Today is the last Senate hearing on HSBC's acquisition of Standard Bank of South Africa, chaired by Senator Mark Warner, Chairman of the Senate Finance and Banking Committee, on April 13, 2004.
Washington, Capitol Hill.
Today is the last Senate hearing on HSBC's acquisition of Standard Bank of South Africa. It is chaired by Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Finance and Banking Committee. This is an investigative hearing focusing on a specific issue.
There are four types of Senate hearings;
The first is a legislative hearing, the second is a supervisory hearing, the third is a review hearing, and the fourth is an investigative hearing.
Generally speaking, the first three types of congressional hearings demonstrate the authority of Congress to supervise the operations of the U.S. government. They have high standards and rigorous procedures, and must be conducted step by step in accordance with procedures and rules.
The fourth type of investigative hearing is much more casual, which means that the Congressman wants to know the situation of this matter. Whether it is the President of the United States, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the CEO of a large multinational company, or an expert in relevant fields, he must be summoned.
Attend hearings and accept questioning in accordance with the law.
Then some people say, "If I don't want to go, can I just go to heaven?"
Haha... try it, the commander-in-chief of the United States has no right to refuse the Senate's inquiry, because this is illegal.
Enter the venue
Wang Yaocheng, Mo Yuxuan, Citibank Chairman Alex Jones, Bank of America Chairman Sandberg, and US Treasury Secretary Paulson were all sitting behind the long table.
These few people were all acquaintances. They greeted each other warmly, exchanged a few pleasantries in a low voice, and then sat down to sort out the information.
a while
Mr. Senator will ask questions casually and must be prepared in advance.
Every senator is a veteran who has experienced the ups and downs of the political arena for many years. He is able to defeat his competitors all the way to the Capitol.
If a weakness is accidentally caught, it may lead to complete passiveness.
In front of the building is a stepped semicircular building structure. The senators are sitting on high chairs preparing to ask questions. Some interested senators also come to listen, and the seats above are full.
According to regulations
Only the eight senators on the Senate Finance and Banking Committee can ask questions. Six of them were present today. In addition to the chairman of the committee, Senator Mark Warner, there is also an old acquaintance, Senator Michael Bay, who was the behind-the-scenes controller who once participated in the acquisition of Samsung Group.
Senator Michael Bay's dark eyes swept over Wang Yaocheng and Mo Yuxuan, and finally stopped at Treasury Secretary Paulson, and let out a cold snort from his nose!
Summary of this hearing;
Investigate HSBC's merger with Standard Bank of South Africa on suspicion of unfair competition and monopoly.
first
Committee Chairman Senator Mark Warner delivers opening statements;
…
In view of this, the Senate feels it is necessary to hold another hearing to clarify the stakes. Does this cross-border merger really harm the healthy competition in the US financial market? Will it bring about a bad domino effect in the financial industry? Prompt financial oligarchs.
A pattern was formed, and the committee expressed strong concern about it.
Secondly,
Presentation by Mok Yuxuan, CEO of HSBC Bank;
It introduced in detail HSBC's merger and acquisition attempts and the bank's development plan, and defended its own position. It used a large amount of data and facts to prove HSBC's point of view, which does not involve monopolistic and unfair competition in the financial industry.
At this time, the investigative hearing had been going on for nearly an hour.
Many senators, congressmen and aides came to the scene one after another. If there were not enough seats, they stood at the back and listened. Most of them approved of Mr. Mo Yuxuan's logical and rigorous data and whispered their opinions in private.
Unknowingly, the private exchanges started to sound like 500 mosquitoes buzzing in my ears, making it difficult for Senator Mark Warner, who was sitting on the podium, to hear clearly.
"哐哐"...twice
He angrily knocked the table with his magic hammer, the sound shook the whole place, and said;
"Quiet, this is like a playground for gypsies. If you gentlemen can't shut up and listen quietly, I will terminate the investigative hearing and hold a closed-door secret hearing on another day."
The boss spoke, and everyone on the stage suddenly became much quieter.
Wang Yaocheng clearly saw that many senators or congressmen curled their lips, looking very disdainful;
Apparently he felt that Senator Mark Warner was using chicken feathers as an arrow and making a fuss out of a molehill.
Who is a member of the House or Senate on Capitol Hill who is not on several committees?
What are the Economic Development Committee, Intelligence Investigation Committee, Nuclear Disarmament Committee, Appropriations Committee, Aviation Regulatory Committee, Energy Security Committee, Judiciary Committee, Military Committee, Environmental Protection Committee...
I dare not say that there are too many, but there are always two to three hundred committees. Of course, the powers of the General Committee are also divided into small and large ones. For example, the Appropriation Committee is a super heavyweight committee, and there is also the Military Committee.
As for the Finance and Banking Committee, hehe...
Seeing that the order in the investigative hearing was much better, Senator Mark Warner nodded with satisfaction and announced that he would enter the next stage;
Senator's question.
Followed by
Senator Michael Bay launched into an aggressive questioning, and the hearing became almost all he had to say;
HSBC involves US users and the government. Is it possible that sensitive information of corporate users will be leaked, endangering national security?
Why did it acquire Standard Bank of South Africa? Where is the margin for HSBC’s aggressive expansion?
Have you considered affecting the balance of the entire financial market?
As a company listed in London and Hong Kong, does HSBC fulfill its information disclosure obligations?
