On March 17, Li Zhi took Li Xing, Zheng Kaicheng and others to Jinqi Bank for inspection.
In front of the bank, people lined up in a long line waiting to change banknotes, and there was a huge crowd.
When Yue Shande, the general manager of Jinqi Bank, saw Li Zhi coming, he quickly came up to salute. He pointed to the busy bank hall and introduced to Li Zhi: "My lord, the newspapers have done a good job in publicizing our business. As soon as we opened, people lined up waiting to exchange banknotes."
.”
"Tens of thousands of taels of silver have been deposited every day in the past two days. The day before yesterday was 45,000 taels of silver, and yesterday it was 51,100 taels. I estimate that not all of these banknotes will be used to pay business taxes after they go out. I estimate that some of them will be
Enter the circulation field and circulate as currency."
"If there is still so much money deposited in the next few days, the bank vault in our bank will be full, and a dedicated bank bank outside the bank will be activated."
Li Zhi nodded.
Yue Shande said with some worry: "Mr. Guo, although the circulation of banknotes in our bank is of great benefit to the people, the expense is really not small for us to buy a storefront to open a bank, hire tellers to check the money, and hire people to guard the bank.
!Master Guo, our bank only has expenses but no income, and it costs a lot of money a month."
Li Zhi smiled and said: "Yue Shande, don't be anxious. Banks are a business that makes a lot of money. The money-absorbing business I asked you to do at this time is just the beginning. What we have to do next is to truly make banks different from banks.
structure."
Li Xing asked curiously: "Brother, besides issuing banknotes, what else can our bank do?"
Li Zhi smiled and said: "We will use the bank's funds to provide loans to the people in Tianjin and Shandong."
Everyone was stunned when they heard this, and Li Xing asked curiously: "Brother, what is a loan?"
Li Zhi said: "Li Xing, do you know about usury?"
Li Xing replied: "I know. Some banks lend money to small traders to run small businesses. They borrow money on the first day and pay it back the next day, or they borrow it at the beginning of the month and pay it back at the end of the month. If a small amount of money is lent out, they will charge forty cents in interest a day. If
If you can borrow it for a full month, the interest will be two or three hundred cash."
The usury money Li Xing mentioned is a kind of bank business that appeared in the late Ming Dynasty. This business is similar to the secured loans of later generations, but the interest rate is very high and the loan period is short. Only some small vendors who are in urgent need of capital will borrow this kind of money.
, because not much can be repaid after borrowing this kind of money. In the end, the only way to repay the money is to sell your children and daughters.
Usury in the late Ming Dynasty was not so much a financial business as a tool to rob the poor.
Zheng Kaicheng thought for a while and asked hesitantly: "What do you mean by the Duke of the State, that we use the money we deposit to run the usury business?"
Li Zhi said: "Our business looks like usury, but it is not usury to exploit people. Our interest rates are very low. We ask customers to use real estate, land or real estate as mortgage, and then lend large sums of money to customers.
The loan period can be as long as one year or even three years. In this way, some businessmen who are short of money for business can get money."
Zheng Kaicheng laughed and said: "I just said that the Duke of Guo will not engage in life-saving transactions like loan sharking. What the Duke of Guo said is not quite like loan sharking, but a bit like lending money in a pawn shop!"
In the late Ming Dynasty, pawnshops were a common channel for poor people to borrow money. As the saying goes, "the rich cannot leave the drug store, and the poor cannot leave the pawnshop." Pawnshops can be divided into those who are cheated and those who are cheated. The cheaters will collect the more valuable silks, satin clothes, gold and silver jewelry from the pawns, and give them money based on the valuation.
They even collected the pawner's shabby clothes and pots and pans, and lent the pawner dozens of coins each time.
Li Zhi smiled and said: "Banks and pawnshops look similar, but they are not. Pawnshops generally target poor people, so the collateral is the daily necessities of desperate people. As for our bank, if we want to do loan business, then
It is mainly aimed at customers who have real estate mortgages. Let customers mortgage their real estate, real estate or fields to us to lend money."
Li Xing held his chin and thought for a moment, then said: "Brother, to be honest, if a person who is short of money owns a real estate or a large piece of land, he can simply sell it to raise money, and he will not get a loan from a pawn shop or our bank.
money."
Li Zhi smiled and said: "The fundamental premise for us to attract people to take out real estate mortgage loans is that our interest rates are very low. We only charge 5% a year, which is 5% interest per year for one tael of silver."
"The interest on usury money is as high as two cents a month. We only charge one-fiftieth of the interest on the usury money. The interest of the pawn shop is as high as three cents a month. We only charge one-seventh of the interest of the pawn shop. The interest is only five cents a year.
!”
When everyone heard this, their eyes lit up.
Li Zhi said with a smile: "Our interest rates are so low, which will be very attractive to borrowers who own real estate. After all, it is not easy to sell houses and land at short notice. If you are in a hurry to use money, the land may be sold at a low price."
, losing 10% or 20% of the value. In comparison, when you are short of money, you can borrow money from a bank and only need to pay very low interest, which is quite cost-effective."
Li Xing clapped his hands, suddenly burst into laughter, and said loudly: "Brother, I'm very open to this bank! We absorb a large amount of customers' money, and the most indispensable thing is money. The customers' money is stored in our bank, and the right to use it belongs to us. We
By lending this money at low interest rates in the form of real estate, land and real estate mortgages, we can make money! Our bank will make a profit!"
"With these land deeds and house deeds as mortgages, we are not afraid that customers will not pay back the money."
Li Zhi smiled and said: "This method of borrowing will be called loans or mortgages from now on. The key is that our loan interest is extremely low. One tael of silver only has an interest rate of five cents a year. It is not usury! Now in the public, people
Borrowing money from wealthy households requires 2% interest, which is 24% interest per year, which is much higher than our loan interest. For some people who are interested in running industry and commerce, our loans are
A very friendly way to raise money.”
"And mortgages such as real estate and fields are also owned by many people. As long as you own your own house, you can apply for a mortgage loan from us. Even if your house is rented, your parents and brothers always have real estate, right? You can do it.
Use it as collateral to borrow money from us.”
"As long as there is a good project and you really want to borrow money, you can always find this collateral."
"In this way, I believe that some people who have the ability and know how to run a business will no longer worry about having no money to open a business. In the future, in Tianjin and Shandong, anyone who has the ability to develop industry and commerce will be able to borrow money from banks. This is of great benefit to us in Tianjin and Shandong.
Economic development is of great benefit."
Everyone was very excited when they heard Li Zhi's words. Li Zhi's real estate mortgage loan can be said to be a business that has never existed in this era, and can help countless industrial and commercial people running industries.
Yue Shande licked his lips and said: "Master Guo, I have a nephew who is very good at raising chickens. He raises hundreds of chickens in his yard and can get thousands of eggs every month. He always says that he has no capital to expand his business.
.His yard is in the Acropolis, plus the yard of his relatives, which together is worth more than a hundred taels of silver. Now it seems that he can apply for a loan from our bank!"
After several years of management by Li Zhi, the cultivated area in Tianjin has continued to expand, and the people have become richer and richer. The demand for eggs is growing day by day. At this time, the price of eggs is getting higher day by day, and there are many people who can raise laying hens.
It's easy to make money.
Tianjin urgently needs these chicken raising experts to expand production and provide more eggs to the market.
Li Zhi smiled and said, "Okay, maybe this is our first loan customer!"
