NABC Chapter 64 The War Between Banks
Chapter 64 The War Between Banks
The door was pushed open again.
The first person to walk in was the deputy manager of the second business department of Sumitomo Bank's main branch.
He had obviously received an emergency call and rushed over from another floor.
Behind him were three people.
Masakazu Yamada.
Chihaya Yuri.
And—Kiryu Yaya.
The air in the conference room seemed to freeze completely at that moment.
The Sumitomo Bank staff were taken aback at first, then their expressions all changed.
Miyazawa was leaning back in his chair when he saw Kiryu Yaya and the other two walk in. His eyes widened slightly and his gaze instantly locked onto Kiryu Yaya.
As Miyazawa Keiko, who was sitting at the end of the long table, saw Kiryu Yaya walk in, her tense heart finally relaxed.
He really came.
"Deputy Minister, what does this mean?"
The examiner from Sumitomo was the first to stand up and ask questions as usual.
The deputy head of the sales department did not answer him immediately, but instead scanned the room and finally his gaze fell on the draft confirmation document in the center of the table.
His expression immediately darkened further.
"These are Section Chief Yamada, Section Chief Chihaya, and Acting Chief Manager Kiryu from Mitsubishi Bank."
He spoke with great restraint, but he pronounced each name very clearly.
"Please, all three of you."
Masakazu Yamada nodded slightly.
He then stood on either side of the doorway, one on the left and one on the right, without immediately moving forward.
Kiryu Yaya, under everyone's gaze, slowly walked to one end of the long table.
He simply stood there, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, his expression calm. His gaze swept across the faces of Sumitomo's inspector, the head of the corporate sales department, Yutaro Kamiya, Hara Miyazawa, and others, finally settling on the draft confirmation document on the table.
The entire conference room was so quiet that only the sound of the air conditioner blowing could be heard.
A moment later, Kiryu Yaya spoke.
"Excuse me."
Let me introduce myself first.
His voice was not loud, but exceptionally clear:
"I am Kiryu Yaya from the Financial Review Department of Mitsubishi Bank's Osaka branch."
"I am currently acting as the chief agent in the case of the 'Miyazawa Group Emergency Risk Review', directly authorized by Branch Manager Takahiro Matsumoto."
He paused, his gaze falling on Deputy Minister Sumitomo, his tone remaining steady:
"We are here today not to interfere with Sumitomo Bank's internal credit procedures, nor to meddle in the Miyazawa Group's internal affairs."
"It's because the Rokko Golf Development Project poses a direct and significant risk to the security of our bank's existing claims."
No one spoke in the meeting room.
Everyone was watching this young man.
He is far too young.
Yet, the rhythm, pauses, and lines of his speech showed none of the awkwardness of a newcomer.
Kiryu Yaya continued:
"Sumitomo Bank today defined this meeting as the 'Rokko Golf Development Project Financing Extension Briefing'."
"However, we obtained and verified the accounting records related to the Rokka Golf Course development last night."
"This includes at least two sets of parallel accounts: one for external explanation and one for recording actual liabilities and internal fund transfers within the group."
"Based on our preliminary comparison results, the Rokko Golf development currently exhibits at least the following significant anomalies—"
He took out a summary.
"First, the true level of debt is systematically underestimated."
"In publicly available information, the borrowing for the Rokka project, the preparation for the return of members' advance payments, and the current payment pressure have been compressed to a level that can still be alleviated through extension."
"However, according to the books we have, the short-term loans that have not been recorded, the member return provisions that have been delayed in being confirmed, and the funding gap that has been covered up by other accounts, are conservatively estimated to be at least 2 billion yen higher than publicly stated."
Yutaro Kamiya suddenly raised his head.
"Two billion?!"
The other director's expression also changed.
Miyazawa Hara remained seated, but his gaze had turned icy cold.
Kiryu Yaya didn't stop.
"Secondly, Rokko Golf Development does not operate on its own cash flow, but is continuously receiving financial support from other entities within the Miyazawa Group."
"The most important one is Miyazawa Tourism Development Co., Ltd."
He took out the second summary and placed it next to the first one.
"If your bank only considers Rokkaku as an independent project today, it will make the wrong judgment: as long as it is postponed or slowed down, the project can survive."
But the truth is—
"The reason Rokko is still alive is simply because Miyazawa Tourism Development is still giving it a lifeline."
His fingertips lightly tapped the paper.
"The publicly disclosed internal funding within the group is 1.2 billion."
"There are at least 500 million more in unrecorded funds that have been transferred behind the scenes."
"In addition to interest advances, outstanding project payments, and the postponement of member return preparations, this is no longer ordinary group support."
"This is like using a relatively healthy entity to force a project that has already lost too much blood to keep breathing."
Miyazawa Hara's expression grew increasingly grim.
Kiryu Yaya slowly raised his third finger.
"Third, and most importantly."
"The Miyazawa tourism development is one of the core borrowers of our bank's existing 8 billion yuan related credit line."
The meeting room fell silent once again.
"What does this mean?"
Kiryu Yaya looked at the Sumitomo Bank staff, his voice steady:
"This means that the risks of the Rokko Golf development are no longer a project problem that Sumitomo Bank alone can handle."
"Instead, it has already begun to be transmitted to the Miyazawa tourism development through internal group funding, thereby posing a direct threat to the security of our bank's existing large-scale claims."
"In other words, today's meeting is not just a matter between Sumitomo and the Miyazawa Group."
"Instead, it is Sumitomo Bank that is deciding whether to continue to allow a project with significant suspicion of financial misrepresentation, under the guise of group support, to further erode the credit base of another major creditor bank."
Upon hearing this, Vice Minister Sumitomo's gaze finally darkened completely.
The Sumitomo examiner no longer dared to speak casually.
Because Kiryu Yaya has already placed the matter in an extremely important position—
What Sumitomo Bank is doing now is knowingly or should have known about the risk of distortion, yet continuing to push forward a project and transferring the risk to the debt of other banks.
If this is confirmed, there will be legal consequences.
Kamiya Yutaro's face was ashen. He finally turned his head and looked at Miyazawa Hara:
"Yuan, what does this mean?"
Another director couldn't hold back any longer:
"What exactly happened with the Rokkaku account?!"
Miyazawa Hara remained seated, silent for two seconds, before slowly raising his head.
"Kiryu-kun."
When he spoke, his voice remained calm, but the gentleness had completely disappeared.
Miyazawa slammed the documents in his hand onto the table and shouted:
"You dared to make such accusations against the Miyazawa Group's finances in front of Sumitomo Bank's main branch, using some dubious documents—"
Do you know what you're doing?
Kiryu Yaya looked at him.
After a moment, he said calmly:
"Of course I know."
"I'm doing what a bank is supposed to do."
"If there are no problems with your group's accounts, then Sumitomo and Mitsubishi can jointly audit them, which will clear Miyazawa Group's name."
"But what if there's a problem with the accounts—"
Kiryu Yaya paused, then raised his voice and shouted towards Miyazawa Hara:
"Or perhaps Managing Director Miyazawa is determined to drag Miyazawa Tourism down, in which case Mitsubishi Bank will have no choice but to withdraw that 8 billion yen loan!"
The words fell.
The meeting room was so quiet that you could hear the faint sound of the paper edges being blown by the air conditioner.
At this moment, the last trace of composure on Miyazawa Hara's face finally vanished completely.