TOIGC 84

Chapter 84 …

Who is the Underdog, the Corporation or the Bank? (3)

“I’m only sharing this with you because our negotiations—or rather, Manager Ahn, because your side and ours have reached the final home stretch.”

Ahn Dae-ho swallowed hard, completely unable to guess what kind of bombshell Choi Chul-gyu was about to drop.

“If we were to request a loan in the neighborhood of 100 billion won from Sun-han Bank, what kind of interest rate could you offer?” “Pardon? A loan? And for 100 billion won at that?”

Since he hadn’t in a million years expected such a question at this stage, Dae-ho accidentally let his shock show right on his face.

“That’s right. I’d love to bundle this in alongside our current dealings if possible, which is why I brought you in specially. Could you give me an answer?”

An abacus began clicking away at light-speed inside Dae-ho’s head.

What kind of interest rate should we even offer? No, the loan rate isn’t the only thing. We’d have to figure out deposit rates, too… This isn’t something I can decide on my own. I have to report this to the branch manager.

Dae-ho’s expression rapidly regained its composure.

“I am terribly sorry, but would you mind giving me just a single day to get back to you? I want to make sure I come back with a much more accurate and competitive proposal.”

“Hmm, is that so? Well, if you must.”

Seeing Chul-gyu display such a nonchalant reaction, Dae-ho instinctively realized that time was a luxury he didn’t have.

“I will let you know as soon as humanly possible.” “Understood. I’ll look forward to your call, then.” “Yes! I’m heading straight back to the bank right now. Please bear with me just a moment.”

Watching Dae-ho practically vanish into thin air like a gust of wind, Chul-gyu chuckled. After all, Dae-ho was only the third person to visit him today, and there were still plenty of others lined up for him to meet.

Sun-han Bank Branch Manager’s Office

“What? A loan? One hundred billion won?!”

As soon as he heard Dae-ho’s frantic report, the branch manager—who had been right in the middle of a smoke—dropped his cigarette straight onto the plush carpet covering the office floor.

It sparked a minor flurry of panic as the two men hastily stomped out the embers on the rug, but the commotion didn’t last long.

“Yes, 100 billion won. I thought I misheard at first, too, but I made sure—it’s definitely 100 billion.” “Are they out of their minds… Is there even any business justification for Yaikai Department Store to borrow 100 billion won? Wait, hold on… could it be…?” “You’re probably thinking the exact same thing I am, sir. Nine times out of ten, they’re planning a second branch.”

Even though it was classified as confidential, looking at the construction costs Yaikai had reportedly poured into their first location, requesting 100 billion won to fund a massive second branch was entirely within the realm of possibility.

“One hundred billion… 100 billion won…”

The branch manager lit a fresh cigarette, but the slight tremor in his hands refused to stop. A 100-billion-won loan. If they managed to pull it off successfully, it would be an absolute goldmine, generating over 10 billion won in annual profit based on standard tier-one commercial bank lending rates at the time.

Of course, that didn’t mean there weren’t risks.

“A hundred billion isn’t pocket change we can just hand out on a whim. We’d need formal approval from head office.”

No matter how high Sun-han Bank ranked among primary financial institutions, 100 billion won was an astronomical sum. In this era’s currency value, it easily translated to over 300 billion won by 2010s standards. If they lent it out and it went belly-up, it wouldn’t just be Ahn Dae-ho’s head rolling—the fallout would be catastrophic.

“Still, isn’t it well worth it given it’s Yaikai Department Store? Based on our estimates, their opening-day revenue alone topped 1 billion won, and even though the daily rush has cooled slightly since then, I understand they’re still easily clearing 500 million won a day. Assuming a conservative 40% profit margin, that means Yaikai could pay off the entire principal in roughly 500 days.”

While Yaikai’s actual real-time numbers were clocking in at 400 million won a day for the main branch alone—and far surpassing that once the mini department stores were factored in—Sun-han Bank had managed to calculate a remarkably close approximation.

