The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 268



Only Noblemtl

268. Hyenas of Wall Street (3)

CITI Group Chairman’s Office.

I visited after receiving a formal invitation from Dimon.

The atmosphere was chaotic, perhaps because interior construction was in progress.

“It looks like they are trying to make it feel similar to a fintech bank.”

“If we want to change the rotten atmosphere of the past, shouldn’t we start with the interior?”

“Since there has been a major change in management, the atmosphere within the company will likely change quickly. I had no idea it would be organized so quickly.”

The pressure from the US government was really strong.

Most of the executives, including Sandy Weill, left the company, giving up their severance pay and even their shares.

“The U.S. government harassed me so terribly. Just looking at it from the side gave me chills.”

“Is the atmosphere inside the CITI Group okay? When mergers and acquisitions take place and management is replaced, employees’ minds are bound to be shaken.”

“There wasn’t that much confusion. There were quite a few people who were close to me, and there were also people who worked under me, so the atmosphere was rather welcoming.”

If it were any other financial company, this atmosphere would not have been created.

However, there was no confusion because Dimon’s stake was significant in helping CITI Group grow to its current size.

The abandoned second-in-command pushed out the first-in-command and took the throne.

Because this was a typical repertoire, it was easy to accept.

“How do you feel? Are you relieved now?”

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I can now sleep comfortably at night. I have now stopped consulting with a psychiatrist.”

“Are you receiving psychiatric treatment?”

“The psychiatrist said that the only end of revenge is destruction, so I should just forget about it and live my life.”

“So what is it like?”

“Destruction is a piece of cake! I’ve never felt this exhilarated in my life. I feel like I’ve been completely reborn, and I’m so happy every day.”

Dimon looked several years younger in just a few days.

It feels like I’m flying in the sky because I’ve made a dream I’ve only imagined for 10 years into reality.

“It won’t be easy to normalize CITI Group. If I say this now, I would rather take a bear stance or take over another bank.”

“The scale was beyond my expectations. And I am confident that I will be able to normalize the CITI Group. There is enough money raised in the fintech bank, and isn’t restructuring my specialty?”

Dimon was a restructuring expert.

Many affiliates of the Taewo Group were beautifully carved by his hands and sold elsewhere.

Even when working with Sandy Weil, restructuring was always his responsibility, and no one was better than Dimon when it came to normalizing companies.

“It’s going to be a blow to the CITI Group.”

“Isn’t that the same for AIZ? In order to normalize the largest insurance company in the United States, you will need to receive resignation letters from at least 10,000 people.”

“First of all, we need to complete the acquisition of AIZ before we can restructure, but it still takes some time.”

The CITI group was a special case.

Because Dimon and CITI Group had their own bond, the merger process was able to proceed quickly, but in the case of AIZ, it took time because it had no connection with us.

“I already heard that Team Leader Han is living in AIZ. Are you going to give Team Leader Han the position of AIZ president?”

“That’s not true. I plan to appoint a team leader to the position of president of Taewoo Securities, and select one of the existing executives or managers to take the position of president of AIZ.”

“That way, it wouldn’t feel strange. If someone from another company suddenly becomes the CEO, existing employees would feel rejected.”

SAVE Investment Company AIZ and Taewoo Securities.

Since three companies had to be merged into one, there were many things to consider.

But there wasn’t much to worry about. Because there was someone at SAVE Investment Company who created a bond that didn’t exist.

“I sent David to AIZ. We have company dinners with AIZ employees every day and are building bonds.”

“Then there will be no problem. If you have a drink with David just once, don’t you feel like we’ve been friends for 20 years?”

“Taewoo Group’s planning office, legal team, and Taewoo Securities officials will arrive soon, so it looks like the merger and acquisition will be completed within next month at the latest.”

“If Taewoo Securities swallows AIZ and SAVE Investment Company, won’t it become too massive? It will become bigger than most financial groups.”

“There is a saying that quality is better than quantity, but after working in this field, I realized that in the end, economics of scale are important. This tendency is especially strong in the financial field.”

Ultimately, the financial industry was an industry that made a living through trust.

It was necessary to attract at least one more customer to sign up for a deposit or insurance, and the larger the scale, the more a virtuous cycle was created.

“The financial sector is inherently a battle for power. That’s why I also preyed on the CITI Group.”

“We need to make sure the handover is underway before the merger or acquisition is finalized.”

“If that’s the issue, don’t worry. We’ve already received a clear handover through a team leader, and we’re handling it through various channels without leaving any trace.”

I also came to Dimon to say this.

Now that SAVE Investment Company has been merged and merged, it has been difficult to use the funds as I wish.

Therefore, we proceeded with transferring hidden assets to a fintech bank.

In fact, it was no different from transferring money from your pocket to your wallet.

Although it is not known to the world, I am the person who holds the largest stake in the fintech bank.

“Please continue to take good care of me in the future.”

“Shouldn’t I do you a favor? I will follow you well as I have done before.”

