Chapter 200: Cracks Begin from Within (4)

While Vice President Heo Sang-gyu was gathering people on the floor below.

The Bank President’s office was strangely quiet.

Nam Kun-ho had almost never come to Woojin Bank directly.

It was always the opposite.

When something happened, Kang Do-yun would run to the Daehan Group headquarters.

Saying it was the courtesy of the main transaction bank.

However, today was different.

The moment Nam Kun-ho made a direct visit, Kang Do-yun felt a thrill for the first time.

‘…For this man to come personally.’

There was no way he did not know what that meant.

It meant that Woojin Bank held a meaning beyond just being a client to Nam Kun-ho.

Perhaps it was also that he was holding his life line.

Kang Do-yun forced a smile.

His palms were drenched with sweat.

“Oh my, brother-in-law. Did you come all the way here.”

“If you had just contacted me, I would have gone to you.”

“What contact is there between us?”

Nam Kun-ho smiled and sat in the seat of honor himself.

Kang Do-yun, like a person accustomed to such things, sat next to him instead of the seat where he usually sat.

His inside was seething.

‘Rude bastard.’

There is strictly an owner, so no matter how old he is.

He could feel how much he was being ignored just by the seating.

He suppressed the words rising up to his throat.

For the first time, Kang Do-yun thought about whether to give a rejection as the Bank President.

While having such thoughts, Kang Do-yun cautiously cleared his throat.

“Brother-in-law, since the situation is what it is, we also internally….”

Before his words even finished, Nam Kun-ho slightly raised his head.

His gaze sank.

At the gaze as if looking down from above, Kang Do-yun’s shoulders flinched and trembled.

Nam Kun-ho, as if he had read Kang Do-yun’s expression, slowly opened his mouth.

“Brother-in-law.”

At that one word alone, Kang Do-yun’s breath was blocked.

Even though they were family, a hierarchy existed.

Nam Kun-ho took a sip of coffee and then put down the cup.

“I also roughly know what you are thinking now, brother-in-law.”

Kang Do-yun’s fingertips trembled.

He hurriedly wore even an awkward laugh.

“Ah, no. Brother-in-law, what am I… I just, if the bank wavers….”

“If it wavers?”

Nam Kun-ho’s laughter echoed through the Bank President’s office.

This time, he spoke with a slightly softer voice.

“I am doing this because I am afraid you will waver over such a matter, brother-in-law.”

Kang Do-yun’s mouth opened on its own.

Nam Kun-ho continued speaking as if soothing a young child.

“You just have to do well, just like you have until now, brother-in-law.”

Those words sounded exactly like praise.

However, Kang Do-yun knew.

That was not praise, but a touch that swept over the leash attached to his neck once.

Nam Kun-ho leaned his back comfortably against the sofa and added very nonchalantly.

“That way, this position will also stay attached well. Is that not so?”

In an instant, the sign of laughter vanished completely from Kang Do-yun’s face.

Though he had smiled with difficulty, he bowed his head at the mention of being the Bank President.

He managed to pull up the corners of his mouth and cleared his voice.

“Yes, brother-in-law. Do not worry. I will organize things well so that no unnecessary talk comes out from our side.”

Nam Kun-ho nodded his head only then, as if satisfied.

“Right. I believe in my brother-in-law. You have always done well.”

That word belief sounded like the heaviest threat to Kang Do-yun.

Nam Kun-ho did not stay long.

After emptying a cup of tea and patting Kang Do-yun’s shoulders a few times, he left the Bank President’s office.

As soon as the door closed, Kang Do-yun let out a large breath.

It felt as if the sweat on his palms was only now cooling down.

It was then.

Knock. Knock.

The sound of knocking on the door.

Soon the door opened and Heo Sang-gyu came inside.

He was the Vice President in charge of risk.

Practically, he was handling the work of Woojin Bank almost single-handedly.

“President, I have something to report for a moment.”

Kang Do-yun leaned his body against the chair and acted as if he were nonchalant.

“Vice President Heo. Let us pass quietly today. I also said so in the meeting this morning.”

Heo Sang-gyu did not even blink an eye and walked in front of the Bank President.

No matter how much the opponent was superior, the bank was dangerous right now.

“It is not a matter to pass quietly.”

At those words, a fishy smile hung on Kang Do-yun’s mouth.

“Is it the Corres bank story again?”

“That is right.”

Heo Sang-gyu placed the file he brought on the desk.

“This case is much more serious than we think.”

“Perhaps it will become a situation where we cannot take action.”

“It will depend on how it is accepted overseas.”

Kang Do-yun’s finger tapped the desk.

“Vice President Heo, do I not know that? But if you get too far ahead, it only stimulates the market. Why is a person so stuffy.”

Heo Sang-gyu did not back down an inch this time.

“We must move first.”

He caught his breath once and put strength into his voice.

“Woojin Bank is the control tower of the lender group.”

“If the lender group agent moves, other banks will move too.”

“We must convene a lender group meeting right now.”

Kang Do-yun’s gaze wavered slightly.

Heo Sang-gyu did not miss that gap.

“We must hold a meeting to review the agreement clauses and practically judge whether there is a covenant violation.”

“At the same time, we must also conduct a credit reappraisal.”

Credit reappraisal.

It refers to a procedure where the bank does not just leave the money lent to a company as money, but re-rates the risk and adjusts the limits, interest rates, and collateral conditions again.

Once it begins, it becomes a signal in itself that we will no longer view you as we usually do.

Heo Sang-gyu’s voice lowered.

“This is not about shaking Daehan Group.”

“It is about saving Woojin.”

Kang Do-yun was silent for a moment.

