enjoyebooks Chapter 10 Mid-level Management Meetings
Chapter 10 Mid-level Management Meetings
At 2:30 PM, the Osaka branch held its mid-level management meeting.
The meeting room was on the fifth floor, with department heads and section chiefs sitting on either side of a long table.
The chief manager is branch manager Takahiro Matsumoto.
Matsumoto Takahiro was in his early fifties, with gray hair, but it was neatly combed.
This branch manager, transferred from Tokyo, has been in office for less than a year, but his style has already left a deep impression on the entire Osaka branch.
Meticulous, rigorous, and uncompromising.
"This week's agenda."
The branch manager of Matsumoto didn't speak loudly, but everyone in the meeting room could hear him clearly:
"The progress of handling non-performing loans, and the risk control of new financing. Please proceed."
The head of the sales department first reported on the collection situation this week, followed by the debt management section of the financing department, and then the financing planning section.
When it was time for the financing review class, Masakazu Yamada opened the folder in front of him.
"The Financing Review Division received a total of twelve new financing applications this week. Ten of them have passed the review and entered the signing process. One was rejected due to insufficient collateral. And there is one more—"
He paused.
"Still under review."
The branch manager of Matsumoto's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Masakazu Yamada is a very decisive person. The fact that he used such a vague statement as "still under review" speaks volumes.
Which one?
"Fuji Metal Industries. An auto parts processing plant in Higashi-Osaka. The application amount is 30 million yen, for equipment upgrades."
"I remember this place."
The branch manager of Matsumoto tapped his finger lightly on the table:
"I've been following this case for two months. The fundamentals should be fine."
"That's how it is from a fundamental perspective."
Masakazu Yamada carefully considered his words:
"But a new student in our class noticed some suspicious points."
There was a moment of silence in the conference room.
"A newcomer?"
The sales manager sitting diagonally opposite looked up, his tone revealing undisguised surprise:
"A newcomer to the financing review department?"
"Yes, Kiryu. A new employee who joined in April, a graduate of the University of Tokyo."
Masakazu Yamada briefly explained the whole story.
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From Kiryu Yaya discovering the anomaly in the raw material purchase amount, to drawing a hand-drawn cash flow chart, to receiving feedback from the equipment supplier that "I inquired about prices last month but haven't heard back since."
He spoke succinctly, but he covered every key point.
"Fuji Metals' purchases from its largest supplier over the past three years suddenly increased by 30 million yen in the fourth quarter of last year. Meanwhile, its sales revenue did not show significant growth during the same period. And the equipment loan it applied for this time is also exactly 30 million yen."
Masakazu Yamada turned a page of the documents in his hand.
"Kiryu believes there is a connection between these three."
No one spoke in the meeting room.
The branch manager of Matsumoto leaned back in his chair, tapped his right fingers lightly twice on the table, and then stopped.
"How long has that new employee been with the company?"
"Less than a month."
"A new recruit on rotation noticed something suspicious about a case they'd been working on for two months?"
It's unclear whether the Matsumoto branch manager's statement was praise or criticism.
"Where's the data?"
Masakazu Yamada handed over the A4 sheet of paper with Kiryu Yaya's hand-drawn illustration.
The branch manager of Matsumoto took it and read it from beginning to end.
On the paper, the pencil-drawn chart of fund flows has clear lines and distinct arrows.
Next to each number, the source was indicated in small print: which page of the final accounts report, which line of the procurement list, and which section of the loan application.
The handwriting is neat and tidy, with no careless strokes.
He looked at it for about two minutes, then put the A4 paper on the table and looked up.
"Who's going to conduct an on-site investigation at Fuji Metals tomorrow?"
"Chihaya and Kiryu."
The branch manager of Matsumoto nodded.
"Once the results are in, report them directly to me."
This sentence means:
He personally oversaw this case.
The atmosphere in the conference room changed slightly.
The Osaka branch handles hundreds of financing applications every month. A limit of 30 million yen is not small at the branch level, but it is not enough to alarm the branch manager to personally intervene.
When Matsumoto Takahiro said this, he was clearly not referring to the case itself.
"Section Chief Yamada."
"Yes."
"After this new employee in your class completes his/her job rotation, I need his/her evaluation report."
Masakazu Yamada bowed slightly.
"clear."
The meeting continued.
The Debt Management Division reported on the collection progress of three companies in Higashi-Osaka last week, the Planning Division announced the adjustment of the credit policy for the main store next week, and the Sales Division reported on the expansion of new customers.
But after the meeting, as the section chiefs walked out of the meeting room, they were all whispering about the same thing.
"Kiryu, is he? A new rotational recruit?"
"Graduated from the University of Tokyo, no wonder."
"It has nothing to do with the University of Tokyo. There are so many graduates from the University of Tokyo; how many of them could spot this kind of problem during their job rotation?"
The message traveled from the fifth floor to the third floor, from the section chief's office to the department head's workstation, and from the break room to the printing room.
Finally, the entire bank knew:
A young man joined the financing department; he's quite remarkable.
……
However, Kiryu Yaya, who was caught in the eye of the storm, was completely unaware of the situation and was leisurely pretending to work at his desk.
The new employee on rotation was doing miscellaneous tasks, but since he was already familiar with all the bank's procedures, it didn't take him long to do them.
If this were a bank in your past life, you would just have to wait until it was time to leave work.
But that doesn't work in Japan.
Because Japan has a very bad tradition—
work overtime.
To be precise, it is "unpaid overtime," which the Japanese themselves call "service overtime."
There were no subsidies, no overtime pay, and we couldn't even say "I'm working overtime."
Because this would be seen as a betrayal of the company and a silent accusation against senior colleagues.
New employees must sit at their workstations and pretend they have a lot of unfinished work.
Even if you've already done everything you were supposed to do today.
You also have to pretend to be busy.
That's just brain-dead.
Kiryu Yaya glanced at the clock on the wall.
4:30 PM.
There's still half an hour until the designated end of the workday.
Just when Kiryu was suffering greatly.
The internal phone on the desk suddenly rang.
Chihaya Yuri answered the phone, responded twice, and then handed the receiver to him.
"Kiryu-kun, this is an outside call. A lady named Miyazawa is looking for you."
Kiryu Yaya paused for a moment as he took the receiver.
"Feed?"
"Kiryu-kun."
The voice on the other end of the phone was soft, carrying a bright, spring-like quality:
"It's me, Miyazawa."
"Um."
Are you still busy?
Kiryu Yaya glanced at the files spread out on the table.
"I'm fine, what's wrong?"
A very faint breathing sound came from the other end of the phone. Miyazawa Keiko asked:
"Are you free after get off work today? If you're not busy, would you like to go shopping together?"