King
Chapter 1146 - 1146 178 The First Financing Meeting_2

1146: Chapter 178, The First Financing Meeting_2 1146: Chapter 178, The First Financing Meeting_2 As a bank that only served high-end clients, there were only sporadic customers on any given day.

When had it ever seen a scene like this?

There was no choice, smart people were simply too plentiful.

Once they realized the “cash crunch” crisis was spreading, everyone’s first reaction was to gather cash.

From an annual interest rate perspective, the interest from the Near East Development Bank was indeed not low, but when broken down into months, it truly wasn’t high.

Not everyone was like Tamir, needing to flaunt a tiger’s hide to fend off disaster.

More people were simply taking out short-term loans for turnover.

With a monthly interest rate of less than two percent, the entire Continent of Aslante couldn’t find lower loan rates than these.

If not for the necessity of collateral and a strict vetting process in the Near East Development Bank’s lending, money to lend would have likely run out long ago.

Up on the third floor, overseeing the queue below, Rudolf’s forehead had begun to sweat.

It was only now that he realized that having too much business wasn’t necessarily good.

The bank could use the vetting process as an excuse to delay the loan disbursement, but it couldn’t indefinitely drag out the lending.

Lending was very simple, but it required money in the vault.

Due to a lack of experience, the bank had already extended a large number of loans in recent days.

The customers coming in now were ordinary merchants, behind on the news.

Those who were well-informed had started stockpiling cash flow before the autumn harvest.

The previous customers were high-quality, possessing enough collateral to meet the bank’s lending standards.

Once the staff completed vetting, they directly disbursed the loans.

While business was booming, the aftermath was the continuous decline in the bank’s cash reserves.

Even if some customers left their money in the bank, a portion still chose to withdraw cash.

To minimize the outflow of cash, the employees pushed hard to sell Gold Tickets to the customers.

Merchants more accepting of new concepts were fine, mostly accepting the Near East Development Bank’s Gold Tickets, but conservative Nobles were different, they only recognized cash.

Noticing it was nearly reaching the capital adequacy ratio ceiling set by Hudson, Rudolf, as the person in charge, also felt a severe headache emerging.

“Branch Manager, Baron Ezekiel has come to visit.

We were prepared to send him away, but he claims to be an old friend of yours.”

Hearing the words “old friend,” Rudolf’s scalp tingled.

It used to be that having many friends made journeys smoother; now he dreaded encountering friends the most.

No matter how good his social connections were, he was still working for Master Hudson.

He had finally reached his current position with great difficulty and didn’t want to jeopardize it over doing someone a favor.

“Please invite him in!”

No matter what, since the guest had arrived, he definitely needed to meet with him.

Similar situations had been encountered every day since returning to the Mountain Domain.

Everyone knew he had come back, and excuses of absence weren’t acceptable.

Even if he made the excuse of being busy with public affairs, people were willing to wait.

Knowing he couldn’t avoid it, he may as well just receive them well.

Having so many friends was mainly due to the nature of his job.

Rudolf initially helped trade arms on behalf of Hudson, engaging in business that required social interactions.

Then he was transferred to become the Minister of Commerce, another position with wide-ranging social connections.

With the platform provided by Hudson, it was difficult to have few friends.

His earliest contact with Baron Ezekiel was through the trade of weapons.

Back then, Baron Ezekiel also had his moments of glory, at one point organizing the Native Nobles to oppose the descending Nobles of the North, even gaining some advantages.

Unfortunately, that good life didn’t last long before he suffered a great defeat.

If it weren’t for the Nobility protection mechanism on the Continent of Aslante, he himself would have been finished.

The fate of a small Noble was like this, after one failure, Baron Ezekiel never managed to rise from the mire again.

Including the once illustrious offspring of the Northern Nobles, who now had become indistinguishable from everyone else!

It wasn’t that their abilities weren’t strong, but the opportunities of the era had passed.

No matter how strong an individual’s abilities were, they could not confront the trend of the times.

Unfavored by the Kingdom Government and despised by the Nobles of the Southeastern Province, they had no choice but to join Hudson’s camp discreetly to preserve their foundations.

Including several who had established military merits, who eventually got exposed, charged with the crime of fraternizing with the Orcs.

It was still Hudson who operated behind the scenes, allowing them to “redeem their sins with meritorious deeds.”

Baron Ezekiel was somewhat better off, without a lot of dark history or having drawn too much animosity.

After his military strength was wiped out, life just became more arduous.

A step slow is as good as a step behind in everything.

Without sufficient strength, he naturally had no share in subsequent military accomplishments.

At best, he garnered a trivial merit following the troops’ victory and received a verbal commendation from the Kingdom.

Upon their reunion, their statuses had reversed.

The salesman who used to knock on doors everywhere now managed to attain a Baron’s title.

Although the title was bestowed by Hudson and carried less prestige, it was undeniable that he still held an important appointment under Lord Ha.

Whether in terms of social status or actual power, he was now beyond the reach of Baron Ezekiel.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they went straight to the point.

“Branch Manager, the Near East Region is undergoing major development, and sure enough, there’s still a need for a lot of grain, right?”

Baron Ezekiel asked somewhat nervously.

These past days, he had been rejected many times.

Whether by grain merchants or Nobles heading to the Near East to reclaim lands, none were willing to buy grain.

“There indeed is a grain shortfall in the Near East Region, though the demand might not be as high as you imagine.

The Kingdom has agreed to collect taxes in kind, the Near East Garrison and the construction personnel at the front lines, all their grain needs do not require external purchases.”