ryethenovel Chapter 355 Backstab
Chapter 355 Backstab
Tuesday, November 13, 1990.
Osaka, Kitahama.
The floor where the financing department of Sumitomo Bank's Osaka headquarters is located is quieter than usual.
At 9:17 a.m., when the fax machine emitted its first low beep, the young staff member in the financing department did not immediately realize what that thermal paper would bring.
He simply put aside the folder of credit review applications he had just organized, as usual, and reached out to tear off a fax paper.
The headings at the top of the paper are very neat.
Sumitomo Corporation Legal Department
The young employee's fingers paused for a moment.
He subconsciously glanced at the upper right corner of the fax paper, where there was only a short note.
The original document has been delivered to the Legal Department of the Tokyo Head Office by a designated person. Copies have been sent to the secretarial offices of Sumitomo Chemical, Sumitomo Metal, and Sumitomo Electric Industries.
The young employee's Adam's apple bobbed slightly.
He dared not look any further and immediately took the fax and hurried to the executive office.
Three minutes later, there was a knock on Yasui's office door.
"Come in."
A young employee pushed open the door and handed over the fax with both hands.
"Executive Director, this is a formal note from our company's legal department."
Yasui was looking through an exhibition schedule for Ito Mansho Corporation. When he heard the words "Main Company Legal Department," his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He reached out and took the fax.
The content on the first page is very short.
The wording was restrained, the format was rigorous, and the tone was steady; one could even say it carried the dignified air that Sumitomo had always maintained.
But Yasui only read the first three lines before her finger stopped at the edge of the paper.
[The Legal Department of Sumitomo Corporation, acting as the jointly authorized representative of the Sumitomo Group's industrial enterprises, hereby formally notifies your Osaka Head Office regarding the return of overseas settlement applications, credit line reviews, credit limit adjustments, and related foreign exchange settlements involving Sumitomo Group's manufacturing enterprises since the beginning of June.]
Jointly authorized agents.
Yasui's gaze darkened slightly.
These few words are more troublesome than any strongly worded protest letter.
This means that this is not just a complaint from Sumitomo Chemical, nor is it an emotional protest by a senior executive after his application was rejected.
This marks the official opening of the main branch of Sumitomo Bank in Osaka, now holding a manufacturing license.
He continued reading.
[1. Please provide a complete list of all "technical reviews" conducted within the past six months on overseas trade settlement documents for Sumitomo Chemical, Sumitomo Metal, Sumitomo Electric Industries, and other Sumitomo-affiliated companies, and explain the specific basis for each returned document, correction, or review delay.]
[II. Please specify the estimated amounts of delayed delivery, default risk, letter of credit re-issuance costs, shipping schedule change fees, and related commercial losses caused by the aforementioned returns and delays in review.]
[III. Please explain whether the relevant application rejections and credit limit adjustments are based on unified credit policies, compliance review rules, or internal risk management requirements, and provide written evidence that our legal department can review.]
Yasui's expression remained unchanged upon seeing this.
The first three points are still within the scope of what the bank can explain.
Technical review can be described as compliance and caution.
Returned items can be attributed to document defects.
Quota adjustments can be considered normal risk management under the overall quota regulation.
As long as the wording is written completely, even if the legal department is not satisfied, it will be difficult for them to directly grasp the key points of the Osaka headquarters.
He turned to the second page.
Then, his gaze stopped.
[IV. Please explain whether Ito Man Corporation's trade financing, margin arrangements, foreign exchange position management, and overall credit line management affect the normal trade settlement limits, USD letter of credit issuance limits, foreign exchange settlement priority, and short-term funding arrangements of Sumitomo Group's industrial enterprises.]
The office suddenly fell silent.
Yasui did not turn the page immediately.
His gaze was fixed on the two sets of words.
Foreign exchange positions occupied.
Delivery priority.
