With a great smile she accepted. Her apartment was close by. She would go home and arrange with her mother to babysit her daughter. She could at the same time shower and change. She would be back at the hotel at seven thirty.
James was very, very pleased.
Back in Berlin, Hjalmar Schacht and his deputy were putting the finishing touches to their proposal for the British banker the following day.
Magda looked absolutely stunning as she approached James at the hotel bar. The time was exactly seven thirty. ‘Typical German punctuality’ he said to himself.
After an aperitif at the bar, the waiter escorted them to their table. It was set in a bay window overlooking the garden backed by a small lake. A beautiful setting. Once again they found themselves chatting easily about a range of subjects. ‘This lady is so easy to talk with. So knowledgeable. I could talk to her forever’, thought James.
Over a superb but simple dinner they enjoyed a bottle of fine German red wine, a pinot noir from the Wurttenberg region. James personally could have managed another bottle but decided in the circumstances, to restrain himself. He was totally relaxed in Magda’s company and did not want to spoil things by over-imbibing.
Neither of them realised what time it was. It was ten o’clock. The rest of the tables in the restaurant were empty. The waiter was hovering around, obviously wanting them to go. They decided to have a nightcap at the bar. They found a really good German cognac, Asbach. They sipped it appreciatively; each knowing their evening together was drawing to a close. Neither of them seemed to want it to end.
‘But end, it must’ thought James. He reluctantly suggested to Magda that he should not keep her out late as she probably had to be up early with a young child to look after. He was stunned when she faced him directly, looked into his eyes, and said quietly, “My daughter is spending the night at my mother’s.” She continued to stare into his eyes.
James stared back. His mind went blank. This was completely unexpected and he was not prepared for it. Nervously he took her hand. She leaned forward and gently kissed him on his lips. Oh what a sweet kiss! A kiss so full of promise! He felt like he was drowning in emotion. He knew that he was on the verge of a possible life changing moment. A dangerous moment. They had only known each other a matter of hours, yet his instinct told him that this was a woman he wanted to be part of his life. If he wasn’t prepared to accept this, he should end it now. He wanted to love and protect her, not hurt her.
These and many other thoughts, including guilt, flashed through his mind in seconds. He was a realist. With some reluctance he faced the fact that there was only one decision he could make.
There were three of them at the meeting in the office of the Economics Minister. Schacht had introduced the third person as Gustav Muller, the Chairman of Deutsche Bank. This bank had been founded in 1870, originally as a specialist bank in foreign trade. It was now one of Germany’s biggest banks.
After the usual pleasantries were over, they got down to business.
“Herr Blackstone, your visit to the Aviation Minister two days resulted in much extra work for me”, Schacht said with a slight smile. “Your proposed aircraft financing business is something I have been pondering on for some time, but my workload didn’t allow me to bring to any conclusion. You have now precipitated things. For this, I thank you.
Deutsche Bank, the Aviation Ministry, and my Ministry, are in complete agreement with you, that the Americans, with their enormous financial resources, and their great energy, will dominate this sector of commerce if we allow it.
You have caused a lot of inconvenience to some people over the past twenty four hours. A lot of midnight oil has been burnt to produce a working plan to submit to you.”
James was relieved. They were not going to cut him and his bank out of the picture.
It was now Muller’s turn to speak. “I would like to emphasise that we would be honoured to consider the Bradlington Thornberry Bank as a partner, and in many ways, the lead bank, in an ‘alliance’ with the German aircraft industry, German banks, and the German government.”
‘High sounding words’ thought James, ‘but what do they mean?.
Muller continued. “With all due respect to your bank, Herr Blackstone, forgive me if a say that the numbers involved in this particular finance project are enormous. No single bank can manage on its own. Hence our reason for meeting today.
You may have heard that a new airliner is being developed by Focke-Wulf and Rolls Royce as an Anglo-German project. The potential market for this type of aircraft is US$700 million or more. Focke-Wulf are aiming for at least half of this market, most of which will require finance.
Something that you may not be aware of, is another Anglo-German development for the next generation of airliners. It will be powered by four jet engines, with greatly increased passenger loads, speed and range, compared to any piston engine aircraft. Deliveries are expected to commence in 1950. The potential market is estimated at not less than US$2 billion.”
This was an eye opener for James. God bless the Germans. And Jeremy, Katherine and Jamie for putting the thought into my head.
“The basics of the deal we propose are as follows.
We, Deutsche Bank, will provide the finance necessary to German aircraft manufacturers, starting with Junkers, for them to produce aircraft. Their own salesmen will do whatever is necessary to secure sales in the face of mainly American competition. As an inducement to purchase, buyers will be offered very competitive finance. This is where you come in.
All buyers seeking finance would be directed by the manufacturers to your bank. It would be up to you to conclude satisfactory deals. Obviously you will assess the client’s creditworthiness as well as keeping in mind the value of the assets — the aircraft — that form the collateral for the deal.
At this point I must ask Herr Schacht to advise you of a further interesting development.” Muller took a sip from his glass of water.
Schacht now continued. “As I previously mentioned, I have had various ideas in my mind in recent years. One of them has now crystallised thanks to you. I will recommend to the Governing Council that we establish a Trade Finance Guarantee Corporation to facilitate exports by providing ‘insurance’ against bad debts and political or country risks.
The concept is not new. It has been around since the early 1900s. The British, in fact, started such a scheme in 1919, to alleviate unemployment by re-establishing export trade disrupted by the Great War. Germany also had such business before the European War but it was never large.
This new Corporation will issue a guarantee, backed, of course, by the German state, undertaking to pay a debtor’s obligations to the bank or lender, in the event that the debtor defaults on payment.” The Minister saw that James immediately understood that this was a momentous step in the history of German finance.
Muller now took over again. “Bradlington Thornberry Bank will assess each deal offered to them on its merit. They will conclude the finance contract and pay the supplier. Fifty percent of the contracts they finalise will be offered for sale to Deutsche Bank. This arrangement will continue until such time as your bank feels it has reached the limit of its investment in this area. Thereafter all deals will be offered to Deutsche Bank. At some future time it is possible we may need to bring in other banks.