Chapter 58: That Time I Built a Bank in South America (3)

TL: Skye

Two days later, Isabella paid a visit to Yujin University on the outskirts of Libertad.

When she knocked on the wooden door, an elderly, silver-haired gentleman came out to greet her.

This was James Yonta, the son of Abeiro Yonta, godfather of San Marcos's independence, and a world-renowned economist in his own right.

Yu-jin had restored Abeiro's honor and recruited James, who was now serving as president of Yujin University, devoting himself to educating the next generation.

"Chief of Staff, what brings you to such a humble place?"

"I came to ask your advice, President Yonta."

"Heh heh, if it's advice for the nation, I'll give as much as you need."

James smiled genially, and Isabella got right to the point.

"The government intends to establish a bank."

"A bank... you say? Don't we already have a state bank?"

"Not a state bank. A private bank."

"A private bank?"

James's eyes widened.

"May I ask why the state is leading the establishment of a private bank?"

"It is His Excellency's will."

"......"

A brief silence. Only then did Isabella remember that James was American-born, and she added a supplementary explanation.

"Originally, Wells Fargo expressed interest in entering the market..."

After hearing the full explanation, James nodded.

"So that's how it came about. Well, the greed of those types really knows no end. We came dangerously close to mortgaging the nation's future."

"Which is why His Excellency resolved to establish the bank himself, for the future of the country and its people."

James chuckled.

"I can feel San Marcos developing day by day, right down to my bones. It's truly a welcome thing."

"It's thanks to men like you lending their strength, President Yonta."

"Heh heh heh. What have I done, really. Just teaching students, that's all."

James set down his teacup and smiled warmly.

"So then, why have you come to me about starting a bank?"

"We need someone to captain the ship. The candidates at the state bank are all incompetent."

"Someone to captain the ship, hm..."

"Is there anyone you could recommend? Someone of genuine ability, of course, but who can also understand the particular circumstances of San Marcos."

James stroked his beard for a moment, lost in thought, before giving his answer.

"There is one. A former student of mine... an exceptional young man."

"What sort of person is he?"

"A fellow named Benjamin Smith. He was the president of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the States."

"SVB... that's..."

Isabella's eyebrow twitched.

"Isn't that the one that went bankrupt?"

"It is."

James nodded bitterly.

"It happened barely three months after he took over as president. Bad debts left behind by his predecessors collided with a sudden spike in interest rates, and the whole thing collapsed before he had a chance to lift a finger."

"That's unfortunate to hear."

"He bears the stigma of having headed a bank that failed, but his ability was recognized even on Wall Street. When it comes to risk management and system-building, he has no equal."

James continued, conviction in his eyes.

"If you have to build a bank from scratch in a country like San Marcos, where there's nothing to work with, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better man for the job."

"Might you be willing to reach out to him for me?"

"Heh heh heh, of course. I get to save a former student who's backed into a corner, and serve the development of my homeland at the same time. What more could I ask for?"

"Thank you so much."

Having secured a candidate for bank president, Isabella added one more item.

"We also need staff to handle the day-to-day operations. Would it be all right if we hired students from the Yujin University economics and business departments first?"

Yujin University had only been in operation for a year and a half. It would be another two and a half years before the first graduating class, but they needed people now, so she was proposing to draft them early.

"Of course. What better education is there than real-world experience? As for their degrees, we can arrange evening lectures so they can still complete their studies."

"Thank you."

Isabella wore a satisfied smile.

*

One week later. The Presidential Palace.

Benjamin Smith was breaking out in a cold sweat as he faced the man across from him.

The icy gaze, the black suit pressed sharp as a knife, and the cold killing intent radiating from every inch of him.

This was Director Lucio, head of the SIA, the man who was said to rule the nights of San Marcos.

Yu-jin had originally planned to conduct the interview himself, but something had come up regarding the highway construction that required his input at Tortilla Engineering, so Lucio, a former accounting expert, was handling the interview in his stead.

"Pleased to meet you, Mister Smith."

"...Thank you for calling me in."

Benjamin swallowed hard. Lucio set Benjamin's resume down on the table without so much as glancing at it, as if he'd already committed it to memory.

"Let me ask you directly. Do you have any idea why His Excellency wishes to establish a bank?"

"Well... for the economic development of the nation and the stability of its financial system, I would imagine?"

Benjamin gave a textbook answer. Lucio smiled thinly.

"Wrong."

"Excuse me?"

"His Excellency would hardly have summoned a financial technician like yourself to pursue such soft, well-meaning policies. If that were the case, he'd have brought in anyone off the street."

Lucio leaned forward, lowering his voice to a confidential whisper.

"His Excellency desires complete control over the nation's capital."

"Control... you say?"

"At this moment, the capital of San Marcos lies sleeping in people's homes. His Excellency wants to gather that scattered money in one place and use it as fuel to run the country."

This was entirely at odds with what Yu-jin actually wanted, but Lucio's eyes gleamed with the unwavering certainty of a zealot.

