Genius Grandson Of The Loan Shark King

After Geithner finished speaking, heavy silence fell over Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Chairman Ben Bernanke, and President Geithner.

Geithner lightly cleared his throat, breaking the silence.

“We are facing a major crisis. The aftermath of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy will be enormous. Even if you call me cold-hearted, it can’t be helped. We need to disperse the criticism that will be directed at us.”

“What do you mean?”

Geithner hesitated briefly before continuing.

“We should start by investigating Michael Burry. And if Dreamhigh is really behind him, then they should be investigated as well.”

Paulson showed continued interest.

“On what charges are you planning to investigate Michael Burry? Is that even possible?”

“There are suspicions that he foresaw this crisis and engaged in large-scale speculation.”

“Based on what?”

“Burry predicted the collapse of the subprime mortgage market long ago and had been entering CDS contracts for years. Even when investors opposed him, he refused to unwind his position and instead returned their money. We could claim that he profited unfairly through inside information.”

Bernanke frowned.

“That’s dangerous thinking. They may simply have predicted the market correctly. If legitimate investments are criminalized, confidence in the market could be lost.”

Geithner shot back forcefully.

“Chairman, now isn’t the time to talk about confidence. The entire financial system is on the verge of collapse. The blame will inevitably come to us, and if we want to survive, we have to redirect responsibility elsewhere.”

“There’s merit to President Geithner’s words. The public will need someone to blame. Wouldn’t it be better for Wall Street speculators to become that target rather than us?”

But Bernanke still looked hesitant.

‘Go after Dreamhigh? Is that even possible? And Geithner... why?’

While Bernanke organized his thoughts, Paulson and Geithner continued.

“But President, wouldn’t that invite criticism that we’re trying to avoid responsibility?”

“We’ll have to endure that much criticism. If we bear all the blame, the authority of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department will collapse. Then dealing with future crises will become impossible.”

“That’s true. This is the time to do everything possible to protect the system. Some sacrifice is inevitable.”

The two men were perfectly in sync.

Bernanke lacked the justification to continue opposing them.

He needed to step back and think of countermeasures.

Sighing deeply, Bernanke rubbed his forehead.

“Very well. But this discussion must never leak. It has to remain strictly confidential.”

Geithner nodded.

“Of course. I’ll form a trusted team and begin the investigation.”

Paulson added,

“We’ll help in any way we can.”

“Thank you, Secretary.”

“Good. If this operation succeeds, we should be able to avoid much of the criticism directed at us.”

Paulson nodded with satisfaction.

At last, the meeting ended.

Paulson stood first and left the conference room.

Geithner remained behind and spoke to Bernanke.

“Chairman, I don’t understand why you’re being so passive.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is already what they ordered.”

“...I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

Though startled, Bernanke kept his expression under control.

“I’ll assume you know who I mean. They want Dreamhigh and Kim Muhyuk on the guillotine together. Contact them yourself.”

After finishing his words, Geithner stood up.

“I’ll begin the investigation immediately. We already have enough evidence. Once we take down Michael Burry, everything afterward will be easy.”

“Do as you see fit. I trust you.”

Even Geithner left.

Alone in the conference room, Bernanke pondered briefly before pulling out his cellphone.

Then he placed a call.

* * *

I flew from New York to Washington.

“What is it? You wanted to meet in person?”

By the time I arrived at the safe house I had prepared, Ben Bernanke was already waiting.

“There was an emergency meeting yesterday.”

“I heard about it.”

“Ha... I guess you have another pipeline besides me.”

“No. I only heard there was a meeting at the Fed. I didn’t know what was discussed inside.”

Bernanke nodded.

“We decided to let Lehman fail.”

Although I had already expected it, I pretended to be surprised.

“Really?”

“Of course. Most people at the meeting agreed.”

“The financial markets will be thrown into chaos.”

“Actually... that’s why I came to see you. Charlie, I need your advice.”

My advice, huh?

Those words had finally come out of the proud Fed Chairman’s mouth.

“Advice? What kind of advice do you want?”

“Before that, let me ask you something.”

I nodded.

“What relationship do you have with Michael Burry?”

I never expected Ben Bernanke to bring up Michael Burry’s name here.

“Michael Burry? Why are you asking?”

“Charlie. Please answer first.”

I stroked my chin and stared into Bernanke’s eyes.

What was the purpose of this question?

“I invested in Michael Burry.”

“Just an investment? I don’t see why Dreamhigh would have any reason to invest in someone like Michael Burry.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“...President Geithner proposed making Michael Burry and Dreamhigh the scapegoats.”

I frowned unconsciously.

“Michael Burry is one thing, but us?”

“Yes. Michael Burry is just the stepping stone to go after Dreamhigh.”

Using Michael Burry as an excuse to attack us?

These bastards really are consistent.

Raising one eyebrow, I said,

“What exactly are they going to accuse us of? Do we look like people who leave anything to grab onto? If they attack us over simple investments, who will invest in America?”

