Tokyo, 1991: Starting as a bank clerk

Chapter 238 Deep Layout at the Industry Chain Level [Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets: 4k Chapters]

"Kato?"

Kiryu Yaya put down his pen and stood up.

Kato Dan had already pushed open the door and walked in, followed by three men of similar age, all dressed in a sophisticated manner.

He looks like he comes from a wealthy family.

Kato Dan, who was able to associate with this group of people, must have come from a well-off family.

Kiryu Yaya already knew this.

Because his family was relatively well-off when he was in junior high school, his parents used their connections to get him into the prestigious Osaka Starlight Academy.

This school has a deviation score of around 70, making it a well-deserved S-level prestigious school for college admissions.

More importantly, this school is a private school.

To be able to attend this school, one must come from a family that is at least middle class or above, if not extremely wealthy.

Kiryu Yaya still remembers the tuition he paid back then: 28 yen for the entrance fee and 58 yen for the annual tuition.

The expenses in the first year alone amounted to more than 800,000 yen, which is definitely unaffordable for an average family.

So it's quite normal that his classmates all came from families like Miyazawa Keiko and Kato Dan.

"It really is you!"

Kato Dan strode to the counter, looked him up and down, then his gaze fell on Yayoi Mizuna standing next to the counter. He paused for a moment, his expression subtle, and asked, "Oh—and who is this?"

"My close colleagues and I signed up for driving lessons together."

Kiryu Yaya spoke naturally.

Kato gave a soft "oh," drawing out the last syllable, then nodded with an "I understand" expression, without asking any further questions.

The three men behind him followed him in one after another. One of them patted Kato Dan on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Kato, someone you know?"

"My high school classmate, Kiryu Yaya, now works at Mitsubishi Bank."

As soon as he finished speaking, a hint of respect appeared on the faces of the three men.

People who can work at Mitsubishi Bank are no ordinary people.

Kato Dan turned to the side and gestured with his chin toward the three of them: "These are fellow car enthusiasts; we met while racing on the track."

Kiryu Yaya nodded slightly to them, then his gaze returned to Kato Dan's face with a hint of curiosity: "Racing—uh, so you guys are here to sign up for driving lessons too?"

Kato Dan's smile froze for a moment, then he scratched the back of his head, revealing a somewhat embarrassed expression.

"Uh... well..."

He coughed lightly and lowered his voice, as if afraid that the three fellow drivers next to him would hear him: "I drove a lap on the Hanshin Expressway a while ago and got caught speeding. My driver's license was suspended for three months. It just expired, so I'm here to re-enroll in driving lessons."

After he finished speaking, he quickly added, "But let me tell you, you really can't blame me! There weren't many cars on the road that night, and I was driving at a normal speed. Who knew that speed cameras had recently been installed on that section of road?"

"The speed camera has been installed for half a year."

A fellow cyclist behind him mercilessly undermined him.

Kato Dan turned his head and glared at him: "Whose side are you on anyway?"

"The facts."

The fellow cyclist shrugged, looking completely innocent.

Kato Dan then turned his gaze back to Yayoi Mizuna, giving her a quick once-over before turning to Kiryu Yaya in a low voice and saying, "Does your bank have a strict selection process based on looks? It's either handsome guys or beautiful girls."

Kiryu Yaya pretended not to hear and reached for the registration form on the counter: "You're here to register too, right? Fill out the form first, don't keep them from leaving get off work."

Kato Dan then realized what was happening, walked to the other side of the counter, took the form handed to him by the receptionist, and glanced at it.

Then he looked up at the form in front of Kiryu Yaya, which was already mostly filled out, and remarked, "You're really quick."

"In a hurry."

""

"What time are you rushing?"

"I need to rush back to work overtime."

"Working overtime so late?"

Kato Dan's eyes widened slightly, then he gave him a look that said, "You're still the same as always." He continued, "You've been like this since high school, always rushing through everything. Now that you're in the bank, you haven't changed."

Kiryu Yaya smiled but didn't reply, continuing to fill in the last few columns of the application form.

Yayoi Mizuna, who was standing next to her, finally finished filling out her form and then handed it to the receptionist along with Kiryu Yaya.

Kato leaned against the counter, waiting for the receptionist to enter his information. His gaze swept back and forth between Kiryu Yaya and Yayoi Mizuna twice, a smile playing on his lips.

"Kiryu, how's it going at the bank lately? Miyazawa-kun raved about you at the last class reunion."

"It's alright, it's just normal bank work."

"Normal bank operations?"