Then he slowly laughed.

“Vice President Heo, why do you make such a fuss over something that is not a big deal.”

Heo Sang-gyu’s gaze turned cold.

“It is not a fuss, President.”

However, Kang Do-yun raised his hand and cut off the words.

“Let us stop. Do you not know what happens if we create a commotion first, especially on a day like today?”

“If this happens, not only Daehan but we will also become troubled.”

Those words were driven deep into Heo Sang-gyu’s ears like a blade.

Kang Do-yun rose from his seat.

In effect, it was an intention to end it.

“Vice President Heo, you can manage risk as risk and keep things from wavering externally. That is what a bank should do. For someone who should know, goodness.”

Heo Sang-gyu opened his mouth and then closed it again.

He knew well that there was no use in speaking more to this person.

“…I understand.”

He turned around.

After coming out and closing the door, he returned to his own office and locked the door.

Only then did the anger he had been suppressing explode out.

He roughly pulled and threw off his tie.

“Ha, damn. Such an idiot.”

Even while spitting out the words, his hands trembled with rage.

He snatched up the documents placed on the desk and threw them violently.

“A pathetic guy who cannot even move in front of his brother-in-law.”

Heo Sang-gyu expressed his anger for a long time and then moved his gaze to the window.

The city was still peaceful.

However, he knows.

That when a bank collapses, it always starts from a peaceful day like this.

Regaining his reason, he sat in his seat.

He opened his laptop.

The more urgent the heart is, the more one must move according to principles.

“Right. It will be okay if I block it.”

He began to scan the status of overseas Corres accounts again.

Which bank is processing Woojin’s dollar payments on its behalf, and from where that passage could be shaken.

However, unlike his heart, things broke out in the US much faster.

The Woojin Bank New York branch in the Eastern US.

The phone of the person in charge of the Woojin Bank Global Business Team rang noisily.

The voice of the employee who answered the phone after dozing off for a moment was cracked.

“Yes, Woojin Bank New York branch….”

However, the other person skipped things like greetings.

-It is regarding the Woojin-side Corres account. We will fully hold off on USD foreign exchange transactions for the time being.

“…What?!”

The employee’s hand stopped.

To hold off.

-It is the judgment of the risk team. An AML risk related to a specific transaction counterpart was detected. Processing is impossible until the switch to enhanced due diligence.

AML. Anti-Money Laundering.

The employee was momentarily speechless.

To hold off, or a delay in processing, or enhanced due diligence.

Such words are not spoken with the intention to negotiate.

This was a notification.

-Additionally, currently ongoing cases are also subject to re-examination. We have sent a request email for related submissions, so check it.

Click.

The phone was disconnected.

The person in charge froze just like that.

A dollar payment network stopping was the same as a bank’s heart stopping.

The next morning at the Woojin Bank main branch.

The conference room was turned upside down.

What happened overnight was displayed on a large screen.

[Notice of Temporary Suspension - USD Clearing / Enhanced Due Diligence Required]

Someone swallowed their saliva.

“How did this happen?”

“How can they make such a decision in just one day!”

There was no precedent.

At least for Woojin Bank itself, this was the first time for such a thing.

As soon as Heo Sang-gyu saw the screen, his expression hardened.

Even he did not expect it.

Who would have expected it to happen this quickly.

He left the conference room and headed straight for the Bank President’s office.

However, he stopped in front of the door.

Because the words the Bank President had spoken yesterday lingered in his ears again.

‘Let us not make a commotion, especially on a day like today.’

Heo Sang-gyu gritted his teeth.

“This is not a commotion, it is a collapse.”

***

Seoul, one day before the thunderbolt fell on Woojin Bank.

I could not sleep until a late hour.

Because there was something I had to do.

In the quiet office, I picked up the mobile phone.

“Chairman, it has been a long time. Have you been well?”

The other person was Clayton E. McCain, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

I continued speaking.

“It seems there was also money laundering involved in the matter that broke regarding Daehan Group this time.”

“And the lender group agent is Woojin Bank.”

A moment of silence flowed, but I continued speaking.

“If this matter continues to proceed, it will be difficult for Woojin Bank to hold out.”

“If that happens, the US banks connected to Woojin Bank will be the same.”

McCain’s voice sank low.

-I see what you want.

I spoke while wearing a slight smile.

“I am not telling you facts that do not exist.”

“It is an obvious matter already confirmed in the market.”

“However, Woojin Bank was hesitating. It is probably because they are family.”

“But that cannot cover up everything, can it.”

McCain spoke as if organizing things once.

-The problem is that Woojin Bank is protecting Daehan.

“That is right.”

Once those words ended, McCain’s judgment became fast.

What he was doing was not pressure, but a reasonable procedure.

The US-side banks must protect themselves the moment they are entangled in money laundering risk.

That is the regulation and also their way of survival.

-I understand. I will share it with the compliance lines of the related banks at a caution level.”

“The rest, they will judge for themselves.”

I replied briefly.

“That will be enough.”

As soon as I disconnected the call, I dialed another number.

Gordon Soroso, a giant-level investor on Wall Street.

My voice was still calm.

“Have you been well? Gordon.”

-As for me, well. I was just getting bored lately.

I laughed for a moment.

“Then I will tell you one thing that fits your appetite.”

-Oho. As for me, I am always in favor of such things.

Just like that, I stepped forward and shared the events that happened to Daehan Group with the US a little faster.

However, the bank was different.

If they did not process the work even a day faster, their lives would come and go.

I looked out the window and put down the mobile phone.

The dollar payment network.

To block those invisible blood vessels, neither a gun nor a knife was needed.

Only one suspicion was enough for them.