NOVEL NEXT Vol. 1 Chapter 082: Rumors
Even if it loses money, this loan is also within the range that the Austro-Hungarian Bank can bear. Moreover, Serbia is also given a mortgage, the chance of losing money is very low.
They also covered it in the newspapers before. It caused the citizens of Vienna to exclaim that the bank was so damn rich. As for the small details of the Austro-Hungarian Banks Group and the Austro-Hungarian Bank, few people paid enough notice.
This time, Hoover's writing style is very successful, blurring the concept slightly. Add to the economic crisis that broke out, with all kinds of gossip all over the place, if they did not believe, the world would end.
It's just the beginning. This piece of uncertain news alone will not shake people's trust in Austro-Hungarian Bank.
A few days later, another tabloid in Vienna published another news. The Greek government had lost so much after the economic outbreak that they have faced a bankruptcy crisis. They would not pay another loan from the Austro-Hungarian Bank back, which is possible.
The amount of the loan this time is not that big. The sum of all pieces adds up to just over 20 million Kroner. But this time, the problem is obviously much more serious. The Greek government is really on the verge of bankruptcy.
Austro-Hungarian bank top management is now meeting to discuss whether to bail out the Greek government or not. In fact, this issue does not need to be addressed.
They must also save it for political and economic reasons. The current Greek government and German-Austrian relations are still very close. It is also the case that even if Austria-Hungary does not participate, other Great Powers will step in.
At the end of the 19th century, large international financial loans were tied to politics. The Austro-Hungarian Bank was no less different.
The Austro-Hungarian Bank is now mainly discussing what to get next? How to help the Greek government to survive? They should know that the Greek government can be pledged nearly all the assets. The reason why the financial bankruptcy in 1898 is because there were no more assets.
This time, the Austro-Hungarian Bank reacted much more clearly. Governor Fidos immediately held a press conference to dispel the rumors and announced the principle of unity among the Great Powers. The five European rivals will step in to intervene. They can assure everyone not to listen to rumors that the Greek government will not go bankrupt. The most crucial thing is that the loan from the Austro-Hungarian Bank will not go down the drain.
The news was truly lifting. There was a backlash against Austro-Hungarian Bank shares, which had been falling since the start of the economic crisis.
Fidos is in a good mood. Frankly speaking, the Austro-Hungarian Bank is doing very well under his helm. However, the economic crisis has broken out, and all industries have been hit.
Austro-Hungarian Bank is no better. The stock price started to fall all the time, and he was under a lot of pressure. Now that it has finally recovered, does this mean that this crisis is coming to an end?
But Hoover didn't let his good mood last long. The Viennese daily newspaper published another piece of bad news: there was another problem in the Ottoman Empire!
In fact, it was not a big deal. At the end of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire was peaceful for a few days, so what was a mere peasant uprising? This time, even if more people are involved, it will be quickly suppressed! Besides, the House of Habsburg and the Ottomans are also old rivals for hundreds of years. The impact on Austria-Hungary is really not great.
Well, the Austro-Hungarian Bank was hit again this time. In the chaos, a few employees were harmed by mistake. They lost some properties at the same time. A few tens of thousands of kroner is not worth mentioning.
But rumors are powerful. Hoover quickly magnified the amount several hundred times and published it in a street tabloid.
However, the rumor quickly spread out of concern for the Ottoman Empire. It was then followed up by the Viennese newspapers, in which intelligence officers brought up the tempo for once firmly. The people began to speculate how much the Austro-Hungarian Bank had lost this time!
There are all sorts of rumors, from a few million to tens of millions. Some newspapers have even boldly guessed that the Austro-Hungarian Bank lost hundreds of millions in order to gain publicity.
However, only an idiot would believe such a guess of a few hundred million dollars. Governor Fidos called a press conference at once and announced the losses in an attempt to appease people. He publicly admitted that the Austro-Hungarian Bank was in trouble in Ottoman, but the loss was only 80,000 kroner.
This time it's a trick, and the citizens of Vienna are saying: I'd be a fool to believe it!
Who knows, the Austro-Hungarian Bank, to show strength, gives people the feeling of wealth. As per the ordinary people's idea, it is normal for the Austro-Hungarian Bank in the Ottoman Empire to having ten to eight million. How can one to eighty thousand be lost if someone is being robbed and killed?
If Fidos knew what the people were thinking, he would have sent them spittle. The Austro-Hungarian Bank is very rich, but not so rich as to put ten or eight million in a branch, nearly as much as in the Vienna headquarters!
The people don't care so much and think it's logical! The Austro-Hungarian Bank must have lost a lot of money. Why else would they hide the losses? The more people think about it, the scarier it gets. At this point, the intelligence officers started to bring the trend again.
Vienna Street.
Lardy was an ordinary intelligence officer under Ferdinand. Of course, he didn't know who he was working and for whom.
For this part-time job, he is still very satisfied. He usually works as usual and sometimes has to spread a few messages to get good pay, easy and simple and no danger.
As for who the employer is, he doesn't bother to care. Anyway, it only needs to use your mouth. You can make money. The top also has special training to reduce the risk of being exposed. It's okay to spread the news and generally just say it's just speculation.
In his opinion, it's all too common who would pay attention to a small man like him. And so far, judging from the tasks he received, Lardy thinks it is the capitalists in the dogfight, to which he is happy.
"Hey, Karl, have you made a deposit at the Austro-Hungarian Bank?" A middle-aged man in his forties, slightly obese, approached. Lardy took the initiative to go over and say hello.
"Of course, Lardy! You know the bad economic times, the small banks may go bankrupt! The Austro-Hungarian Bank has always had a good reputation. The interest rate is lower, but the security is assured!" Karl said with a smile.
"Oh my God! Haven't you seen the news? Austro-Hungarian Bank's foreign investments have failed one after another and are about to go bankrupt!" said Lardy, acting surprised.
"How is this possible? The Austro-Hungarian Bank is a big and powerful bank all over the world. How could it go bankrupt?" Karl said in disbelief.
"How do I know if it's broke or not? Anyway, the Austro-Hungarian Bank recently lost a lot of money, the newspapers reported. You do not know the current situation in the country. There are factories closing down every now and then, who knows how many bad debts the Austro-Hungarian Bank has on hand. even a large family business cannot afford to be tossed around like this!" Lardy said lightly.
"What you say is also true! The economy is indeed in the bad shape now. The machine shop where that boy Boro used to stay has gone bankrupt. I heard that he still owes the bank a large sum of money! Look at it this way, do I have to quickly take out the money to be a little more secure?" Karl said with some doubt.
"I suggest you take it out! It's better to lose some interest than to lose all your money. Who knows if the Austro-Hungarian Bank can survive this time? These are tens of millions of losses!" Lardy said as he kept on raising the stakes.
"Well, I'm thinking about it!" said Karl with a pained face.
...
The same thing happened more than once on the streets of Vienna. Many fooled people went to their friends and relatives for advice, thus affecting more people without being aware of it. The rumors grew stronger, and the crisis of bank run broke out.