Chapter 76: Dealing with the Bank
Once aboard the plane, William lay back on the sofa and opened the document folder the English consular officer had given him the previous night.
The file detailed the operations of a villain who smuggled women into Europe. In recent years, the man had trafficked thousands of women, selling them into forced labor and sexual slavery.
The intel also revealed that this man worked with several Albanian gangs. They would lure young women from Asia and the Americas with promises of travel, only to intercept them at European airports.
Once the women arrived, the Albanians would target those who couldn't afford expensive hotels, abduct them, and then control them using drugs. Most of the victims ended up as prostitutes, forced to earn money for the gangs.
On the rare occasion they captured virgins, the gangs would sell them for exorbitant prices to underground auction houses in Europe. These clandestine organizations dealt in all manner of illicit goods and services.
A beautiful virgin could fetch hundreds of thousands of euros. These auction houses were responsible for many of the hundreds of thousands of young women who disappeared each year in Europe and the United States.
As William read the file, he felt a surge of fury. These depraved, wealthy men were damned, every last one of them. As a certain world leader once said, forgiveness is God's business.
Our job is to send them to Him. If we catch them at the airport, we'll drown them in the toilet. If we find them in the woods, we'll hang them from the trees. If we catch them on the street, we'll run them over with a car.
If William ever encountered people like this, he would show them absolutely no mercy.
An hour later, William's plane landed in Zurich, Switzerland. He booked the presidential suite at the Four Seasons Hotel and requested their car service. Twenty minutes later, he was climbing into a hotel-provided Rolls-Royce.
The famous Rolls-Royce Phantom of the future hadn't been released yet. William idly wondered if he should register the patents for its exterior and interior designs himself, making it his own personal car in the future. He chuckled at the idea.
In truth, he knew why the Phantom became so famous in later generations. Beyond its stunning looks, the most important factor was the Rolls-Royce brand itself. If the same car had been produced by a company like Toyota or Honda, it would never have commanded such a high price or achieved such popularity.
Still, maybe the idea was worth a try. When someone bought a Rolls-Royce, what they were really paying for was the Spirit of Ecstasy ornament on the hood. As long as he was the only one using the design, it wouldn't matter.
The driver dropped William off at the Swiss National Bank in Zurich, where a vice president was already waiting for him, having received his call earlier.
"I am very pleased to meet you, Mr. Devinshire. I am John Gries, a Vice President at the National Bank," Gries said, shaking William's hand.
"Hello, Mr. Gries. It's a pleasure to meet you as well. I'm William Devinshire." After they exchanged greetings, Gries gestured to a bald, middle-aged man standing behind him. "Mr. Devinshire, this is your exclusive client manager, Felix."
"Hello, Mr. Devinshire. I am Felix. It's a great pleasure to meet you," Felix said excitedly.
He was William's dedicated client manager. His job was to cater to William's every need—provided, of course, that William was wealthy and kept his money in the Swiss National Bank.
"Hello, Felix. A pleasure to finally meet you. I've been very satisfied with your service so far," William said.
"Thank you, Mr. Devinshire! Thank you for the kind words. I will do everything in my power to fulfill your every requirement," Felix replied, his excitement palpable.
"This way, please, Mr. Devinshire. Let's talk in my office," Gries said, leading William away.
Once a secretary had served them coffee, William spoke directly to Gries. "Mr. Gries, let's get straight to the point. I have confidence in your institution. If you can meet my requirements, I will make your bank the sole financial institution for all my operations."
Gries nodded. "Of course, Mr. Devinshire. We will do our utmost to meet your needs. We are the best bank in Europe when it comes to security and confidentiality. Choosing us will be your wisest decision."
"Good. I have $904 million in cash currently in England. I want to use that as collateral to take out a loan of $90 million from your bank. Is that a problem?" William asked.
"Not at all. Since it's a cash collateral loan, that's no problem. However, once the loan is issued, the cash in England must be held under our bank's supervision," Gries explained.
"That's fine," William nodded. "Second, I need to transfer my funds from Montenegro to your bank."
"Certainly, Mr. Devinshire. You won't need to visit any other bank. As long as you provide us with the credentials for your Montenegrin account, we can have the $170 million transferred to the Swiss National Bank in less than ten minutes," Gries assured him.
"Okay. So, combined with the $135.6 million I already have with you, that means I'll have $395.6 million in liquid cash in my account here," William confirmed.
"Yes, Mr. Devinshire. I have always admired your genius from afar, but hearing the scale of your wealth again... I can't help but be impressed. You are truly the most brilliant young man of our time," Gries said with genuine awe.
"Haha," William laughed, knowing full well that Gries was flattering him, but enjoying it nonetheless. "Well, thank you for the compliment, Mr. Gries. Now, what I really need to know is what kind of margin rate you can offer me for futures trading."
Gries was a little surprised, though he'd had his suspicions. He thought for a moment before replying. "The margin for stock index futures is generally between 3% and 8%. As a major client of our bank, we can offer you a rate of 5%. I can also appeal to the board of directors for something more favorable."
"Five percent is too high. I want three percent," William stated.
"That's impossible, Mr. Devinshire. A 3% margin rate is 33.3 times leverage. We cannot offer that for stock index futures; the risk is far too great. We can't guarantee the security of the funds. If the market moves against you even slightly, your entire position could be wiped out in an hour or two. We wouldn't have enough time to liquidate. May I ask how much capital you intend to use?"
William considered for a moment. "$350 million for the position, with the remaining $45.6 million as an additional security deposit."
Gries did a quick calculation in his head. "The risk is astronomical. Assuming the index is at 5,000 points, with a 3% margin, you would lose nearly $2.5 million for every single point the index moves against you. Your additional security deposit wouldn't even cover a 20-point drop. The risk is simply too great."
William rolled his eyes. If there were no risk, he thought, why would I be coming to your bank in the first place?
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