“That’s exactly why I’m sitting here agonizing over it.”

At the manager’s words, Dae-ho pushed for a stronger argument.

“What’s more, Yaikai Department Store has deeply influential ties with the new military regime. If our Sun-han Bank cements a tight relationship with them now, the collateral benefits down the line are going to be massive…” “That’s precisely why this gives me a headache.” “Pardon?”

The branch manager stubbed out his cigarette and lit another one.

Puff.

Exhaling a thick cloud of smoke, the manager motioned for Dae-ho to take a seat, too.

“Think about it carefully. If this were a simple, conventional lending relationship, we’d hold all the cards as the superior party. Right?” “That’s true.”

If they were lending to an ordinary corporation rather than Yaikai, the bank would undoubtedly be the undisputed master of the dynamic. Since a struggling or mediocre company trying to borrow massive sums isn’t an everyday occurrence, the bank could command higher interest rates, and the corporate finance officers wouldn’t dare treat their loan officer with anything less than utmost respect.

But what if the borrower is an entity like Yaikai Department Store?

Given their current revenue streams, the probability of default was near zero, they possessed heavy real estate collateral in prime locations, and their political backing was airtight. Because a loan of this scale was essentially a vehicle for buying political and corporate influence, profitability couldn’t be evaluated through a standard lens; there were too many complex moving parts to weigh.

“We essentially have two choices. The first is to treat it as a pure, straightforward financial lending business.” “In that case, we’d have more breathing room regarding the interest rates.” “Right, exactly. And the second choice is to treat it as a strategic vessel for forging long-term ties. Under this approach, we can’t possibly squeeze them for high interest rates. On top of that, we’d undoubtedly have to offer preferential deposit rates for Yaikai’s funds, too.” “If we go with the latter, it’ll demand rigorous, multi-layered risk assessment.” “That’s the core problem.” “Sir?” “We don’t have the luxury of time.” “I mean, I asked them to give us a full day to respond…”

Seeing Dae-ho’s clueless response, the branch manager furrowed his brow.

“You absolute fool! Dae-ho, are you out of your mind? Do you honestly think that ‘one single day’ was an exclusive grace period granted only to us? Have you lost your grip on reality just because someone threw around the number 100 billion?!” “Gasp!”

Only then did Dae-ho realize the magnitude of the blunder he had committed.

“Man, use your head! Do you really think Yaikai’s representative only dropped those words to you? They almost certainly dangled that exact proposal in front of every single competing bank. And they’re going to hand the deal to whichever institution brings back the most favorable terms. The fact that they casually brought up a massive loan after we had already locked in our baseline deposit rates proves that Yaikai’s negotiator is no pushover. That bastard is an absolute shark.” “I’m sorry. I guess I got carried away because I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime account.”

As Dae-ho bowed his head in contrition, the manager let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.

“No. At least by reporting it to me immediately, you did your job. Still, this isn’t something I have the authority to greenlight on my own.” “Then… what do you plan to do?” “Get up. We’re heading straight to the head office. We need to get directives from senior management. It’s great to try and hog all the glory, but a fish this big will just sink our boat if we try to swallow it whole.” “Are you sure about this, sir? This is a massive opportunity…” “Do you have the stomach to shoulder the blame if it blows up in our faces?”

Unable to find a voice to reply, Dae-ho stood up silently as the manager spat out his final verdict:

“Then shut up and follow me.”

Yaikai Department Store Office

“If I had to name the greatest stroke of luck in my life, it’d definitely be getting hired here at Yaikai Department Store. Look at this, Min-gwan. Look at all these gifts.”

With a face beaming with pure bliss, Ma Seok-il gestured toward the towering piles of loot stacked underneath his desk.

“Being a corporate sales liaison is honestly wild…” “Hey, think back to when you used to listen to everyone’s complaints down at the construction site. Remember how well those folks treated you back then?” “Well, they treated me nice enough, sure, but there wasn’t much practical substance to it. Most of them didn’t have two pennies to rub together to begin with.” “That may be true, but from their perspective, they were treating you as well as they possibly could, right?” “I suppose so.”

