novelhk Chapter 10 HSBC Loans
Chapter 10 HSBC Loans
Lin Zhou carried his empty suitcase and walked briskly out of the gatehouse of the villa area. Although life in the villa had been comfortable, he had always felt a sense of alienation and estrangement. Only now, stepping out of this affluent area, did he finally regain some of his freedom.
He deliberately avoided the few pedestrians on the roadside, quickly walked to a dense grove of phoenix trees, and after confirming that no one was watching, he swiftly slipped into the space. The familiar scent of an air purifier wafted towards him, completely different from the humid sea breeze outside. Lin Zhou didn't linger, heading straight to his bedroom, opening his wardrobe and finding his most frequently worn outfit: a crisp white cotton short-sleeved shirt, neatly rolled-up blue jeans, and clean white sneakers—simple, neat, and exuding a touch of casualness.
The moment Lin Zhou changed his clothes, he seemed like a completely different person. Shedding the constraints of his coarse cloth garments, this modern attire made him stand tall and straight, and the youthful naiveté in his eyes faded, replaced by a more composed and confident air. He adjusted his trousers in the full-length mirror in the bedroom, then took a few silver dollars from the wooden trunk that contained Director Li and stuffed them into his jeans pocket. He then packed a box of fifty kilograms of gold into his suitcase. When he stepped out of the space again, it was as if nothing had happened.
Back at the roadside, Lin Zhou hailed a taxi. A short while later, a taxi slowly pulled up. The paint on the car was somewhat faded, but it was still fairly clean. The driver was a man in his thirties, with dark skin and shrewd eyes. He paused for a moment when he saw Lin Zhou's clothing, clearly unfamiliar with that style, but still politely rolled down the window.
Lin Zhou bent down near the car window. He could understand Cantonese but couldn't speak it, so he spoke in fluent American English, his voice clear and steady: "Sir, I'd like you to take me to the nearby HSBC bank." As he spoke, he discreetly concealed himself with his hand, took out five silver dollars from his pocket, and gently placed them in his palm, handing them to the driver. "This is for the fare. Would you be willing?"
The driver's eyes were instantly drawn to the silver dollar. He quickly opened the car door and got out, carefully taking the dollar and examining it closely. He gently scratched the surface of the dollar with his fingernail, then tapped it lightly against his ear. The crisp sound reached his ears, and a look of delight immediately appeared on his face. Although Hong Kong paper money was still in circulation at that time, silver dollars held even greater value. Five silver dollars were more than enough to cover the round-trip fare to the city center with some left over. He nodded quickly and replied in heavily accented Cantonese English, "No problem, sir! Please get in the car. I guarantee we'll be at HSBC within ten minutes!"
Lin Zhou sat in the back seat, watching the street scenes rushing past the car window, his thoughts churning. On the streets of Hong Kong in this era, there were both foreigners in suits and ties and locals in long gowns and mandarin jackets. Rickshaws and cars ran side by side, and Chinese and English signs appeared alternately on the street. The atmosphere of old and new intertwined was overwhelming.
The taxi drove very smoothly; the driver was clearly very familiar with the route, avoiding several congested streets and alleys. Just as he had said, we arrived at our destination in a mere ten minutes. The car stopped in front of a twenty-story building, its glass curtain wall reflecting the sunlight, making it appear even more luxurious and grand. Above the entrance, the gold abbreviation "HSBC" was particularly eye-catching, and below it were the four powerful Chinese characters "揙丰银行" (HSBC Bank), highlighting the bank's prominent position in Hong Kong.
Lin Zhou got out of the car, looked up at the building, chuckled, and shook his head. It wasn't even as luxurious as their apartment building. He walked steadily into the bank lobby. The central air conditioning blew cool air, the marble floor gleamed, reflecting the dazzling light of the crystal chandelier on the ceiling. Employees in crisp uniforms were at their posts, the air thick with the smell of ink and paper; everything exuded an air of orderly professionalism.
The lobby wasn't crowded; most of the people were well-dressed businessmen or foreigners. Although Lin Zhou's attire was unusual, his composed demeanor prevented him from attracting much attention. He went straight to the front desk, where he was greeted by a sophisticated blonde woman with "Annie" on her chest.
"Hello, is there anything I can do for you?" Annie greeted him with a standard professional smile and asked politely in English. Her gaze lingered briefly on Lin Zhou, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes as she glanced at his unique attire, but she did not show it at all.
Lin Zhou smiled slightly, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable authority, and replied in fluent American English, "Hello, I have fifty kilograms of gold that I need to store, and I'd like to apply for a mortgage loan. Could you please arrange that?" (Don't worry about the details; it's perfectly reasonable.)
"Fifty kilograms of gold?" Annie's smile faltered slightly, clearly taken aback by the number. She had worked at HSBC for many years and had served many large clients, but this was the first time she had ever encountered someone bringing fifty kilograms of gold to conduct business at once.
She looked Lin Zhou up and down again. Although the young man in front of her was dressed strangely, he spoke with remarkable mannerisms, fluent American English, and a calm and determined look in his eyes. He was definitely not someone who spoke carelessly.
Anne didn't dare to be negligent for a moment. She quickly suppressed her surprise and said respectfully, "Sir, please wait a moment. I will arrange a VIP room for you immediately. A dedicated manager will be at your service." As she spoke, she picked up the internal phone on the table, said a few words in a hurried but polite tone, and then stood up and made a "please" gesture, "Sir, this way please. The VIP room is on the second floor."
