Chapter 256: Phased Arrangement

Carter had initially promised Zheng Junpeng that he would immediately establish a new trading company called "Tianheng" upon his return. However, upon coming back, he felt a sense of hesitation.

With Maitai performing well in the domestic market recently, Carter had accumulated substantial funds. He decided to temporarily hold off on starting the new company and instead fully utilize his current funds to continue trading with Maitai.

While Zhou Yi and Zheng Junpeng were somewhat disappointed, they understood Carter's reasoning and didn't press the matter further.

Carter found himself amidst the affairs of the Japanese community, unbeknownst to Kata. Feeling everything was going smoothly, Carter, after fully acquiring Bath Bank, stayed in Argyle for an additional two days. With the assistance of Forest Bank manager William, he managed to sort out the matters of Bath Bank.

Unlike the earlier takeover of Forest Bank, which was a well-organized institution with established systems, Bath Bank was full of holes from top to bottom. The external economic downturn and pessimistic market outlook were compounded by internal chaos: the death of the owner and manager, both Basses, the passing of security staff, and several employees resigning out of fear. The bank was severely understaffed.

It was no wonder that Mrs. Bass couldn't handle it after inheriting Bath Bank for just two months. Managing such a mess would indeed be a miracle for a woman in her sixties.

Drawing personnel from Douglas's Black Bank and Pearson's Forest Bank, Carter managed to restore Bath Bank's operations to some semblance of normalcy. Without even having time to audit the accounts, he rushed to Atlanta.

At the FDIC's Atlanta branch, he completed the procedures for a subsidy loan. Accompanied by Patterson, he then went to the Atlanta Federal Reserve to submit a loan application on behalf of DOG Real Estate Company, attaching several guarantee documents from local governments.

The credit manager at the Federal Reserve was taken aback by the sight of so many government guarantees. It wasn't uncommon for the bank to encounter loan applications with government guarantees, but having seven or eight at once was excessive.

Pushing his glasses up his nose, the manager, though surprised, promptly responded to Carter:

"Sorry, Mr. Black. Your case is rather special. I must temporarily suspend the application process. Please give us some time to verify the authenticity and validity of these guarantees."

Understandably, there was nothing more to discuss. Leaving the documents at the Federal Reserve, Carter returned alone.

"How did it go? Is everything settled?"

"Not bad. The guaranteed loan from the Federal Reserve needs some time for review. Haha, they've never seen so many government guarantees at once; it almost got me thrown out as a fraud if it weren't for Patterson!"

Leaning back in his chair, Carter chuckled at the thought of the credit manager's expression in the afternoon.

"By the way, the FDIC's subsidy loan should be approved in the next couple of days. Please help me calculate and have Nicole inform Manager William. How has she been performing lately?"

"Well, she's got a good attitude but lacks a bit of finesse. Aren't you curious why Patterson went all the way to Hawaii to recruit her?"

Goodman smiled, giving an objective assessment of Nicole.

"Yeah, she… well, as long as she hasn't caused any trouble. If she's not quite there yet, you decide. If she works well, keep her; otherwise, train her more. After all, with people being transferred from Black Bank, we're already short-staffed. And don't worry about my opinion. If she's not up to it, reassign or fire her as you see fit."

The issue of a talent shortage was a headache for Carter. He was too preoccupied with it to concern himself with Nicole's situation. If she fit in, great; if not, he had no qualms about finding another role for her or letting her go.

"Goodman, do you think we could rehire those who left Argyle, maybe rotating them with staff from Black Bank? Moving them to Douglas should alleviate their safety concerns."

"I don't think that's a good idea. People in Douglas are comfortable and won't want to leave. Besides, those transferring in would need retraining in electronic transactions. It's impractical to do this all at once. Even if it's done in phases, deciding who goes first would be problematic."

Goodman shook his head, dismissing the idea as impractical. Forcing well-settled staff to move would only create dissatisfaction and disrupt the smooth operation of their branches.

"The issue with the workforce isn't as pressing. The late Mr. Bass was decent to his employees, and they're not desperate enough to seek new jobs immediately. Besides, in the current climate, which bank dares to hire on a large scale? Even loans are a problem now!"

"By the way, deposit interest rates are already rising. Nearby Osceola and Fitzgerald have rates at 12.3% and 12.5%, respectively. Should we follow suit?"

"We're still at 11.2% for 1979, right? A difference of about one percent shouldn't draw too many away. As you mentioned, Douglas still has a lot of appeal."

Carter pondered for a moment before deciding. Matching the rates would be counterproductive, as their deposit interest would surpass loan interest, leading to greater losses despite his readiness to endure a few years of red ink.

"Alright, I'll keep an eye on it. I'll have the team monitor public sentiment and surrounding areas more closely."

"Yes, if the public sentiment shifts significantly, we can consider raising rates. Although cash is tight, we don't need to rush to attract deposits now, and we probably wouldn't gather much at this point anyway."

With market activity tied to cash flow, maintaining Douglas's economic vitality meant avoiding hoarding cash in bank vaults.

Thinking about Douglas's current state, Carter continued making arrangements:

"There's also the employee issue… never mind, I'll go to New York tomorrow. We need a headhunting firm. Our talent gap is beyond what we can train or recruit slowly. DOG Construction needs road and bridge engineers for key positions, and the bank needs more finance experts. Are we still short in accounting?"

"We need a few more. After you went to Hawaii, I had Nicole investigate the newcomers' work histories. We found a few accountants, but we still need two in settlements and one cost accountant for construction."

"One cost accountant barely handles small residential projects. Once your highway project starts…"