As Min-gwan nodded, Seok-il pressed on with his lesson.

“And it’s not like we’re living the high life just because we’re in sales. We’re living like this because we happen to be the ones running the negotiation desk. To put it bluntly, aren’t bank sales reps practically rolling out the red carpet to butter us up right now?” “Ah, I suppose you’re right.” “And you—right now, you’re sitting there internally agonizing, ‘Is it really okay for me to accept all this stuff?’ aren’t you?”

Caught red-handed, Min-gwan offered an awkward, sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head.

“Is it that obvious?” “It’s written all over your face. But don’t feel an ounce of guilt about it. That’s just how the corporate game works.” “You mean it’s all like this?” “Think about it. Just like how we’re getting wined and dined right now, when those very same banks turn around and deal with parties they need to impress, they lap up the exact same treatment from the other side.” “Ah… I think I’m starting to get the picture.” “People make the naive mistake of assuming that whoever happens to be in the underdog position is always some pitiful victim—complete nonsense. There comes a time when the underdog gets to sit in the master’s seat. When that happens, do you think the former underdog looks back and says, ‘Ah, I remember how rough it was being down there, let’s treat the little guy extra nice’? Hell no! They squeeze them even harder. Why? Because they need to make up for all the losses they suffered when they were at the bottom of the food chain.” “Surely not…” “You think I’m making this up? Just think back to all the stories you heard working down at the construction sites. I guarantee you crossed paths with plenty of small-time subcontractors who acted like tyrants the second they caught a break.”

Min-gwan began connecting those past war stories to the cold corporate reality in front of him, and within moments, a bitter smile touched his lips.

“Manager Ma, you’re spot on.” “At the end of the day, that’s what a company is. It’s not about playing nice with other firms; it’s about figuring out how to bleed the other side dry to make your own company bigger. To be frank, do you actually believe small business owners who constantly whine about how hard the company has it?”

Min-gwan suddenly recalled hearing a man boast on one day, “I’m the kind of guy who drops a top-tier corporate employee’s annual salary at a bar in a single night,” only to whine the next, “The company is going under because times are too tough,” and his smile turned even more cynical.

“Even if a superior corporate giant treats a subordinate firm well, that value doesn’t trickle down to the rank-and-file employees anyway. It goes straight into the owner’s pocket.” “It’s kind of wild… Back then, I just listened to all of this passively, but once you start connecting it to real life, society feels awfully dirty and bitter.” “That’s just reality. Which is why peons like us have to pick who we pledge our loyalty to very carefully.” “Pledge our loyalty to?” “Right. Some garbage small-business bosses will pay a guy who’s busted his ass for them for decades a measly 100,000 won a month, while pocketing over 6 million won themselves. Is a guy like that worth bleeding for?” “Not a chance.”

Watching Min-gwan finally spit out a resolute answer, Seok-il smiled approvingly.

“Now, look at President Ryu. He grants us a massive degree of autonomy while keeping our welfare package fully loaded. That’s the kind of company worth giving your loyalty to. Remember this: don’t waste your energy worrying about other companies’ employees. Just be loyal to the person who treats you right. That’s the golden rule of surviving in society. As Yaikai Department Store grows, we’re going to hire way more people, which means even more folks get to enjoy the same perks we do, right?”

Though it was laced with a fair bit of corporate sophistry, it was convincing enough to make Min-gwan’s eyes light up with understanding.

“I never thought of it that way.” “Good, then let’s go meet our next visitor.”

Tier-one commercial banks were Chul-gyu’s domain. Tier-two financial institutions were handled by Seok-il and Min-gwan.

A fierce, unofficial private auction for the 100-billion-won loan package was in full swing behind the scenes.

Follow-up Question: Which financial institution do you think will ultimately win the fierce bidding war to secure Yaikai’s massive 100-billion-won loan package?