Tokyo, 1991: Starting as a bank clerk

Chapter 136 Yayoi Mizuna's Worries [Seventh Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets]

After returning to my desk.

Kiryu Yaya didn't rush to open the folder.

He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes for a moment, and mentally reviewed every move that Ogaki Kiyomasa had made.

At the mid-level meeting, Iwakura made a move, and Miki Shinji followed up with another blow; this was the first wave.

If that wave suppresses him, Kiyomasa Ogaki would be happy to see it happen.

If he holds out, then try a different approach: hand him a case that appears glamorous but is actually riddled with barbed wire.

Kiryu Yaya opened his eyes and opened the folder.

First page: Company overview.

Wako Electronics Industry Co., Ltd. was established in 1958 with a capital of 40 million yen. Its representative director is Masataka Wako, who is 55 years old.

The business involves the precision machining of electronic components. The main products are high-precision resistors and capacitors for audio equipment, and the customers are concentrated in several large electrical appliance manufacturers in the Kansai region.

Page two contains the financial statements for the past three years.

Sales revenue: 1.86 billion yen in the first year of Heisei, 1.92 billion yen in the second year of Heisei, and an estimated 1.98 billion yen in the third year of Heisei.

The operating profit margin is stable between 8% and 9%, which is not high, but it is not low in the manufacturing industry either.

Liabilities: Short-term borrowings of 420 million yen and long-term borrowings of 260 million yen. The debt-to-equity ratio is 58%, which is considered healthy for a small or medium-sized enterprise.

Cash flow: Operating cash flow has been positive for the past three years, reaching 170 million yen in 2016.

Collateral: Factory land and buildings in Sakai City, valued at 320 million yen. Loan of 200 million yen, with a guarantee coverage ratio of 160%.

Kiryu Yaya turned to the fourth page, the loan application form.

Use of funds: To establish a new SMT surface mount production line to meet the demand of downstream customers for high-density circuit board components.

The equipment quotation is attached below. It includes three chip mounters, one reflow oven, and one automatic optical inspection equipment, totaling 198 million yen. The remaining 2 million yen is for installation and commissioning.

At the end of the application was Masataka Wako's signature.

Kiryu Yaya closed the documents, leaned back in his chair, and stared blankly at the fluorescent light tube on the ceiling.

perfect.

so perfect.

All figures are within a reasonable range, and all ratios are just above the red line.

This kind of perfection is problematic in itself.

In his previous life, he worked in corporate banking for over a decade and had seen thousands of corporate loan applications.

Truly well-managed small and medium-sized enterprises will always have some flaws in their financial statements:

Accounts receivable are overdue, inventory turnover is slow, cash flow suddenly becomes tight in a certain quarter, or a fixed deposit of unknown origin is inexplicably added to the president's personal asset declaration.

A company without flaws is either truly well-managed or has someone who has hidden their flaws very well.

Kiryu Yaya leans towards the latter.

He picked up the internal phone on the table and dialed the switchboard number.

"Switchboard operator, could you please find the registered phone number for Wako Electronics Co., Ltd."

A few seconds later, the switchboard announced a number.

Kiryu Yaya copied it onto a sticky note and then dialed the number.

The phone rang three times before being answered.

"Wako Electronics Industry, General Affairs Section."

"I am Kiryu from the Financing Review Department of Mitsubishi Bank Osaka Branch. I am in charge of reviewing your company's loans and would like to schedule a brief meeting with President Kazumitsu this afternoon."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the sound of flipping through a calendar.

"President, you're free between 2 PM and 4 PM today. Is that a good time for you?"

"Okay. See you at your company at 2 PM then."

"Okay, I'll pass on the message to the president. Thank you for your hard work, Kiryu-san."

The phone hangs up.

Kiryu Yaya put the receiver back and glanced at the clock on the wall.

It's 11:20, forty minutes before lunch break.

He picked up the folder containing the optoelectronics information and flipped through it again from beginning to end, this time even more slowly.

His experience from his previous life told him that there are usually two ways to hide the mine in such a perfect report.

One type is hidden debt, where companies conceal their true debts through related companies, personal loans, or off-balance-sheet financing.

Another type is hidden losses, which are recorded in prepayments, inventory, or investment assets to buy time.

The breakthrough point for the former is the flow of funds, while the breakthrough point for the latter is the aging of accounts receivable and turnover rate.

He closed his notebook, put the folder in the drawer, then got up and walked towards the cafeteria.

Dry rice is the most important thing.

The staff canteen on the second floor of the annex.

The sunlight outside the window was a bit brighter than a few days ago; in mid-May, Osaka was already showing signs of early summer.

When Kiryu Yaya entered the cafeteria carrying his tray, there was already someone sitting in his usual spot near the beverage counter.

Yayoi Minna.

Seeing Kiryu Yaya approach, she immediately looked up and a smile appeared on her face.

"senior."

"Have you been waiting long?"

-

"No, I just arrived too."

Kiryu Yaya sat down opposite her.

Mizuna Yayoi untied the cloth bag and pushed one of the bento boxes in front of him.

Kiryu Yaya opened the package and found the dishes were still plentiful.

The two then began to enjoy their lunch.

As more and more people entered the cafeteria, the surrounding noise acted as a blurry background sound, enveloping their little corner in a strange tranquility.

Mizuna Yayoi took a few bites, put down her chopsticks, looked up at him, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she held back.

Kiryu Yaya noticed her hesitation.

"What's wrong?"

Mizuna Yayoi's fingers rubbed lightly on the corner of the table twice before she finally spoke, her voice very low: "Senpai—I've heard some things."

Kiryu Yaya picked up a thick omelet and asked in a flat tone, "What did you hear?"

"It's about yesterday's mid-level management meeting. Someone said that Section Chief Iwakura and Section Chief Miki said some very unpleasant things to their seniors during the meeting."

Mizuna Yayoi's voice softened further as she said this: "She also said that Section Chief Chihaya slammed her fist on the table for her senior."

Kiryu Yaya put the tamagoyaki in his mouth, chewed it twice, swallowed it, and then picked up the miso soup and took a sip.

"Where did you hear that from?"

"It's being spread throughout the sales department."

Mizuna Yayoi lowered her head, her voice tinged with unease.

"During the morning meeting of section chiefs this morning, Section Chief Takei joked that the new recruit in the financing review section has been too high-profile lately and has been targeted by higher-ups."

Kiryu Yaya's brow twitched slightly.

The news spread faster than he expected. Yesterday it was only circulating in the general affairs department, but today it seemed like the whole bank knew about it.

These guys, they do nothing all day but chat, don't they?

He put down the soup bowl and looked at Yayoi Mizuna.

Her face was filled with worry, and her clear eyes even had a thin layer of mist, as if she might cry at any moment.

"Senior—are you alright?"