The edge of the fax paper pressed against his fingertip. The thermal paper was thin and brittle, and he didn't realize how tightly his fingers had tightened until a crease quietly formed under his thumb.
He paused for about three seconds, his gaze still fixed on the fourth line, without looking down at any other words.
The young employee stood in front of the desk, barely daring to breathe.
Yasui put the fax back on the desktop.
He closed his eyes, pressed his fingers against his brow, and his breathing became noticeably heavier.
The young employees could even see that his ears had turned red.
"Who else received this fax?"
He was still trying his best to keep his tone calm.
The young employee's Adam's apple bobbed.
"The fax states... The original has been sent to the Legal Department of the Tokyo Head Office. Copies have been sent to the secretarial offices of Sumitomo Chemical, Sumitomo Metal, and Sumitomo Electric Industries."
Yasui did not speak immediately.
He removed his fingers from between his eyebrows and was about to cover his face with his hands when he remembered that his subordinates were still in front of him. He then clenched his fists and withdrew his hands from his face.
The view of Kitahama outside the window was as quiet as ever, with only the occasional car passing by downstairs.
Yasui reached out and pressed the internal phone button.
"Call Mei Chang over."
His index finger left the call button, but did not immediately retract it, pausing for a moment on the surface of the phone.
Then he lowered his voice by half a tone.
"Also, notify the legal department representative. All verbal communications with our legal department this morning are suspended."
"Not a single word is to be replied without my signature."
……
At the same time.
Sumitomo Chemical Osaka Head Office.
The meeting, convened by Executive Director Yukimasa Murata, started twenty minutes earlier than scheduled.
The heads and deputy heads of the Business Planning Department, Foreign Trade Management Department, Finance Department, and Legal Department entered the conference room one after another.
No one spoke loudly. Everyone held a folder in their hand, but their expressions were more cautious than usual.
Fujiwara sat in a seat near the end of the line.
A stack of freshly copied documents lay in front of her.
DBS Singapore notification receipt.
A confirmation copy of a Citibank Tokyo branch MT700 message.
There was also a fax from the shipping company's Singapore agent regarding the adjustment of the bill of lading issuance location.
And a confirmation letter from the Malaysian supplier withdrawing its notice to suspend shipment.
These papers are not thick.
However, when they were placed on the conference table, they weighed much more than the supplementary documents returned by Sumitomo Bank.
Murata sat in the main seat and did not exchange pleasantries.
"Fujiwara, reporting."
"Yes."
Fujiwara stood up.
Her voice was a little strained at first, but it quickly calmed down.
DBS Singapore has confirmed receipt of the MT700 message from Citibank Tokyo and has completed the internal registration with the advising bank. According to the advising bank's reply, as long as we submit the final commercial invoice and packing list copy before shipment, we can proceed with the subsequent notification process.
She turned the first page.
"The shipping company's Singapore agent has accepted the change in the place of issuance of the bill of lading. The issue of inconsistent legal jurisdiction that might have arisen from the previous issuance of the bill of lading at Port Klang has been resolved by the Singapore agent, as suggested by Mr. Nagata of Saionji Trading Co., Ltd."
Someone in the conference room looked up.
Fujiwara continued:
"The Malaysian supplier has withdrawn its notice to suspend shipment. However, they require confirmation of the shipping schedule within 48 hours of the letter of credit notice taking effect. Otherwise, they may still adjust the slots to other buyers."
The Deputy Minister of Finance couldn't help but ask:
"Have Saionji Corporation resolved the three issues that Sumitomo Bank requested to be addressed?"
Fujiwara paused for a moment.
"Yes."
She pushed the three annotated copies to the center of the table.
"First, the place of issuance of the bill of lading has been changed from Port Klang to the Singapore agent of the shipping company."
"Second, the beneficiary's address is inconsistent with the English abbreviation in the contract appendix. This has been reconfirmed and a consistency statement has been issued."