It was Dimon who stood up and bowed his head.

Although he was sitting as the representative of CITI Group, he bowed his head plainly without a single wrinkle.

“What are we doing between us?”

“I wanted to express how much I think of you, CEO. I’m not just saying this, if you want, I can give you CITI Group at any time.”

“That won’t happen, so don’t worry. You can sit on the throne of CITI Group for the rest of your life. Don’t bother passing it on to me.”

“Is that going to happen again? Then, I will work hard to protect this position for the sake of the CEO!”

We smiled and held hands.

It was a handshake between those who experienced the greatest victory in the subprime mortgage crisis.

Of course, it wasn’t over yet. Because more fruits were waiting for me.

* * *

The planning director and Taewoo Securities President Park rushed to the United States.

I handed them data on mergers and acquisitions already in progress at SAVE Investment Company.

“You know the basics, right? In the future, AIZ Insurance Company will become one with our Taewoo Securities. And SAVE Investment Company will also be merged together.”

“The chairman was quite embarrassed. I barely managed to stop him from coming to the United States right away. He even yelled at me, asking me how he could do such a big thing without consulting me.”

It was a grandfather’s way of bragging about his grandson.

Because if you talk about me like a bad guy, I can brag openly.

“It just so happened to be like that. Mergers and acquisitions won’t change much. AIZ and Taewoo Securities are not actually merging, you can think of them as affiliates.”

“Can SAVE Investment Company be managed that way?”

“Of course, it is said that it will be managed independently, but overall management will have to be handled by us. It is like a separate financial group has been created within the Taewo Group.”

“That’s right. It has become bigger than most financial conglomerates.”

Investment companies, insurance and even securities.

Taewoo Group had a larger financial affiliate than any other financial group in Korea.

In addition, since there were two American companies whose main activity was not in Korea, there was a size difference that made comparison impossible.

“I am well aware that the scale has grown too much. So, I would like to entrust the overall management of the financial affiliates to a very trustworthy person. Could you take charge, President Park?”

“Are you talking about me? It’s bigger than most large corporations. Can I do it?”

“You just have to do what you did when leading Taewoo Securities. And since the presidents of each affiliate will manage it well, you just need to coordinate the risk management part well.”

There was a reason why I offered the position of general president to President Park.

It was natural that he was talented, and based on my experience working so far, he was a person who I got along well with.

Although I can’t say this directly to President Park.

In order to run the financial affiliates according to my wishes, it would have been better for President Park to take the position of general president.

“I’m afraid I might cause trouble.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to do it? Hmm, I wasn’t thinking of anyone else, but then I guess I’ll have to find another candidate quickly. Let me ask you again: Are you sure you don’t want to do it?”

“Oh, no. I’ll give it a try as best I can.”

Who doesn’t like gamtu?

In particular, there were not many people in the Korean financial sector who would turn down the courage to take on the largest insurance company in the United States.

Rather, it would be better if they fought each other to do it.

“As soon as I return to Korea, I would like to ask the chairman to appoint President Park as the general president of the financial affiliate. I would like to suggest the vice-chairman position, but it is still too early. Please stay in the general president position for just a little while.”

“I will be loyal. I can wait not just one year, but even 10 years. I have no complaints even if I remain in the position of general president for life.”

President Park was a very sensible person.

In order to make him vice president, I had to become president.

Because that meant my grandfather would have to retire from the chairmanship, he did not express his desire for the vice-chairman position.

What if you were greedy for the vice president position?

Naturally, President Park’s remarks would reach my grandfather’s ears, and I would spend my entire working life observing my grandfather’s opinions.

“Now that discussions have been completed with the U.S. government and AIZ, we will be able to proceed with the merger without difficulty.”

“By the way, Vice President, I would like to know what the relationship is with SAVE Investment Company. The most questionable thing about this merger and acquisition process is SAVE Investment Company. I don’t understand why they want to do a merger and acquisition with us.”

It was a situation that was difficult for anyone to understand.

SAVE Investment Company was an investment company that was already firmly rooted on Wall Street, and there was no reason to do a merger or acquisition with us.

But I was able to explain why in just one sentence.

“I created SAVE Investment Company. What’s the problem with my company being merged with Taewoo Group?”

“······Are you saying that the Vice Chairman is the owner of SAVE Investment Company?”

“Someone will be here soon to tell you more. They’re coming just now.”

A team leader was coming inside.

President Park immediately recognized a team leader who was affiliated with Taewoo Securities.

“President Park doesn’t believe that I am the owner of SAVE Investment Company. Please explain, Team Leader Han.”

“That’s right. Do you remember your dedicated team? The company created by that team is SAVE Investment Company, and the vice president owns all the shares.”

“······.”

It was President Park and the planning director who couldn’t keep their mouths shut.

I wanted to keep it a little more surprising, but there was no time for that right now.

I had to work hard to pluck and eat the fruit that was still left.

“There is no time for this. Get moving!”