During the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008, banks around the world, including in America, Britain, and Europe, were supported by government cash injections and guarantees. But there was one significant bank, deeply troubled before the GFC, that worked through that time to strength and success, without any government funding or financial guarantees. None. Where was this bank? In China. And, who controlled the bank and guided it during this extraordinary recovery? A US-based private-equity firm. How was all this possible? How was it possible that a US firm took on leadership of a Chinese bank? How did a good-sized national bank, troubled and weak before the GFC, become strong, healthy, and successful, without a single dollar of government support? How did the teamwork with Chinese regulators to implement a series of unprecedented steps? How did the private-equity process proceed, in China, once the bank was so successful, to realize very substantial benefits for its investors, in US dollars? And there's more - all true, amazingly. A high-profile lawsuit filed in the US, involving a Chinese bank, a Taiwanese-=listed company, and of interest to the Chinese government at high levels. A board composed largely of Chinese businesspeople, with a US-based major shareholder and an American chairman, making rapid change.

Weijian Shan tells this extraordinary success story, based on his own leadership role, in a fascinating insider's chronicle, including insights into the many challenges of business in China. Shan led the complex process of establishing an American PE firm as the lead shareholder. He led the bank through a uniquely challenging process of raising capital. And, once the bank was fully recovered to strength and profitability, Shan led another complex but highly successful process of sale of the bank, finding a good home for its future, and rewarding investors handsomely. Shan tells this extraordinary story from deep inside knowledge, with fascinating insights and perspectives. It's a great story for readers who want to understand more of how things can really work inside China's capital system, and for those who want to see how a PE firm can add real value to a company, even in the face of exceptional challenges. For anyone interested in exceptional deal-making, this book is a must read.