Benjamin's pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck behind them.

He too was aware that power in San Marcos was concentrated in Yu-jin's hands.

But this was saying that beyond political power, he intended to seize the money as well and rule as an absolute dictator.

"That sounds rather like seizing control of capital itself..."

Lucio's gaze bored into Benjamin.

"Which is precisely why we have no use for a diligent, by-the-book banker. We need a capable, cold-blooded one who can fill the national coffers under any circumstances. So. Are you up to it?"

As an American banker, his first instinct was naturally one of horror.

'No regulation, no oversight... absolute financial power, guaranteed by the state...'

But. For Benjamin, who had tasted the bitterness of failure thanks to government policy and come to understand the cold logic of power, the words landed differently.

They sounded more like an opportunity to launch his once-ruined career into the stratosphere.

Why had SVB gone bankrupt just three months after he took over?

A sharp hike in interest rates had tanked the value of their bond holdings, triggering a massive bank run.

In other words, the government itself had handed him the knife.

But here, it would be different.

'If I can be on the same team as the government...?'

There was no way he could fail.

"You've already been briefed on the terms, but the salary is two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Pocket change compared to Wall Street, I know. In exchange, we'll provide stock options."

Lucio seemed well aware of this as he raised his chin and spoke.

"The salary isn't important."

Benjamin shook his head.

Money could be invested and put to work.

What's more, stock options in a bank guaranteed to succeed carried enormous value.

What he really needed right now was a vast canvas on which to paint his ambitions.

"What I need is authority. Give me full authority to design the financial system exactly as I see fit."

"So long as you do not cross His Excellency's will, every authority shall be in your hands."

"Good."

Something changed in Benjamin's eyes.

"I have one more condition."

"What is it?"

"There's a team I used to work with. All of them top-tier, but since SVB collapsed, they've been left with nowhere to go."

"And what would you bring them here to do?"

"Building the system alone is impossible. I need specialists in each field. Those men would be a tremendous help. If their salaries are a concern, you can cut mine to make room."

At this, Lucio's mouth curled up in satisfaction.

"No need to cut your salary. The more hounds, the better the hunt. Bring as many as you like."

"Thank you."

Lucio rose from his chair and extended his hand to Benjamin.

"Welcome to your post as the keeper of San Marcos's vault, President Benjamin Smith."

"I'll give it my all."

The two men shook hands.

It was the moment a cartel of politics and finance was born in San Marcos.

***

Under Benjamin's command, the work of establishing the bank moved forward at breakneck speed.

The bank's name was Tortilla Bank. Tortilla Company would provide the initial capital and guarantee deposits, in exchange for which it took a one hundred percent ownership stake.

Benjamin and the team he'd brought with him worked through the nights putting the bank's systems together.

They hauled in hundreds of computers, built out the IT infrastructure, and trained the university students who had been taking classes at Yujin University.

"We open the main branch and ten branches in downtown Libertad simultaneously. Station mobile truck branches at every highway construction site, and open a branch in front of the northern oil refinery plant as well!"

The preparations were flawless. And then came the long-awaited opening day. The Tortilla Bank main branch, located in Libertad Central Plaza.

As the nine a.m. opening time drew near, Benjamin and his executives stared tensely out the window.

"President Smith, don't get your hopes up."

The head of the risk management team spoke uneasily.

"This is the first private bank in a developing country under a dictatorship. Public trust is going to be at rock bottom. It'll be a miracle if first-day deposits even clear one hundred thousand dollars."

"I know. You can't fill your belly on the first spoonful. We'll just have to build trust slowly."

Benjamin, too, had already emptied his expectations.

No matter how much they'd advertised, people who'd used nothing but cash their entire lives weren't going to walk through a bank's doors overnight.

From here on out, it would be a matter of building trust brick by brick if the mission was to succeed.

"All right. Let's open."

At Benjamin's word, the shutters at every branch rolled up and the bank doors swung wide.

Nine a.m. sharp. As expected, no one came in.

But after an hour, a few people began trickling in, and after two hours the bank was full, and then, finally, after three hours...

"Huh?"

A line began to form not only in front of the bank but stretching down the main avenue.

"The doors are open! Stop pushing!"

"Me first! I got here first!"

"Please, just take my money!"

In people's hands were crumpled wads of dollars and heavy bundles wrapped in cloth.

From market vendors to mothers with babies strapped to their backs, laborers in work clothes, old men leaning on canes. Men and women, young and old, a tide of humanity came pouring in.

"Shut up! Take my money!"

Benjamin and his Wall Street elites watched the scene with utterly vacant expressions.

"Wh, what on earth...?"

A reverse bank run, the complete opposite of what they'd witnessed right before SVB's collapse, was unfolding before their eyes.

"Don't just stand there gawking! Everyone, to the counters! Take the money!"

With Benjamin's near-scream of an order, Tortilla Bank's first day of business was underway.

*****

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