The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-03-09


Loans and discounts a- $601 ,23s, sos
Overdrafts zoos, ,G95
Real estate, furniture and fixtures 17,122,1i7
Expense account 5,20S,3T5
Premiums y 4gO Sg2
Remittances and other cash items 10367G6IS
Due from National banks IO7 .5g7. .s5S
Due from other banks and bankers l2I3655O
U: s. bonds deposited to secure eircula-
Other U. S. bonds aud securities St'aG ia
Bills oil other banks I7,4s7 Gs9
Specie s1Sn's36
Other lawful money 2G5I750G4I
Other stocks, bonds and mortgages 1855, 400
Total .-a $685. 500
LIABILITIES.
Capital stock paid in S415,27s eco
Surplus fund re- 359.277
National bank notes outstanding 2s0i29'55s
State bank notes outstanding a74S.O25
Individual deposits 5GS510.5Ti
United States deposits 3O420s20
Deposits of U. s. disbursing officers 2979,955
Due to National banks t'O53l 1851
Due to other banks and bankers 26,951, ,499
Profits 32,5S3,32S
{ Total fE # lH-H sI,525.4 1890
II we analyze these accounts we shall find
that they indicate remarkable solidity. The
liabilities of the banks to the public are
Notes in circulation told and new) S2s9s77, ,5s3
Private deposits 553 5lO,571
Public deposits 33I0O,T7G
Due to other banks 13I, 4s3,456
! Against this they have in actual cash.
Specie $S17Oss6
Lawful money, ..rs. 205,77O,64l
In all 2l3,94I,477
Here thenis at the very beginning, over 20
per cent. of the liabilities in cash. five COM
pare this reserve with the specie reserves of
the Bank of England or of the Bank OF France
we shall find in the vaults of those institu-
tions an average amount not far from 35 per
cent OF their liabilities. 1t must be consider
ed however that these reserves, and especially
that of the Bank OF England are the banking
reserves not of these institutions alone but of
the whole country to which each belongs. All
the deposits in all the banks of England are
secured by the single reserve in Threadneedle
street. To make the comparison perfectly fair
therefore, the reserve oil the Bank of England
should be measured by the liabilities of all the
banks in England. A writer in the London
Economist doubts whether the reserve would
of these liabilities.
In the item of cash then, the National
banks are very strong, holding one-fifth of
their total liabilities. But there are other re-
sources which deserve to be considered. The
total resources are
Cash S2t3.a4t Az
Government securities AZ, ,6J7, $50
Remittances and other cash items 103,676,64s
In all s74,275.475
The banks hold therefore in Government
securities or cash nearly 7S per cent. of their
liabilities. The best of the English banks hold
no such reserve as this-40 per cent being re.
garded by bankers there as amply sufficient.
The truth is the National banks are doing bus
iness very largely on their own capital. With
a capital OF 415 millions and surplus fund of
53 millions more, their loans and discounts
amount to barely 600 millions. More than
three-quarters of the money which they have
loaned is their own. There are no European
banks which do so safe business as this
In Europe banker is an agent who un-
dertakes to invest other peoples money; with
us he is man who lends his own money, and
only incidentally other peoples. There is not
in the world banking system so sound, SO
well provided with needful reserves, so nearly
reliant upon its own capital, as the National
banking system in this country. In 1887 and
1857, the banks kept very small reserves and
they went down like rows OF bricks. They are
not liable to such disasters now The people
who have already observed that years ending
in are fatal TO mercantile credit may as well
erase 1867 from their list. We shall see no
great financial disaster while the banking
credit Of the country remains as firmly an
chored as il is now. BY this sound system of
banking the inconveniences of the transition
from an inconvertible to a convertible curren-
cy, though they cannot be escaped, may be
greatly mitigated.