President 'Sweating Buckets' Under Senator's Questioning, 'Don't Remember' About Yen Gambling!]

"The headline turned out brilliantly."

"Thanks to that, they say there's a long line in front of Foreman Bank. It seems the hearing played quite a significant role."

At Gu-jik's words, I nodded and put down the [Chicago Herald-Examiner] I had been reading. Hearst is indeed effective.

"I'd like to send something to our Senator, though I doubt he'd accept it."

He had such a clean image that he was pathologically averse to receiving anything. But that didn't mean he was a perfectly flawless person. Accepting my deal in the first place meant he had his own desires. It just wasn't money, but something else.

"As you instructed, we are also continuously buying up bank bonds."

"Just buy about 2 million dollars' worth; I don't think we need any more than that."

If you can move a bank worth hundreds of millions of dollars with an investment of this size, it's practically free.

"And, the acquisition of Sheridan Trust Savings Bank will also be completed within this week."

It was then that Gu-jik brought the news I had been waiting for.

"Then we'll be able to get our hands on the hotel shares they hold as well."

I had been thinking about showing my father-in-law a different hotel, so this worked out perfectly. The Lexington Hotel is nice, but it's just too old.

"Then, let's stop with the banks here; it would be hard to digest any more than this."

"Understood."

I needed a bank, but there was no reason to go all-in on banking. If I wanted to aim for the real sale opportunities in two or three years, I had to keep some dry powder. The banks I had acquired so far were just one of the washing machines for that time.

"Schedule the meeting with Mr. Foreman for one week from now. By then, he'll be feeling the heat."

By that time, he would have already exhausted all his other funding sources, and he wouldn't have any alternatives other than SIB. If he wants to keep living as a bank president, he'll have to accept my proposal.

"Understood. Since I can make contact through the Jewish community, I will look into it quickly."

Ah, come to think of it, Gu-jik was Jewish, wasn't he? Hmm, I'll have to think about this part later. Though that's still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a long way off.

"Then, I'll call it a day."

"Yes, Consigliere. See you tomorrow."

With those words, I put on my coat and fedora and left the SCC factory. Soon, I climbed into the back seat of the Cadillac and looked at Rizzo, who was in the driver's seat.

"Take me to the University of Chicago."

"So you weren't going home."

"I have someone to meet."

After finishing my sentence, I took two 10-cent silver coins out of my wallet. One new silver coin, and one old one. Now, it was time to use the key given to me by the Oil King.