"Third, the correspondence between the certificate of origin and the insurance terms is incomplete. Saionji Corporation requests supplementary explanations and that the insurance commencement point be realigned with the port of shipment record."
She paused for a moment, then lowered her voice.
"Sumitomo Bank had previously requested corrections for all three items mentioned above, but had not specified a concrete course of action. Saionji Corporation provided actionable amendments within one day."
The meeting room fell silent.
No one said "leaning towards Saionji".
No one said "plain water is wrong".
Sumitomo Chemical is, after all, a company within the Sumitomo Group, and its main bank remains Sumitomo Bank.
Many things should not be said, because once they are said, there is no turning back.
But everyone understood one thing.
Saionji Trading Company, which the Hakusui-kai referred to as an "outsider," at least got the shipping schedules moving again.
However, their own main bank repeatedly returned the documents when they most needed to release them.
The legal representative, who was looking down at the documents, suddenly spoke.
"You should all have received a copy of the legal department's note this morning."
The eyes of several people in the conference room shifted slightly.
Murata did not interrupt him.
The legal representative closed the folder.
"Article 4 of the note inquired about Itoman Corporation's trade financing, margin arrangements, foreign exchange position usage, and whether it would affect the amount of US dollar letters of credit opened and the delivery priority of industrial enterprises."
He paused for a moment after saying this.
"If the Osaka headquarters' previous reason for returning the documents was merely a technical issue with the documents, then Saionji Trading's ability to complete the correction within a day and issue the letter of credit through Citibank's Tokyo branch would make it extremely difficult for the Osaka headquarters to explain."
The Deputy Minister of Finance spoke very softly.
"In other words, it's not that the bank can't handle it."
"It's not that they don't want to deal with it."
After those words were spoken, the meeting room fell silent once again.
Murata looked up and glanced at the deputy minister.
The deputy minister immediately lowered his head and did not continue speaking.
Murata did not blame him.
He simply reached out and picked up the notification receipt from DBS Singapore, his gaze lingering on the few lines of English for a moment.
"This deal will continue to move forward."
He put the file back on the desktop.
"Fujiwara, you're in charge of maintaining contact with Saionji Trading's Osaka office. All supplementary documents must be reviewed by the end of today."
"Yes."
"The Ministry of Justice is preparing an internal statement. It should be worded cautiously, simply confirming the facts, and avoid commenting on Sumitomo Bank."
"We don't need to shout slogans."
He raised his eyes and scanned everyone in the conference room.
"Whether the goods can be shipped, whether the shipping schedule can be maintained, and whether the customer will default on the contract—these facts are more useful than slogans."
No one refuted.
Everyone knows that Sumitomo Chemicals has taken the first step.
Once this step is successfully completed, the problem will no longer be limited to Sumitomo Chemical.
……
3:42 PM.
Office of the President of Sumitomo Metal Corporation.
When Koichi Uchida received the copy of the legal department's note, he was listening to the secretary's report on the progress of a steel export deal.
He was in his early sixties, and his hair was neatly combed. He rarely showed any obvious emotion on his face, no matter what news he heard.
But today, when he turned to Article 4 of the note, his fingers paused for a longer time than usual.
The chief secretary stood in front of the desk, his voice very low.
"President, the Osaka headquarters has requested an additional review of the invoices for a batch of steel exported from Kobe Port."
Uchida did not look up.
"reason."
"Foreign exchange position arrangements need to be reconfirmed."
There was a moment of silence in the president's office.
Uchida slowly raised his eyes.
The chief secretary continued:
"The buyer's letter of credit has only nine business days remaining. If the financing and shipping document confirmation cannot be completed by next week, the other party may request a re-opening of the letter of credit. The estimated cost of re-opening is..."
He glanced down at the document.
"Approximately US$270,000, plus the risk of shipping delays."
Uchida did not speak immediately.
He placed the legal document from his own legal department on the left and Sumitomo Metal's own internal report on the right.
