There are also big and small banks, maybe there are not many banks with Seattle as their headquarters, but many banks in the world have branches or subsidiaries in central cities like Seattle. Including the local banks, there were more than 200 people in the forum. They are all the operators of the bank or directly the owners of the bank.

Of course, there are many people who can't use the roundtable in the same way, but more like a forum. Some of the big bankers were invited to speak on stage, as well as the governor and finance minister of Washington.

Those sitting below can also go up to heaven to express their opinions.

Link's knowledge of finance was not good enough for him to be a banker. He only came with a pair of ears this time. But he used his phone to record everyone's speeches.

These people's opinions may have some impression of Washington's financial policy, and he feels that Claire should listen to it.

Maybe Claire will be considered for the sorority next year.

The symposium ended at 3 p.m. Everyone else dispersed to prepare for tonight's drinking party. Link just went back to his hotel room and waited for tonight's reception. Maybe he could deal with another banker at the party. After dealing with each other, it will be easier to cooperate in the future.

When it was time for the party to start, Link didn't take himself as the protagonist, and he was there at the beginning of the party.

When he arrived, he found that many people had preceded him, and that they had already gathered together to talk happily. And he also found that most of the people who came to participate were with their companions. Or there are people with young people. I think it's an heir to be cultivated or something. In short, there are very few people who come alone like him.

After a few polite words with a few casual acquaintances he happened to meet, he hid to the side and observed. He didn't know any of them, and he wanted to observe them before deciding who he wanted to befriend.

From time to time, he took a sip of red wine, but his eyes did not take off the people in the scene.

He found that most of the people on this occasion were middle-aged and above, and middle-aged people usually brought companions of similar age. And there are older ones, but they bring more young people. There are also some young people who either don't have a partner with them.

He could see it. It's not a prom, so you don't have to bring a partner. However, if you want to bring it, it is usually a spouse or a couple.

Come to think of it, on such a high-end occasion, if you bring an Internet celebrity or celebrity, unless you really think it is a girlfriend, otherwise you will lose face no matter how beautiful you are.

The reception soon began. However, Link spent half an hour in the corner drinking the red wine in his hand. He walked out of the middle of the field with an empty wine glass, and took a glass of champagne while placing the glass on the tray in the hands of the passing waiter.

He held the champagne and the smile on his face grew stronger. Of course, when I walked to the target group, the smile on my face was already very decent.

"Hello, Mr. Governor!" Link said, taking advantage of the interval between their conversations, to raise his glass to the man in the middle. "I'm Link Hans. ”

"Oh, of course I know you. Mr. Hans!" said the Governor with a laugh. "I don't think there's anyone in the whole of America who doesn't know you. He said as he clinked glasses with Link. "Of course, I remember it was the first time we met. ”

Link smiled and said, "Actually, when Mr. Governor spoke today, we met. I remember Mr. Governor's gaze sweeping over me at least seven times, and I felt that Mr. Governor must have seen me. And I'm one looking at Mr. Governor. ”

"Haha, Mr. Hans, you have such a good sense of humor!" As a successful speaker, of course, he has a good grasp of that kind of supporting demeanor. Link's gaze swept over, but it was just a presentation technique. "I think this is the first time Mr. Hans has attended the Bankers' Fellowship! ”

As he spoke, he introduced everyone around him to Link.

Link said "Nice to meet you" to the man, and the handshake was moderate. For women, each person is offered a compliment such as "beautiful", and when shaking hands, they only hold each other's four fingers, and then release them after holding them slightly.

On such occasions, no one is serious about work. It's more about flattering each other, or talking about world politics and economics. Of course, you can show your own opinion on certain things appropriately.

While everyone was very sincere, Link didn't feel excluded or enthusiastic. The reason why he feels that way may be because from the moment he entered this banquet hall, he already thought that this drinking party was a scene with only one shot.

However, in this cocktail party, he talked a few words with the people he felt should know, and he knew each other.

The process is simple. It's like he greeted the governor first. Most of the people introduced by the governor are relatively high in the financial world. When these people disperse, they will soon become the center of the conversation, if there is someone he wants to meet. And he went up and greeted the man. Those people will introduce him to the people he wants to meet.

However, in the whole party, there were not many people worth getting to know. There are a lot of people who want to know him. By the middle of the party, there was hardly a shortage of talkers around him.

