Chapter 71: 1 Pound Value (2)

[Breaking News, Sweden raises short-term interest rate again!]

A dazed sound mixed with doubt was heard from the side. Yu Seonjun, who had finished his work in Germany and barely returned to Korea, rubbed his eyes as he watched TV with me.

“This, this… What the hell. 500%?”

It was inevitable.

Until yesterday, Sweden’s short-term interest rate was 75%. Even that was already crazy enough.

A whopping 75%, 75%.

Although it was a temporary measure that would only last for a few days, it meant that the annual interest had to be paid at three-quarters of the principal.

No one expected Sweden to raise interest rates further from here.

“Speaking, no, this… Doing this…”

Yu Seonjun, who had not even studied economics for five years, groaned at a case that was not found in any book he had seen so far.

It’s not unreasonable to scold him, as even a seasoned veteran who has been in this field for decades would be out of his mind now.

I watched the news calmly.

-“Even with short selling, there were losses of millions of dollars in an instant in derivatives. It is predicted that if the Swedish central bank maintains its position for about two days, it will soar to tens of millions of dollars…”

The short-term interest rate did not stay at 500% and came down quickly, but that did not mean that the money lost by the speculative forces that were liquidated disappeared.

By the way, most of that money was eaten by me.

I smiled pleasantly.

“See, Oppa. I was right, wasn’t I?”

“…”

Current profit, 500 million dollars.

Short-term interest rate 500%…

There’s just no need for any other words. It’s crazy.

It’s like a person who is about to freeze to death setting fire to banknotes for warmth. Sweden, cornered, put a knife to its own throat with red eyes.

Even if the interest rate is 50%, people would say it’s crazy, but 500%?

The annual interest to be paid is 5 times the principal, even if it’s calculated as a month, the interest is 15%. It’s just crazy.

Even though it was temporary, if the short-term interest rate goes up that much, of course, the stock market will be ruined.

Not only the stock market, companies related to interest rates will go bankrupt in an instant, and margin calls will come from all sorts of places. Leverage is also done by borrowing money, so the speed at which the margin dries up has increased tenfold.

The Swedish central bank used an extreme measure to defend the value of the Swedish currency.

But in the original history, it didn’t have a big impact. What’s the use of ‘500% interest rate’ if Sweden’s size can’t maintain it?

After all, it wasn’t that the base interest rate was raised, but the short-term interest rate was temporarily raised through liquidity control and raising the loan interest rate. It means that if the speculative forces crush the krona, it will be meaningless.

Above all, it was when the UK had already collapsed. Sweden, with 1 HP left, was a mob no matter how much it struggled, and a few funds, which were also in the mob position, were hurt, but large funds properly ate the krona.

But the present that I changed was different.

The UK has not yet collapsed, and the speculative forces that slowly gathered were startled when Sweden staged a self-immolation show next to them and ran away.

And… now is the time.

The timing to attack the UK.

“Now short the UK.”

It was 2 p.m. now. Choi Yeonha, who had a low position, was assisting me next to me because Lee Sihyeon and Seo Jueun were busy working with the kids under them.

“N-now?”

I nodded.

“Yes, now.”

The UK is proud. As befitting a country that was once called the country where the sun never sets, they were quite stubborn about withdrawing from the ERM.

If Sweden had collapsed, the Bank of England would have put down that stubbornness and quickly withdrawn from the ERM, but… now Sweden was cutting its own flesh and destroying speculative forces.

‘It’s a thankful thing.’

It’s not for nothing that I hit Sweden. Among the manageable countries, other places would have given up the ERM obediently, and a place that was too big, like France, would not be attacked at all.

But seeing Sweden, which has a much smaller economic scale than itself, holding on to some extent, the Bank of England will now think like this.

-Oh, is this more doable than I thought?

Maybe these guys aren’t that big of a deal? Maybe if we raise interest rates a little and prepare in advance, we can teach those arrogant Americans a lesson…?

They will have such a delusion.

Choi Yeonha, who was momentarily taken aback, obediently listened to me, although she was still scared of me to a suspicious degree. Actually, these days, the employees of Daeha Securities are the same…

‘Am I that scary?’

I glanced at Yu Seonjun, who was sitting next to me, and added one additional thing.

“And… since Seonjun Oppa is here, prepare to bring down Barings Bank. Send a few employees of Daeha Investment Bank to the Berlin Bank to prepare for the acquisition process.”

Nick Leeson’s loss is now $800 million (it increased by $100 million in a few days).

It’s time to light the fire.

[Alpha Fund declares short selling of the pound on a scale of 10 billion dollars to the UK!]

