American Comics Plane Trader

"Josie, do you know what the Continental Illinois Bank means?" John Lebile looked at the young man in front of him with some amusement and asked.

In his opinion, Josie Kahn is undoubtedly a very outstanding young man, even far better than his eldest son, whom he has always considered proud.

It's just that I have to say that young people are still a bit arrogant.

Think you can buy a bank with some money?

Of course, he knew about the fact that Josie received a large order from the military in Europe, that is, the Bright Light Potion worth 200 million U.S. dollars.

In addition to this order, he estimated that Josie's other businesses in Europe might have earned hundreds of millions.

To be honest, with two to three hundred million yuan, it is not impossible to acquire a first-class bank in the United States.

But the problem is, the Continental Illinois Bank is not an ordinary first-class bank.

In later generations, many people may be unfamiliar with Continental Bank of Illinois, compared to famous banks such as Citigroup, America, America, Mellon, Morgan, and Wells Fargo.

Which is normal because the bank failed in the 80's.

But please don't think this bank is weak just because it failed.

In fact, before the collapse, the Continental Illinois Bank was the largest Apex bank in the Midwest of the United States and ranked seventh in the United States. Its market value was 2.3 billion US dollars and it was sitting on assets of more than 42 billion US dollars. It was one of the top ten Apex financial institutions in the United States. one.

This alone may not be intuitive, but comparing it with another bank, Wells Fargo, which will rank third in the United States in 2022, is very clear.

In 1986, Wells Fargo had a market capitalization of less than 1 billion and assets of just over 20 billion.

But in 2022, Wells Fargo's assets have reached 180 billion, and its assets are close to 2 trillion.

In such a comparison, we can actually see how awesome the Continental Illinois Bank is.

And the Continental Illinois Bank failed precisely because it was too strong.

It is so powerful that the management is overconfident and blindly expands various high-leverage projects, so that the debt crisis leads to a wave of liquidation.

The collapse of this bank eventually became a classic example in the world's financial history, and for the first time broke the cognition that "a bank that is too big will not fail".

Its collapse was also one of the important reasons for the decline of the Chicago Consortium in the original world.

The current Continental Illinois Bank is naturally not as strong as it was in the 1980s, but its market value still exceeds one billion, and it is the core bank of the Chicago consortium.

It's no wonder that John Lebile thinks that Josie is whimsical, such an important bank, why does Josie think that he can buy it, and think that the tycoons of the Chicago consortium will sell it?

"Of course I know what the Bank of Chicago means. It is the core bank of the Chicago consortium with a market value of over 1 billion." Josie replied.

"You know? Then why do you think you can buy the Bank of Chicago? And why do you think that our shareholders will sell? Josie, I know you want to join the Chicago consortium. In fact, you also have absolute qualifications to join us, but the acquisition of the mainland Bank, too much!" Johann Lebile said, shaking his head.

"John Uncle, don't rush to deny it. Of course I understand the importance of Continental Bank to the consortium, and I also know that what I have so far is not enough to buy Continental Bank. In addition, I don't plan to use cash to buy, but to use replacement." Josie explained with a smile.

It would be unrealistic to buy Continental Bank with cash. It seems that the market value is only a few hundred million, but because of its importance, the other party may sell it unless the premium exceeds 50% or more.

With such a high price, it may not be enough to count all Josie's gray income and cash out all assets.

But with a replacement, the situation is different.

Not only do you not need to spend any money, but you can even save a lot of money.

"Replacement? What do you replace?" John Lebile was puzzled.

"Austrian National Bank, Austrian Central Bank, Bavarian Bank, BNP Paribas, Lloyds Bank!" Josie announced the names of five banks in one breath.

All of them are famous banks in the world.

Especially the Austrian National Bank, if Johann Lebile is sure that he remembers correctly, it is the Austrian central bank! ! ! ! !

There is also the Bavarian Bank, which is also a state bank, and the outflow of shares is extremely rare.

War is war, but who the hell would sell bank assets of this level?

How did Josie have these bank shares?

In fact, it is very simple. The two banks in France and the United Kingdom were replaced with materials. Because of the war, the life of these two banks was not easy, and the shareholders were almost bankrupt. For them, Josie exchanged hard currency for materials. , Far more practical than buying with money.

As for the Austrian National Bank and the Austrian Central Bank and the Bavarian Bank, those are the assets of Hydra...

Well, to be precise, it was originally Schmidt's personal property.

Although Schmidt was "killed" by the US team and the Strategic Science Corps.

But this part of the theoretical "state-owned" assets is not yet at the disposal of the Americans.

After all, Austria is only cooperating with you and the United States, and it is not occupied by you.

And since Josie has gathered Schmidt's remaining forces, it is only natural that these assets fall into his hands.

Although Josie's shares in these five banks are not large, the total value is far less than one billion US dollars.

But the significance it represents, to the Chicago consortium, is far more than one billion dollars.

"Are you serious?" John Lebile's face suddenly became extremely serious.

"Of course it is serious. Although the shares he owns are not many, they are genuine!" Josie nodded and said that he would not feel any pain in the exchange of these shares, because the exchange is not a sale.

These shares are exchanged for the shares and the right to speak of Continental Bank. These shares will still belong to Continental Bank, not a private individual. That is to say, the actual right to speak of these shares will still be in the hands of Josie. What is shared is nothing but the possible benefits of these shares.

Money can never be earned, so compared to money, Josie cares more about the right to speak.

"...Josie, let's set a time for the baptism of the children. How about setting it at the Cathedral of the Holy Name? I have a good relationship with Archbishop Cody, and I will persuade him to baptize the two children in person. In addition, I promise On that day, all the core members of the Chicago Consortium will appear at the christening ceremony!" John Lebile said after a long thought.

Compared with other consortiums, the Chicago consortium may be a little slow in responding to capital, but that doesn't mean they are all stupid.

Josie took out the shares of these banks, which is tantamount to feeding half of the big fat in Europe to their mouths. If they don't eat such a special, the consortium headed by John Lebil Members themselves cannot forgive themselves.

However, the specific replacement method and amount cannot be decided by the two of them casually, and must be negotiated.

But this does not prevent the Chicago consortium from establishing Josie's position in the Chicago consortium through a certain baptism ceremony.

"Why don't John Uncle come to my place to have a light meal at night, discuss about the baptism, and just take a look at the child, Margo hasn't seen you for a long time!" Hearing John Lebile's assurance, Josie knew this Things settled down, and an invitation was sent immediately.

"Of course, I'm very happy to accept this invitation!" Josh's invitation made John Lebile very pleased, and he began to think about what gifts to bring to the two children and Margot.