Did you make plans for mergers and acquisitions prospects in the 2003 annual report and explain in detail? If these obligations were not fulfilled... why?
As a very influential multinational bank in the financial industry, what kind of social responsibilities does HSBC have? Is it conscious and proactive in fulfilling these responsibilities?
What do you think of competitors Citibank, Bank of America and other banks?
Has HSBC considered market sharing, benefit sharing, and the social unrest and reduced job opportunities caused by the integration of the financial industry, and the strengthening of market exclusivity?
A series of questions were thrown to Wang Yaocheng to answer, starting a fatigue bombing.
These questions were resolved step by step in Wang Yaocheng's logical and rigorous answers. Senator Michael Bay's eyes flashed with dangerous light and he asked maliciously;
"How does HSBC ensure that bank accounts and transaction methods are not used by terrorists, criminals and other dangerous elements, thus endangering public security and world stability."
Wang Yaocheng looked at the other party and was speechless.
This guy is biting and stalking me like a mad dog, trying to find weaknesses in his words and attack them. This question is thrown to me and I have to answer it. No one else can do it for me.
"Okay, Mr. Senator, please allow me to take a sip of water before answering this question. After answering this question for nearly two hours, my throat is so dry that it is smoking, and I am unable to answer the question."
As soon as this statement was made, the onlookers burst into laughter.
This is a subtle accusation that Senator Michael Bailey is out of his depth. What can you change by persisting in this way?
With so many people present at the public investigative hearing, HSBC's reasons are completely defensible, and the accusations of monopolistic mergers and acquisitions by the Ministry of Justice have been riddled with holes, which cannot be covered up by smearing and heavy-handedness.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the accusations made by the Ministry of Justice are completely unfounded, and failure is only a matter of time.
Senator Mark Warner, who was presiding over the hearing, politely made a "please help yourself" gesture. Senator Michael Bay had to shut up angrily, lying heavily on his chair and staring at Wang Yaocheng, trying to continue to exert pressure.
Wang Yaocheng took the thermos cup handed over by Zhao Feng without changing his expression and took a gentle sip. The cold French sparkling champagne moistened his thirsty throat and refreshed his spirit.
He has never felt that French sparkling champagne tastes so good. It is so refreshing that it is so beautiful that it goes down to the bone.
paused
Wang Yaocheng answered the above questions in a leisurely manner;
"HSBC is an old international bank established in 1865. It has a long history and excellent reputation and has always been internationally renowned for its professional banking services.
Since it was allowed to issue banknotes in 1872, HSBC has shouldered the heavy responsibility of Hong Kong's economic development for 132 years and has never slackened off, making an indelible contribution to the financial security of Hong Kong Island.
from beginning to end
No one, organization, or country has ever accused HSBC of promoting criminal activities, and there is no evidence to prove this. Fear comes from conjecture and fantasy, and HSBC does not respond.
HSBC has always abided by strict international financial industry standards, effectively fulfilled its review obligations as a multinational bank, was impeccable in the development of relevant banking and financial services, and was fully able to accept the most demanding evaluation standards.
But what I want to point out here is that HSBC is not the government, the police, or the FBI. Please do not place relevant responsibilities on a commercial bank.
This is unfair and HSBC will not accept it.
For every bank user who comes to open an account, HSBC will provide the most comprehensive and high-quality services as long as they comply with internationally accepted standards and do not walk into the bank with a gun.
European and American legislation follows the principle of presumption of innocence unless the court convicts someone of a crime and issues a bank injunction.
Otherwise, HSBC will not refuse any citizen to open a bank account and handle related business. This is the right of every citizen.
Whether you are a terrorist or a criminal is a criterion that is in the hands of the court. If you receive official documents from the court or the police to assist in the investigation, HSBC will be happy to assist.
before that
HSBC will not preset a position that suspects a person or an organization to be involved in criminal activities, terrorist activities or other activities that endanger social security. HSBC has no right or ability to screen.
I answer like this. I don’t know if Senator Michael Bay agrees with it. If you have any unclear questions, please feel free to ask them."
Well……
Senator Michael Bay was at his wits' end. He shook his head and sat slumped in his chair without making a sound. There was nothing wrong with him in the first place. It's so difficult to find something wrong with him!
The whole process lasted four and a half hours. Senator Mark Warner, who presided over the hearing, officially announced that the hearing was over, and everyone breathed a long sigh of relief.
As for the results?
The investigative hearing is over. It mainly answers the questions that the senators are concerned about.
According to the procedure, the real result must be made by the Antitrust Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, and the investigative hearing will give you no result.
When packing up documents and leaving Capitol Hill, Paulson came over and shook hands with Wang Yaocheng warmly: "Hey, man, you did a good job today. I worked behind the desk all afternoon in vain, and only answered two questions."
"Paulson, are you making fun of me?" Wang Yaocheng's voice was hoarse.
"Haha, let's go fishing together if we have the chance. We are the best partners. Let's see if we can break the historical record."
"Thanks for the invitation, friend, and my answer is why not?"
"Hahaha...it's settled."
Although Wang Yaocheng was exhausted, his mood was high. He knew that it was not easy for Paulson to come to help the platform today. Even though it was just two questions, his statement of this magnitude was decisive.
If a good friend doesn't say thank you, it's all in silence.