Kato chuckled: "I've heard you've made quite a name for yourself at the bank. Tell me about your experiences in the workplace sometime."

"You know my family situation. I can't get involved in company matters, and there's no point in working elsewhere."

Kato Dan said this in a casual tone.

But Kiryu Yaya could tell that he still wanted to achieve something.

Kiryu Yaya put the student card into his wallet, glanced at him, and said, "Your dad's company isn't small, is it? I remember you said before that it's a building materials wholesaler?"

"Yes, Kato Construction Materials, they've been in the business for almost thirty years."

Kato leaned against the counter, hands in his pockets: "We mainly supply building materials for office buildings and apartment projects in the Kansai region. We deal in cement, steel, timber, tiles, and all sorts of things."

"With revenue of four or five billion, we used to be able to earn one or two hundred million a year, but the market has been sluggish these past two years, and now we can barely make ends meet."

"With revenue of four or five billion, and an annual profit of one or two hundred million, that's not bad in today's market."

Kiryu Yaya said something.

With revenue of four to five billion, its size is roughly twice that of Whitestone Refrigeration.

It can be considered a small to medium-sized enterprise in the Kansai region.

However, Shiraishi Refrigeration is a capital-intensive enterprise, while Kato Building Materials is a distribution-oriented enterprise.

The two should not be generalized.

Given the risk of a bubble bursting, Kato Building Materials is more likely to face industry cycle issues.

After filling out the forms, paying the fees, and receiving their student cards, the group walked out of the driving school's office building.

Just as Kato Dan put his student card into his wallet, a man wearing a POLO shirt patted him on the shoulder and whispered something.

Upon hearing this, Kato Dan paused for a moment, then turned to look at Kiryu Yaya with a hint of surprise in his expression before nodding.

He turned around and waved to Kiryu Yaya.

"Kiryu, don't rush off. Watanabe says he has something he'd like to ask you."

Kiryu Yaya paused, his gaze passing over Kato Dan's shoulder and landing on the man behind him.

The man was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, slender, with neatly trimmed short hair, and a Patek Philippe Calatrava watch on his wrist.

He stood under the streetlight, a smile on his face that was somewhere between polite and nervous.

"Hello, Watanabe Shinya."

He took a half step forward, bowed slightly, showing perfect manners, but his gaze lingered on Kiryu Yaya for a moment: "Kato just mentioned that you work at Mitsubishi Bank. I happen to have some banking-related issues recently, and I'd like to ask for your advice."

""

Kiryu Yaya glanced at Kato Dan, who shrugged and added in a low voice, "His family makes textiles and is quite well-known in Osaka, but they've recently run into a funding hole. If it's convenient for you, we can chat for a bit."

Kiryu Yaya withdrew his gaze and smiled at Watanabe Shinya: "Mr. Watanabe, you're too kind. It's not like I'm asking for your advice. But since you're Kato's friend, we can have a brief chat if it's convenient."

The night wind blew in from the street corner, making the plastic sign in front of a convenience store rattle loudly.

Mizuna Yayoi stood quietly beside Yaya Kiryu, without saying a word. She simply adjusted the strap of her cloth bag over her shoulder and glanced lightly at the group of people.

Watanabe Shinya glanced around. "It's not convenient to talk here. The coffee shop across the street is still open. If it won't take up too much of your time..."

Kiryu Yaya glanced at the time; it was a little past seven.

He had planned to continue working on the extra hours during class anyway, so there was little difference between working half an hour earlier or later.

He turned his head to look at Mizuna Yayoi and asked in a low voice, "Are you in a hurry?"

'

Mizuna Yayoi shook her head.

"Then we can talk for a while."

Kiryu also said.

The group crossed the road and pushed open the wooden door of the tea shop, which had a copper bell.

The restaurant is small, with only two or three tables of customers scattered around, and the seats by the window are empty.

The group sat down by the window. A shop assistant came over, and Kiryu Yaya ordered a hot coffee, Yayoi Mina ordered a black tea, and Kato Dan and Watanabe Shinya each ordered a glass of iced water.

After the shop assistant left, Watanabe Shinya clasped his hands together on the edge of the table, leaned forward slightly, and made no attempt to beat around the bush.

"Mr. Kiryu, my family's company is called Watanabe Fibers. We manufacture garment fabrics and produce finished products. We can handle the entire process from fabric weaving and dyeing to garment sewing."

He paused for a moment: "Our clients are mainly mid-to-high-end apparel brands in the Kansai and Chubu regions, and some are also exported to Southeast Asia and Europe and America."