Lin Zhou followed Annie, carrying his suitcase, and ascended the red carpeted stairs. The sound of their footsteps was absorbed by the carpet, leaving only the sound of their steady breathing. The layout of the second floor was completely different from the first floor. The light was softer, and several European-style oil paintings hung on the walls on both sides of the corridor. A faint aroma of coffee wafted in the air, exuding a sense of nobility and privacy.
Annie led him to the door of a room with a sign that read "VIP Room". Annie pushed open the door and gestured for Lin Zhou to enter. Then she bowed and left, gently closing the door behind her.
The VIP room was furnished extremely comfortably, with soft and large dark leather sofas and floor-to-ceiling windows offering a stunning view of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. Lin Zhou put down his suitcase, sat down on the sofa, and casually picked up an apple to play with, while his eyes subtly observed the furnishings in the room.
Five minutes later, the door opened, and a tall, white man walked in. He was about forty years old, with neatly combed blond hair, wearing a well-tailored dark suit, a neatly tied tie, and gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. His eyes were sharp yet polite. "Hello, I'm Henry, a client manager at HSBC. It's a pleasure to serve you." He extended his right hand, his tone gentle yet professionally scrutinizing.
"Lin Zhou." Lin Zhou stood up and shook hands with him.
"I'm here today to use my gold as collateral for a loan; I don't plan to sell the gold for the time being."
Henry sat down on the sofa opposite Lin Zhou, gestured for a waiter to bring two cups of coffee, and gave a professional smile: "Mr. Lin, thank you very much for choosing HSBC. However, according to bank regulations, we need to verify the purity and weight of the gold before processing a gold-backed loan. Would it be convenient for you to show us?"
"Of course." Lin Zhou didn't hesitate at all, bending down to open the suitcase beside him. As soon as the suitcase was opened, the neatly stacked gold bars had sharp edges and a pure metallic luster on their surface, without any impurities. They were obviously high-purity gold that had been finely refined.
Henry quickly stood up and took out professional testing tools from his briefcase, including a hydrometer, a magnifying glass, and a small touchstone. He carefully took out a gold bar, weighed it in his palm, and found that its weight was far greater than that of other metals of the same volume, thus confirming the weight was accurate.
He then carefully examined the patterns and marks on the surface of the gold bars with a magnifying glass, and gently scratched them with a touchstone, leaving a pure gold scratch. Finally, through precise measurement with a hydrometer, all the data showed that the purity of these gold bars was as high as 99.9%, which is an extremely rare high-purity gold on the market.
After the inspection was completed, Henry sat down again, his gaze towards Lin Zhou now more serious: "Mr. Lin, your gold is of excellent quality, and the weight is consistent with what you stated. According to the current international exchange rate, one ounce of gold is worth 35 US dollars, so fifty kilograms of gold would be worth approximately 57870 US dollars. Considering the exchange rate between Hong Kong dollars and US dollars, as well as the bank's lending policies, we can provide you with a maximum loan of 25 Hong Kong dollars."
Lin Zhou was prepared and was not surprised by the question. He simply shook his head calmly: "Manager Henry, this amount is too low. First of all, the purity of my gold far exceeds the market average, and it deserves a higher valuation."
Secondly, I am only using this as collateral for a loan; I still retain ownership of the gold, so the bank faces no risk. Furthermore, the purchasing power of Hong Kong dollars is undeniable, and a loan of HK$25 is far from sufficient to meet my needs.
He paused, his tone firm yet polite: "I've reviewed HSBC's loan terms. For high-value collateral, they can provide loans up to 80% of the total value of the collateral. Based on that, I should be able to obtain at least US$46000 in Hong Kong dollars, which translates to approximately HK$32. I won't make things difficult for you; HK$30 is my bottom line. If the bank can't meet that, I don't mind trying another bank. I believe Standard Chartered Bank would be happy to accept such high-quality collateral."
Henry frowned slightly, lost in thought. Lin Zhou's words made perfect sense; high-purity gold was indeed a high-quality collateral with zero risk, and Lin Zhou's professionalism and confidence made him hesitant to be perfunctory.
Losing such a major client over a difference of HK$5 would clearly be a loss. Moreover, Lin Zhou's fluent English, unique attire, and composed demeanor all suggested that he was no ordinary client and might have a significant background.
After a moment's hesitation, Henry looked up, a cheerful smile spreading across his face. "Mr. Lin, you are very professional and persuasive. I agree to your request and will provide you with a HK$30 mortgage loan, with a one-year term and an annual interest rate of 6%, in accordance with the bank's VIP customer standards. What do you think?"
"Okay." Lin Zhou nodded in agreement. This interest rate was considered a very favorable condition in the market at the time.
The rest of the process went very smoothly. Henry had someone bring the loan agreement and explained the details of each clause to Lin Zhou. After confirming that Lin Zhou had no objections, both parties signed and stamped the agreement. Subsequently, the bank's finance staff delivered HK$30 in cash and a checkbook to Lin Zhou. Lin Zhou chose HK$10 in cash and HK$20 in checks for future use in different situations.
Receiving the heavy stack of cash and the beautifully printed checkbook, Lin Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief. With this money, his plans in Hong Kong had a solid foundation. He carefully put away the cash and checkbook, then shook hands with Henry to say goodbye.
"Mr. Lin, I look forward to working with you again. Please feel free to contact me anytime if you have any further financial needs," Henry said warmly.
"Definitely." Lin Zhou replied with a smile, carrying a suitcase containing only HK$100,000. Guided by a waiter, he walked out of the VIP room and into the lobby. When he saw Annie at the front desk, a thought struck him, and he turned and walked towards the front desk.