“They intend to raise suspicions that you foresaw the crisis and engaged in massive speculation. The purpose is to disperse the criticism directed at us.”

Suppressing my laughter, I put on a serious face.

“Isn’t that dangerous thinking? We may simply have predicted the market correctly.”

“I think so too. But Secretary Paulson and President Geithner are too aggressive. I don’t have enough grounds to stop them alone. What do you think, Charlie?”

The answer was obvious.

Pretending to think for a moment, I spoke.

“To be honest, I think it’s a terrible idea. It could easily backfire.”

“In what way?”

I raised one finger.

“First, as you know, Chairman, investigating us itself could create the impression that financial authorities are trying to avoid responsibility.”

I raised another finger.

“Second, if it turns out our investments were completely legitimate, then your own incompetence will be exposed. And on top of that, you’ll be hit with massive lawsuits.”

Bernanke groaned and rubbed his face.

“Why? Secretary Paulson is a government official, so naturally he doesn’t want responsibility. But President Geithner has no reason to act like this.”

“I think President Geithner is also backed by Baltice. He sounded me out indirectly.”

“President Geithner too? They really aren’t the type to die quietly.”

The twin engines driving the Federal Reserve were the Chairman and the President of the New York Fed.

To fill both positions with their own people?

Even an American president would find that difficult.

“So what was decided? Will they investigate?”

“Yes. President Geithner said he’d personally organize a team and conduct the investigation.”

“Well, then let him. We’ll defend ourselves. There’s no reason for you to step in and attract suspicion.”

“Will you really be alright?”

“Don’t worry about me. You should be worrying about yourself, Chairman.”

“Myself?”

“Yes. Don’t get dragged into the mud with them. You should find another path.”

If Geithner recklessly attacked us, it would actually work in our favor.

I had been preparing for this for a long time.

I had even anticipated that something like this might happen, so countermeasures were already in place.

This wasn’t China or Russia.

They couldn’t sanction us based merely on suspicions.

Nor would the argument that we predicted the crisis through inside information work.

Han Kyungyeong and I had warned everyone about this crisis multiple times.

Then shouldn’t Ben Bernanke start looking for his own way out?

“Another path? What do you mean?”

“How about analyzing the root causes of this crisis and presenting solutions? That’s what you do best, Chairman.”

What had already happened couldn’t be reversed.

But reducing the damage afterward—that was the role of the Federal Reserve, wasn’t it?

“Show people how hard the Fed and its Chairman are working.”

“That’s something we have to do anyway. It won’t be enough.”

“When Lehman goes bankrupt, break up its assets and sell them. We’ll directly acquire several divisions, and I’ll find owners for the others.”

“Hm...”

“I can’t take all of Lehman’s businesses. But I can find owners for them.”

Originally, Lehman would be broken apart and sold off.

I planned to take the North American investment banking and asset management divisions.

As for the Asia-Pacific operations and the European and Middle Eastern investment banking divisions, I intended to pass them over to Taesan Financial.

The real estate assets would attract plenty of buyers anyway, so I planned to leave them alone.

“You’ll find buyers? Really?”

“Yes. Don’t worry about that. I’ll make sure Lehman gets sold.”

“If Charlie is handling it, I’d be grateful.”

“There won’t be any Wall Street firms capable of acquiring Lehman’s divisions immediately. Everyone is too busy putting out the fires at their own feet.”

“That’s true. Whew...”

Bernanke let out a deep sigh.

I could feel the weight of his worries.

“By the way, still no contact?”

“None. They should’ve called to ask me to save Lehman, but there’s been absolutely nothing.”

“How did Geithner react?”

“No particular reaction.”

“Really? Considering how much money is tied up in Lehman, no action at all...”

I fell into thought.

Had something else occupied their attention so much that even Lehman’s collapse no longer mattered?

But that didn’t fit either, considering they were trying to pin this crisis on us.

“If anything unusual happens, contact me. It’s not good for us to meet like this too often.”

“But talking over the phone is even more dangerous.”

I raised my hand and called Manager Ma.

“Manager, give him the item we prepared.”

Manager Ma handed over a bag containing a satellite phone.

“A communication device that can never be traced. Contact me through this. No bugging device in existence can penetrate the penthouse where I’m staying.”

“Ah... I’ll use it well.”

Of course, that satellite phone truly was impossible to trace.

But I didn’t mention that from our side, we could hear where calls were going and what conversations took place through it.

“How do you plan to handle Lehman’s bankruptcy?”

Examining the bag, Bernanke answered my question.

“First, we’ll pressure Lehman to sell.”

“And no one will want to buy Lehman right now.”

“That’s right. After that, we’ll begin bankruptcy proceedings.”

“Understood. Then we’ll proceed according to how things develop.”

For a long time, Bernanke and I discussed the crisis in detail.