Old Blake's reaction? Carter didn't know, and frankly, he couldn't be bothered to guess.
At this moment, Carter felt nothing but frustration, extreme frustration! What in the world was going on?!
As mentioned earlier, merging nearby banks through the FDIC channel is the most efficient and least difficult way of bank mergers. But just because the review time last year came before their golden profits arrived, their bank's current asset rating is so low that even the FDIC isn't considering letting them take over those bankrupt banks.
So the question is, with $28 million injected now, can they reapply to the FDIC for reassessment?
Yes! Of course!
But by doing so, wouldn't they just be exposing their hand? If the FDIC knew they had such a large sum of money now, wouldn't it make bank mergers easier, so easy that the FDIC would flood them with a bunch of bankrupt banks to take over?
Everything in moderation, including mergers and expansions!
Now that the FDIC doesn't care about them, it's certainly frustrating for Carter. But just think, if the FDIC knew their hand, cared too much about them, and then dumped a bunch of mess on them, wouldn't that be even more frustrating than it is now?
Taking over those banks means not only taking over the market but also taking on their debts! In Carter's mind, he couldn't just swallow up a bunch of markets. He couldn't digest them all!
Taking it one city at a time, that's what Carter hopes to see. But the reality now is: either you don't get any at all, or you take as much as you can get!
"Do you think I should transfer some funds to another bank?"
Thinking about this unfortunate reality, Carter frowned and pondered.
"Are you trying to blow our cover?"
Goodman leisurely lit a cigarette and poured cold water on Carter.
With millions of dollars in assets at stake now, it's almost like having hundreds of millions in the future. Where could such a large sum of money be deposited?
If it were in New York, in Los Angeles, there might be many answers to this question. But in Georgia, sorry, there's only one answer: Atlanta Federal Savings Bank!
You dare to deposit in other small and medium-sized savings banks, and they dare to report you! Think about how big Blake Bank used to be, and that's the size of most small and medium-sized savings banks or savings and loan associations in America these days. Moreover, even if they don't report, Carter himself wouldn't feel comfortable putting such a huge sum of money in someone else's territory.
So depositing it into Atlanta Federal Savings Bank it is.
Their scale is large enough, and Carter can rest assured that they won't swindle his money. But even if they don't report, while they're not reporting, they'll surely investigate where this much money came from. And once they do, how could Carter, as the boss of a savings bank, hide the fact that he's trading stocks and futures?
"So are we just going to stand by and watch?!"
Carter felt a little discouraged, feeling the pain of having too much money for the first time.
"Or should I buy some more stocks? Spend a little?"
"Don't! My dear boss, just because you've made money a few times doesn't mean you'll always make money! You promised me you wouldn't take risks!"
If it weren't for Americans not having the habit of saying "ancestors," Carter had no doubt Goodman would have exclaimed "Oh my ancestors!" Hurriedly stopping the "crazy" Carter, Goodman didn't dare to tease anymore.
"Let's wait for a while. With the current situation, there probably aren't many people with both the strength and the willingness to take over Forest Bank. When the FDIC people are busy, and they can't find suitable successors within a 150-mile radius, I think they'll organize a meeting with various banks."
"If one bank doesn't have the strength to take it over, then bring in a few more! Each bank doesn't have to contribute much, and at the same time, they can share the risk. This has always been the FDIC's practice. When they hold this meeting, you can proceed with your plan."
"Are you suggesting participating in collective financing and acquisitions, and then reclaiming shares from other banks?"
Carter smacked his lips, this seemed like a good idea. It avoids regulation and unnecessary trouble, while secretly achieving their merger goals.
With Pearson City only about 41 kilometers away from Douglas in a straight line, capital mobilization is very convenient. As one of the closest cities to Douglas, Pearson City naturally caught Carter's attention.
"But what if they don't include us in the meeting and play games behind our backs?"
Feeling gleeful in his heart, not long after, Carter suddenly thought of a somewhat unpleasant possibility.
"It's possible, but what can you do now? Let's wait for a while. If that doesn't work, you'll have to actively grab the market. Train a batch of personnel first, and then take action after the working group leaves. As for now, let's just focus on what needs to be done!"
With a resounding rejection, Goodman casually replied. Then, Goodman suddenly paused:
"Oh, wait a minute! We have surplus funds now. We didn't release them earlier to counter risk, but our risk resistance is already strong enough. Shouldn't we consider releasing some? After all, the bank has been unprofitable for a long time, eating into our reserves isn't ideal!"
"What's the basic loan rate at other banks now?"
Goodman's words instantly made the two men socially awkward on the spot. After exchanging a glance, they both tacitly chose to ignore the embarrassing question of "why refuse loans when you have money." After a light cough from Carter, they got back to business.
"I inquired about the basic loan rate, and it's currently around 13.65%."
"What about loans with a term of more than five years?"
Carter felt a bit puzzled by this. This basic loan rate seemed a bit low!
Carter wasn't sure if the concept of a basic loan rate existed domestically. Anyway, in the United States, the basic loan rate refers to the interest rate set by American banks when issuing short-term general loans to customers with the highest credit rating and the best credit history within their own institution.
You can roughly understand it as the lowest interest rate standard of a bank. In normal times, a basic loan annual interest rate of 13.65% is already extremely high. The normal basic loan rate of American banks in the future usually won't exceed 5%.
But this rate seems a bit strange now! Don't forget, the federal funds rate is already over 16% now, so how come the loan rates in the market don't catch up with the benchmark rate?!
"Long-term loans of more than five years are at 16.32%, slightly lower for mortgage loans at 15.83%."
Unlike Carter, who isn't very concerned about interest rate changes, Goodman, as the manager of Blake Bank, has always been paying attention to and tracking these sensitive data, even though their bank isn't currently issuing loans.
Seeing Carter's surprised expression, Goodman, who had previously listened to Carter's prediction that the federal funds rate would rise, easily guessed what Carter was surprised about.
After Goodman finished reporting the loan rates of nearby peers, he helplessly spread his hands:
"This isn't really about them intentionally setting low loan rates. In fact, for customers, these loan rates are already very high, and no one dares to borrow. With the current rate standard, they can't lend out much money in a month. If it were any higher..."