The two documents are on different paper sizes and have different formats.
But when put together now, they seem like two sides of the same coin.
On one hand, the company's legal department is questioning the priority of foreign exchange position holdings and settlement.
On the other hand, Sumitomo Metal's own steel export documents were subject to additional review by the Osaka headquarters on the grounds that "foreign exchange position arrangements need to be reconfirmed."
Uchida finally confirmed that Sumitomo Metal's export credits were being put into the same pool as Ito Man's bad debts.
In that pool, the manufacturing industry, which actually produces steel, delivers goods, and bears the risk of default by overseas customers, is actually making way for a trading company that is already in dire straits.
The chief secretary asked in a low voice:
"President, should we inquire with the Osaka headquarters first?"
Uchida looked at the two documents on the table.
He didn't speak for a long time.
"What are you asking?"
The chief secretary paused for a moment.
"Ask them why they need a review?"
Uchida's voice was calm.
"They will tell you that the foreign exchange position arrangement needs to be reconfirmed."
The chief secretary fell silent.
That's obviously obvious.
It's also the safest, most compliant, and most irrefutable nonsense.
Uchida took off his glasses and slowly wiped the lenses with a handkerchief.
The chief secretary stood in front of the desk, and inexplicably felt that the air in the president's office was getting heavier and heavier.
A few seconds later, Uchida put his glasses back on.
"Has the letter of credit for Sumitomo Chemical been confirmed to have been processed?"
The chief secretary immediately replied:
"Yes. DBS Singapore has registered it. The MT700 message issued by Citibank Tokyo branch has been confirmed. The shipping company's Singapore agent has also accepted the change of bill of lading place of issue."
Uchida nodded.
Who is the person in charge of Saionji Trading's Osaka office?
"Currently, Mr. Nagata is in charge of external liaison. Upper-level contacts should still be arranged by Mr. Shuichi Saionji's office."
Uchida leaned back in his chair.
The sky outside the window in Osaka was overcast, with low-hanging gray clouds before winter. The distant buildings stood like a row of silent steel blocks, cold and hard in the Kitahama wind.
Uchida had initially been reluctant to make a statement so quickly.
Sumitomo Metal is too heavy.
So heavy that every turn of her head draws the attention of too many people.
He could observe, wait, let Sumitomo Chemicals try it first, or let Sumitomo Electric Industries and Sumitomo Light Metals explore the path.
But now, the Osaka headquarters has put the knife to Sumitomo Metal's own export credit.
Then it's not a matter of waiting and seeing.
Uchida reached for the phone on the table.
The chief secretary was slightly startled.
"President?"
Uchida didn't look at him.
"Connecting to Tokyo."
The chief secretary immediately stepped forward and turned to the Saionji family's private contact page in the phone book.
The call was transferred in almost a minute.
There was a brief burst of static in the line, followed by a steady voice.
"The head of the Saionji family serves as the secretary."
Uchida took the receiver.
"I am Sumitomo Metal, Koichi Uchida."
The voice on the other end of the phone immediately became more cautious.
"President Uchida, please wait a moment."
The waiting time was very short.
It was so short that Uchida could almost hear the sound of his fingertips lightly tapping on the table.
Then, Shuichi Saionji's gentle and steady voice came through the receiver.
"Good afternoon, President Uchida."
"Hello, Mr. Saionji."
Uchida's voice was very low.
He glanced at the steel export document on the right side of the table, which the Osaka headquarters had requested to be reviewed, and then at the formal note from the headquarters' legal department on the left.
Then he spoke.
"Would it be convenient for your Osaka office to receive a few steel export documents tomorrow morning?"
The clouds outside the window seemed to press even lower.
No one spoke in the president's office.
The chief secretary stood in front of the desk, head down, but clearly realized one thing.
After Sumitomo Chemical, the second vote finally landed on the Saionji family's table.