This continued until a issuing man approached. The man smiled and said to him, "Mr. Hans, can we talk?"

"Of course. Link said with a smile when he saw the man. "I wonder what Mr. Smith wants to talk about?"

Mr. Smith smiled but did not say a word. The person who had been talking to Link just now understood that he was going to talk to Link alone, so he took his leave in good humor.

Mr. Smith waited for the others to leave before he smiled and said to Link, "Mr. Hans, shall we sit down over there?" and he gestured to a small round table against the wall.

Link nodded and walked over with him. After sitting down, he asked again, "I wonder what Mr. Smith wants to talk to me about?"

Mr. Smith is the President of Garden Bank. Garden Bank, on the other hand, was formed by the merger of several of the larger banks in Washington the year before last, and through that merger, their business really expanded to the whole United States. Became one of the big banks in the United States. He felt that the other party wanted to talk to him, and he should want to talk about cooperation.

Sure enough, Mr. Smith wanted to talk to him about cooperation. However, the offer of cooperation was unacceptable to him.

As soon as the other party finished speaking, he shook his head without thinking about it and said, "Mr. Smith." I'm sorry, but I can't accept your offer. You know that Ozette Bank is not listed at all. ”

It turned out that Smith wanted to trade the shares of Garden Bank for the shares of Ozette Bank. Of course, Link couldn't accept this.

He didn't even plan to list the Ozette Bank, so how could he accept other people's shares? Besides, Smith was talking about exchanging at the equivalent of the stock price. It was clearly to take advantage of him.

As a result of the merger, the share price of Garden Bank has been pushed to a very high level. Perhaps the book value of the stock is two or three times higher than the actual assets of the bank. However, Ozette Bank is not listed and does not plan to go public, and if the stock price is evaluated and swapped according to the method of asset valuation. He still has to die?

In addition, the Ozette Bank has a lot of cash. Regardless of the percentage of shares swapped, Garden Bank will immediately receive the corresponding proportional cash rights.

He felt that the other party was probably coming for this.

Smith was not disappointed when he was rejected. He laughs: "Of course, we also know about the situation of Ozette Investment Bank. My proposal is not to say that there must be a share swap in the near future. We can wait until you go public. ”

Link thought for a moment, smiled and said, "We'll think about it." But we don't plan to go public for at least a year or two. So it's probably too early to tell. ”

Smith: This is also to see that Link said that he is not listed, so he doesn't think about it, it's just a pretext. The smile on his face remained undiminished, and he said, "Mr. Hans, I think you are well aware that mutual cooperation between banks is the norm. This kind of cooperation is very beneficial to the bank's capital chain and business development. ”

Link nodded and said, "Of course I understand what Mr. Smith said. It's just that we have our own plans and will not be on the market for at least two years. So all I can say is a pity. ”

"It's a shame, but I think we'll have a chance in the future, won't I?" Smith held up his glass with a smile on his face.

Link touched him.

Smith took a sip and said, "I'm looking forward to the day when we work together, then I'll miss out first." ”

Link nodded with a smile and watched him leave. The smile on his face slowly retracted.

He worked on the spot for a while before quietly leaving the party early. Back in the room, he called Claire, "Claire, does Garden Bank have a tendency to expand its business into agriculture?"

"Probably not. Claire runs a bank and of course keeps an eye out for other peers. He recalled, but found no indication of that kind of movement at Garden Bank. "Why do you ask? ”

Link talked about Smith's proposal for a stock swap, and finally said, "I don't know why he would ask me to make such a cooperation." I think he must have known about our situation. We didn't even go public. ”

"Link, if I were the president of a big bank, I would definitely want to exchange shares with our bank. Claire seemed to think about it for a moment before she spoke. "Although the business promotion of Ozette Bank is not very successful, but you have forgotten that we have established the Texas Development Bank, and the business is developing very fast, and there are plans for several other local banks?"

"You mean he's trying to use our bank outreach program to get their business out to those states?"

"Garden Bank has already rolled out a sales network across the country. But their business at the agricultural level is largely blank. If they and I we cross-swap shares. Not only can you get a stake in Bank of Texas invisibly. At the same time, as a collaborator, his business in Texas and several surrounding states is also easier to expand, not only in agriculture. And don't forget, our bank is well funded. If we develop, we will become a competitor to them. Maybe they don't want to face our competition. ”