"Hehehe, about this..."
Waving towards Carter, Goodman signaled for him to come closer. As Carter approached until their ears almost touched, Goodman quickly uttered:
"We can't let FDIC have it easy!"
Can't let FDIC have it easy?!
Listening to Goodman's somewhat subversive words, Carter scratched his head, still trying to digest the meaning when the situation in the room suddenly changed...
"Paterson! Let's be straightforward. Forty-three thousand as a fixed price! Let's cooperate and take over Forest Bank!"
With a resentful expression on his face, Randall sat back down and, just as unceremoniously, pulled out a cigarette and lit it. As he spoke, a cloud of smoke billowed into the center of the room...
"Impossible! Fifty-three thousand, and we can talk about it!"
Paterson was equally incensed upon hearing the offer. Four thousand three? So, they were basically paying $860 to Dennison just to get rid of Forest Bank, after all the hassle FDIC went through?!
On the other side, upon hearing the offer of fifty-three thousand, Randall stood up again, heading straight for the door. But this time, Paterson didn't try to stop him:
"Go! Just go! If you don't want to negotiate, you can leave!"
With one foot already over the threshold, Randall hesitated in mid-air, his face showing some embarrassment...
"Forty-five thousand! Can we talk about it?"
"Get lost!"
With a grimace, Randall left, and after he departed, a few more people shook their heads and stood up, following Randall out of the room...
The remaining people were momentarily speechless.
Carter watched, feeling a bit puzzled. Randall seemed to be acting like a child, threatening Paterson by walking out at every opportunity. And Paterson's behavior was strange too. His first attempt to stop someone indicated he knew his offer was too high and he genuinely wanted to sell Forest Bank quickly...
Why the sudden change in attitude the second time?
With too little information, Carter couldn't grasp the situation. Seizing the rare moment of quiet in the room, he pondered over Goodman's earlier reminder...
What did it mean by "can't let FDIC have it easy"?
Recalling Goodman's question earlier, "What then?" and his puzzled expression, Carter suddenly had a revelation. The problem seemed to lie there!
Back then, he said... "Forest Bank didn't really go bankrupt?"
"Forest Bank didn't really go bankrupt... can't let FDIC have it easy... FDIC... Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation..."
Muttering these key words silently to himself, Carter suddenly had a flash of insight: FDIC!!
Of course! FDIC... They provided insurance for deposits! And with Forest Bank's current deposit and withdrawal business, there hadn't been a crisis of redemption yet, which meant that in this bankruptcy process, they hadn't paid out any insurance money to depositors!
The withdrawals and settlements at Forest Bank were still normal, and theoretically, the deposits of depositors were still safe. They didn't meet the criteria for a claim...
In other words, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, apart from paying the salaries of the team and travel expenses, hadn't lost a single cent in this bankruptcy! They hadn't incurred any losses!
Thinking this through, Carter pondered Randall's offer of forty-three thousand... forty-six eight...
It seemed they hoped the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation would incur some expenses, suffer some losses?
But why?
"Mr. Paterson!"
"Go ahead, Mr. Porter!"
After a moment of contemplation, Paterson's emotions had cooled considerably. Upon hearing Porter speak, he nodded gently. The atmosphere in the room shifted from fervor to calm...
"I want to say, none of the banks in Louisiana are doing well right now. If you really want to take over Forest Bank, don't overdo it! Projected costs of over three hundred thousand aren't small even in previous good economic times, let alone now? Even if you just ask for an extra thousand dollars, it could be the last straw that breaks the camel's back!"
"Fifty thousand! That's my bottom line, and FDIC's bottom line!"
After a long sigh, Paterson gritted his teeth:
"Currently, there are still eleven banks present. If we all chip in, each bank would only have to pay around thirty thousand. If we're lucky, this cost could even go down!"
"How could we be lucky? How much has the unemployment rate in Pearson risen recently? You've all been to Pearson, you can't not know!"
Randall's Garden Bank manager, Barkley, who had been sitting quietly all along, suddenly stood up, flicked his cigarette away, crushed it underfoot, and stormed out.
With his decisive actions, it was clear that he wasn't just putting on a show like Randall...
As he walked towards the conference room door, Barkley continued:
"You're all too greedy! Greed is your real bottom line! I wish you luck selling Forest Bank while the crisis hasn't exploded yet!"
"Bang~"
As Barkley finished speaking, the door slammed shut against the frame. Hearing Barkley's calm accusation, Paterson's face also showed some signs of struggle...
"Ah, Barkley's words are correct. At this time, it's good enough for you to walk away unscathed. Why be so extreme?"
With a sigh, Porter's withered hand slowly moved towards the button on his suit jacket...
Touching the button meant buttoning it up, and buttoning it up meant he was leaving too. Because you wouldn't button up your suit jacket when you're seated...
"I wish you good luck! I'm old, I can't participate anymore. And..."
As the old Porter slowly rose, his gaze suddenly caught Carter who was watching him. He smiled faintly at Carter, then changed the subject:
"And I've borrowed a lot of money from Brulac Bank recently, maybe you can ask Little Carter about it..."
Damn! That's not good!
Porter left, leaving quietly. But his last suggestive remark instantly drew a lot of attention to Carter... Well, not a lot. After these two left, three more followed suit.
In the conference room where there were originally eleven bank representatives, there were suddenly only six left. And since he and Goodman actually belonged to the same bank, and Eduardo Bass and his son Edward Bass were representatives of Bass Bank, there were only four banks left that still had an interest in acquiring Forest Bank...
At this point, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward...
Especially since Paterson knew the details of Brulac Bank's asset review. Why hadn't two banks that were practically identical to Forest Bank on paper left yet?
Just like they had skipped Douglas City earlier, although they had invited Brulac Bank to the meeting this time, Paterson had no hope for them. Normally, with such a huge acquisition cost, even banks with better asset assessments than yours would shake their heads and walk away. Why hadn't these two left?
Combined with Barkley's words just now, Paterson squinted slightly...
According to the review report, Brulac Bank didn't have much interbank borrowing and lending left... Coupled with their exaggerated loan numbers...
"Mr. Brulac, Mr. Goodman! Do you two have any interest in taking over Forest Bank?"