Super Spender

“Bank President Chan, I’ll get straight to the point then, please sit down,” Finn Lewis pointed to a seat nearby.

“Julia, go order some food.” After Matthew Chan sat down, he instructed Julia Parker. Julia nodded and left, Fishy Wells stayed behind, Finn didn’t ask her to leave because the subsequent procedures still needed her to handle with the bank, Finn didn’t have the time.

“Bank President Chan, I won’t beat around the bush. I am a customer of your bank, however, this time I need a loan for some business ventures,” Finn Lewis began, “of course, President Chan, as long as you proceed normally it will be fine. We can discuss further how much collateral is needed, but my only condition is that the entire loan must be in Federal coins, and I would prefer it to be approved within two days. I don’t know if your bank can manage.”

“As long as the documents pass the approval process, we can provide the loan immediately,” Matthew Chan was very direct, typically, for such collateral loans, the complicated part lies in the review process. Once the review is done, the larger the amount, the quicker the loan. Everyone knows if someone borrows such a large sum, they must need it for something and don’t have the time to wait around.

“That’s great, the collateral I submitted can be assessed quickly, it’s the shares of some companies,” Finn proceeded confidently.

“Company shares, ” Matthew Chan echoed, his face showing a slight hesitation. Because evaluating company shares is really challenging. Whether it’s a publicly traded company or not, if it’s not listed, not only do they have to audit the company’s assets but also their profitability before they can reach a decision, and it’s even harder for publicly listed companies.

This is because many listed companies have artificially high stock prices, implying that the actual value of these stocks is quite tricky to calculate. So, despite Finn saying that the collateral is stocks, Matthew Chan was still moderately concerned. However, without seeing what company shares Finn held, he naturally won’t refuse outright.

Finn noticed the perplexed expression on Matthew Chan’s face, but he just chuckled, not saying a word. If even the shares he held could not be put up as collateral, Finn wasn’t sure what company shares could. So, he wasn’t worried at all.

He then started chatting with Matthew Chan about other topics. Soon, the table was laden with dishes. Given the circumstance, Julia knew what to order, not just the food, but also the finest wine. Of course, she didn’t order too much because they were there for business, and drinking too much would not be appropriate.

When they were almost done eating, Matthew Chan asked, “Mr. Lewis, may I know the shares you wish to mortgage belongs to which company?”

“It’s an overseas company,” Finn said with a smile.

“An overseas company? If it’s an overseas company, Mr. Lewis, you requested the funds to be approved as soon as possible. But if it’s an overseas company, I must be frank, the process to vet and verify the documents would be truly complicated and would require some time,” Hearing that it was an overseas company, Matthew Chan was even more unsure because there are countless companies overseas, who knows if this company is a shell company?

Investigating such a company would be time-consuming, so Matthew Chan gave Finn a heads up so that he wouldn’t feel the wait was too long, “It’s a well-known high-tech company, so you don’t have to worry about not knowing its specific details. I guarantee you, the moment I divulge its name, you will know immediately. But my requirement won’t change. The reason why I didn’t approach the Rhine Kingdom Bank or the Red Flower Bank for this loan is that I trust your bank more,” Finn said calmly.

When Finn said this, Matthew Chan was slightly surprised. According to Finn, he could easily take a loan from both the Rhine Kingdom Bank and Red Flower Bank; hence the company Finn was referring to was not a small one. Additionally, Matthew Chan understood that comparing to veteran institutions like the Rhine Kingdom Bank and Red Flower Bank, their bank was indeed a bit lacking in efficiency. Hence, Matthew Chan quickly responded, “Mr. Lewis, rest assured, as long as the company shares you wish to mortgage are high-quality stocks that can be reviewed easily, we promise to get the loan approved within two days.”

Fishy Wells and Julia Parker, who had been eating next to them had been sneakily listening in the whole time. They were also interested to know the source of their boss’s funds.

“Bank President Chan, do you recognize this phone?” Finn smiled, took out his mobile phone, and placed it on the table. Seeing the large screen phone, Matthew Chan’s first thought was Samsung, but he immediately dismissed that idea because only one company had that iconic design: Fruit!

“This is…?!” Someone in Finn’s position would naturally not use a counterfeit, so when he saw the phone, Matthew Chan was about to say ‘Fruit’, but suddenly realized; didn’t Fruit just announce they would have a press conference in September for their new big-screen phone? Then this is…? “Fruit, the phone.” Finn said calmly, looking at the stunned expression on Matthew Chan’s face; Finn really enjoyed this triumphant feeling. Although there was only one person, he was the branch manager of his bank; it was indeed shocking enough.

Indeed it’s a phone, but wasn’t it said that it hadn’t hit the market yet? How could Finn have it? As soon as this thought entered Matthew Chan’s brain, he couldn’t help but think of another point. His emotions spiked instantly, however, he quickly calmed down. Because Fruit was a listed company anyone could buy Fruit shares from the stock market. If it was just over three hundred million Federal coins worth of Fruit shares, his bank would still need to evaluate as Fruit’s market value fluctuated greatly, “Mr. Lewis, you can’t mean the Fruit shares?”

“Correct, indeed it’s the Fruit company’s shares,” Finn revealed with a slight smile, “And I hold 4.8% of the Fruit Company’s shares,” Finn dropped another bombshell.

“How much?!” Matthew Chan’s eyes grew wide in shock. Matthew had suspected it was Fruit Company’s shares, but he never thought that Finn held not just a few hundred million Federal Coins worth of Fruit shares – buying just a few hundred million Federal coins worth of Fruit shares is not an easy task itself.

But how much did Finn say he held? 4.8%?! Good God! As a financial expert,

Matthew Chan clearly understood what 4.8% of Fruit’s shares mean. It means that Finn is Fruit’s largest individual shareholder! It means that Finn’s shares could rank in the top three amongst Fruit’s major shareholders! It means that based on these 4.8% shares alone, Finn’s personal assets are worth more than 30 billion Federal coins! It also means that if you wanted to acquire these

4..8%, you wouldn’t be able to buy that much on the stock market!