[Sweden, which is holding on through painful sacrifices… expects economic losses of 100 million dollars]

[Bank of England, if Sweden can do it, we can do it too… Interest rate hike to 15%, declaration of pound defense]

[British Prime Minister John Major, the invaders must pay the price…]

Ha Youngil calmly directed the fund and shorted the pound in large quantities.

“…Will other funds join the attack? It would be a big problem if they sided with the UK.”

A handsome white young man who was acting as a figurehead in the fund asked. Ha Youngil also thought so halfway, but it was already done.

He repeated the prepared answer like a machine.

“Preparations have been made. We have almost recovered the money we put in Spain, haven’t we? Other funds that attacked Spain have also slowly recovered their money, and funds that are a little late will need a target to attack.”

“That’s true, but… unlike us, other funds will need more time. We… have been preparing since a long time ago.”

This was the difference between other funds and Alpha Fund.

Since it had been prepared for a long time, most of the fund’s assets were converted into cash that could be moved. It was able to utilize 100% of its assets.

There was a reason why it could hold on even though it shorted 1 billion dollars, even though it took a reverse position in Sweden.

The krona didn’t have much leverage.

‘Since when…’

Ha Youngil wondered. Since when did Yu Hayeon plan this?

He knew that Yu Hayeon had traveled to Europe several times in the past. It was Ha Youngil who moved a lot of funds to Eastern Europe and Germany at that time and acquired the Berlin Bank.

Maybe she checked the policies of the Swedish financial authorities at that time, but… how?

It was a question that had no answer, so Ha Youngil shook his head and shook off the question. Wasn’t she the most incomprehensible existence in the world?

It was better to focus on the more understandable reality now.

Ha Youngil took a shallow breath and prepared for the afternoon meeting.

The fact that the British government judged that there was a possibility of defending the value of the pound… conversely, it also meant that other funds also judged the possibility of success in short selling the pound relatively low.

Unlike Spain, I had to reignite the speculative forces that had shrunk slightly.

“There was too much damage in Sweden. The UK… wouldn’t it be impossible?”

“Well. I heard that they took the opposite position in Sweden… I heard such a rumor.”

“Hmm, we’ll try to short the pound for now. But if it doesn’t seem right, we’ll get out, so please understand that.”

The reaction was generally negative. It was a meeting that was not originally planned…

‘If the plan is even a little late… there will be enormous losses.’

So I thought I should do something and went to see them, but I wondered if it was a waste of time.

Ha Youngil felt his strength draining. He prepared to return to the office, looking at the sunset.

“Phew, it’s not easy. What did George Soros say?”

Ha Youngil, who met his friend again at Alpha Fund after wandering around, casually asked about Quantum Fund. It was the fund that would be concentrating on this short sale next to Alpha Fund.

The white young man sighed.

“…He seems to be jumping in after seeing the situation. He said why didn’t we hit the UK first… Is there any way? Young?”

Ha Youngil recalled the plan that Yu Hayeon had shared.

To bankrupt the UK’s Barings Bank and disperse the Bank of England’s money. I didn’t know the exact numbers, but… I heard that at least 100 million dollars in losses were hidden.

“That… well, there is, but. How effective it will be…”

It was difficult. How much

“Phew… let’s just stop here for today and see again tomorrow. I have to go to the bank that will lend me leverage again…”

There was too much work to be done. Ha Youngil felt his consciousness fade as soon as he laid his head on the sofa in the office.

Yu Hayeon said not to worry too much, but… how can I not worry?

“—!”

“Hmm…”

My head was throbbing.

‘How long did I sleep?’

The sunlight shining through the window indicated it was morning.

Ha Youngil adjusted his glasses and looked at the slightly open door. The fund managers working at Alpha Fund had woken him up with enthusiastic cheers.

“If it’s not a big deal, I’ll have to scold them…”

Forcing himself to shake off his fatigue and tidying up his disheveled hair, he felt glances from around him, as if they had sensed his presence.

“Ah! You’re awake!”

-Creak.

With that sound, a few people from the next office came with newspapers. With bright smiles on their faces.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Really, really important news…”

“Ahahaha!! It’s huge! It’s huge! Young! Look at this!”

“What is it?”

Could it be?

-Flutter.

A crisp newspaper, freshly published by the Wall Street Journal, greeted him.

[Large financial scandal! Barings Bank discovers $1 billion loss at Singapore office!]

[Was Barings Bank’s Nick Leeson actually a con man? The downfall of a genius who won the top manager award]

[Shock! Barings Bank, with a history of 230 years, is in danger of bankruptcy! Bank of England launches bailout…]

[Pound crisis! Two choices for the Bank of England… Barings Bank or the ERM!]

When I woke up after a nap, everything was solved.