Chapter 420: As Safe as Mount Tai
“There’s no hope at all!”
Klein roared in pain, then collapsed in the trading hall. The staff around him looked at Klein with sympathy, but everyone was having a hard time right now, so no one came forward to say a word of comfort. This kind of thing was already commonplace.
Klein asked a soul-searching question: "Who can come and save us now?"
The answer is no. The stock market is a high-risk gamble, and investors naturally have to bear the risks themselves. From the day the exchange was established, the responsibility has been completely shifted away, just like the words "smoking is harmful to health" printed on tobacco packaging.
Of course, the stock market collapse would also have a significant and huge negative impact on the Austro-Hungarian economy, and the government's active actions could still reduce some of the losses.
If it is Germany, a country with strong government execution capabilities, there is still a possibility. But forget about the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In terms of economic policy, the financial situation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire has always been unstable, and its economy also has imbalances and protectionist tendencies, with Austria and Hungary being typical examples.
Now the real big capitalists in Austria are trying to pass on the crisis, and Hungary next door is also one of their targets. Similarly, the great nobles in Hungary also want to sell their grain as soon as possible. You want to dump industrial products on me, and I want to dump agricultural products on you! Both sides have raised tariffs.
As for the central government, it can only watch helplessly. Its finances are in difficulty even at normal times, let alone having money to rescue the market. Now the banks can hardly save themselves, and there is no place to borrow money.
At the same time, the Vienna branch of Hechingen Bank.
"President Nakins, your bank is the only one that can afford to put up extra funds during this economic crisis. You can't just stand by and watch us die!"
"Mr. Cyrus, I'm really sorry. The entire Vienna banking industry is in a state of panic right now. We are just barely maintaining operations and ensuring the safety of depositors' accounts, so there is nothing we can do at this time."
"President Nagins, we are old friends. My company just has a small problem with its capital chain. We don't need much. Only 350,000 guilders are needed to get through the crisis."
"Three hundred and fifty thousand guilders is not a small sum. I can't just move it around. Mr. Cyrus, if you listen to my advice, you should sell all the factories at a low price! Your business is highly tied to the railway industry. According to the current market conditions, if you keep the factories for one more day, you will lose a lot of money. Don't even think about orders. I guess your customers can't even afford the liquidated damages."
"Alas, actually I want to sell it, but I can't get a good price right now, and no one will take it over."
"Then there's nothing we can do. It's better to just declare bankruptcy than to hold on. The employees will cause trouble if they don't get paid."
Cyrus is also a capable man. Even in the midst of a turbulent situation, he could see at a glance that the Hexingen Bank was operating well.
In fact, this is not a difficult task. As long as you ask around, you can still find some clues. Other banks are laying off employees or shutting down, but Heixingen Bank is the only one sitting on the sidelines watching the situation.
The business personnel of Heixingen Bank did not show any signs of panic at all, standing out among their peers. This shows that Heixingen Bank is fearless, and the only thing that can give them such confidence is sufficient funds and a healthy business situation.
Of course, the reason why Hexingen Bank can be so successful is entirely due to its previous efforts. If we go back a few months, the situation would be the opposite.
At that time, Heilongjiang Bank carefully sorted out its own problems and cleared all possible risks in a timely manner. After all, Heilongjiang Bank was only a novice among European banks and had many shortcomings in experience.
Heixingen Bank reorganized itself, streamlined its staff and institutions, lowered deposit interest rates, raised loan application thresholds, and sold non-performing assets, causing a lot of trouble at the time.
Many customers turned to other banks and financial institutions as a result, but when the economic crisis broke out, they completely regretted their decision. Cyrus was one of them.
So Nakins was indifferent to Cyrus's request. Of course, even if this incident had not happened, Nakins would not have cared about friendship.
"Well, Mr. Sellers, it's better to rely on yourself than to rely on others. You'd better rely on yourself!"
Cyrus wanted to fight for it: "..."
However, Nakins directly said to the assistant: "Andy, show him out."
After Cyrus was asked to leave, Andy said, "President, affected by the crisis, our bank's recent business doesn't seem to be very good, and we don't know how long this crisis will last."
Nakins said, "Haha, don't worry. It's just a cold winter in the market. Will people stay at home because of the snow in winter? The economy will still operate, but it won't be as hot as before. We just need to do our own thing. In addition, we have accumulated enough credit during this crisis. It will be obvious who the customers will choose next time. Maybe because our competitors have been eliminated one after another, our business will be better in the future."
"By the way, President, here is a telegram from the headquarters that just arrived. The headquarters requires all branches to continue to lower their deposit interest rates by 12 percent."
Nakins drank his coffee leisurely and said, "Then let's announce it tomorrow morning! Now that other banks and companies have gone bankrupt, there is really no need to continue to maintain such a high interest rate."
In fact, after the last adjustment, the deposit interest rate of Heixingen Bank has been maintained at a relatively low level. If it is further reduced by 1%, the interest that depositors can earn from their deposits will basically be negligible.
After all, customer loss, business bankruptcy, worker unemployment... a series of chain reactions have resulted in the banking industry not making much money, or even losing money. It is normal to reduce the concessions to depositors. Although the interest rate has been reduced, it is much better than losing all the money. So just be happy while you still have interest.
In the evening.
When Wiggins got off work and just walked out of the bank door, he saw the employees of his old rival, Cruz Bank, arguing with depositors with sad faces.
Wiggins leaned in closer to listen to what the crowd was saying:
"Don't worry, it's time to get off work, we are closing!"
"Assholes, we haven't even taken out our money yet and you're already thinking about leaving get off work. Aren't you treating us like fools?"
"That's right. If you don't cash out the money today, we won't let you go."
"I heard that the railway company went bankrupt, which caused you to be unable to collect the money, and your capital chain has been broken. Are you trying to trick everyone into going bankrupt with you?"
"Return our deposit!"
“Give me back!”
…
Looking at this lively scene, Nakins clicked his tongue and said, "What a troubled time!"
Heixingen Bank is sure to win, but because of the economic downturn, people's enthusiasm for saving money has decreased, and Heixingen Bank has also been affected. Many depositors have withdrawn their money, but there is no impact on the slimmed-down Heixingen Bank. Heixingen Bank encountered this once a few months ago. At that time, the economy was still very hot, and there were many buyers, and it actually made a lot of money. Now the depositors of Heixingen Bank have decreased due to the drag of the entire industry. This situation is only temporary. After a while, everyone will find out who is the real winner in the crisis.
(End of this chapter)
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