"Business has been alright in the past few years, with annual revenue around 20 billion yen. The profit margin is not high, but it is stable."

As he said this, his gaze lingered on the table for a moment, as if he were organizing his thoughts.

"But since the beginning of this year, the order volume of several major downstream customers has been shrinking significantly."

"Customers who used to place three orders a quarter have now reduced it to twice, and the order quantity for each order has also been reduced significantly."

"Inventory is starting to accumulate, and the collection cycle for accounts receivable is also lengthening."

He looked up at Kiryu Yaya: "My father is in his early sixties and his health is not as good as before. He has always been in charge of the family's money and relationships."

"I went to several banks, and they were all very cautious. Some said our financial statements needed to be adjusted, some said the collateral valuation was insufficient, and some said we had to wait for approval from the head office."

"I went around in circles, didn't get the money, and wasted two months."

He leaned back in his chair and let out a soft breath: "So when I happened to run into Mr. Kiryu, I was thinking of asking him for some advice."

"For small and medium-sized enterprises like ours that manufacture fibers, what are banks looking for in the current market? What kind of financing options are more likely to be accepted?"

After he finished speaking, he fell silent, his gaze fixed on Kiryu Yaya's face, as if waiting for his reply.

Kiryu Yaya picked up his coffee cup and took a sip.

With revenue of 20 billion yuan, the company mainly manufactures mid-to-high-end apparel and exports a significant portion of its business.

Calling this a small or medium-sized enterprise is definitely an understatement by Watanabe Shinya.

In the manufacturing industry, an annual revenue of 20 billion typically corresponds to a relatively large medium-sized enterprise.

It may even be approaching the threshold of becoming a large enterprise.

Generally, such companies have a dedicated finance manager or tax accountant responsible for bank liaison.

However, Watanabe Shinya was new to corporate affairs and wanted to ask questions whenever he had the chance, which was understandable.

However, the problem that Shinya Watanabe mentioned does indeed exist today.

Downstream orders are shrinking, inventory is piling up, and payment cycles are lengthening.

Put together, this information has already outlined a fairly clear picture.

This is a matter of industry cycles.

Kiryu Yaya finally spoke up: "Mr. Watanabe, the situations you just mentioned—order contraction, inventory backlog, and extended payment cycles—would all be flagged as problematic by any bank's review department."

Watanabe Shinya nodded, as if he had expected it.

Kiryu Yaya continued, "Moreover, the fiber industry itself has a natural disadvantage, which is that its asset structure is relatively light."

"The residual value of machinery and equipment is low, and inventory fabrics have seasonal and fashion risks. When assessing collateral, banks offer very low discounts on the disposal of such assets."

"You mentioned visiting several banks, and they were cautious. I'm guessing they didn't directly reject you, but rather said they needed additional documents or approval from head office, or something like that?"

Watanabe Shinya's expression shifted slightly, then he nodded: "Yes, that's basically what they say."

Kiryu Yaya chuckled: "In the internal language of banks, this is actually a polite way of refusing, because they can't find an acceptable reason, so they can only drag it out by going through the motions."

Watanabe Shinya was silent for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "So—is it really true that no bank is willing to lend us money?"

Kiryu Yaya did not answer immediately.

He was refining his wording.

But at that very moment, a semi-transparent interface popped up in front of him.

[New life options have been triggered]

[Shinya Watanabe's predicament, on the surface, stems from financing difficulties, but in reality, it reflects the structural crisis commonly faced by the Kansai manufacturing industry after the bursting of the bubble economy.]

With your forward-looking judgment of economic trends, as well as the network of contacts and information channels you possess, you can see a much broader horizon at Watanabe Fibers.

At this moment, you have three choices:

[Bifurcation 1: Standard advice is given. From a banking perspective, it is recommended that Watanabe Shinya adjust his financial statements, optimize his guarantee structure, and pursue normal financing application channels.]

(Difficulty: ★)

[Bifurcation Two: Suggested Transformation Path] This section points out the risks of overcapacity and export volatility in the fiber industry, suggesting that Watanabe Shinya take advantage of the industry downturn to shift towards high value-added or domestically stable business lines, and seek government support funding.

(Difficulty: ★★★)

[Branch 3: From a banker's perspective, propose a comprehensive structural restructuring plan. Utilize the industrial resources of the Miyazawa Group and the information network of the East Restructuring Association to integrate Watanabe Fiber's production capacity with the shrinking fiber industry in the Kansai region, completing a deep, supply chain-level strategic layout.]

(Difficulty: ★★★★★)