The age-herald., 1898-07-31
THE BANKS OF
 BIRMINGHAM Have More Capital and Deposits Than
 Any Rival City. HISTORY OF HER BANKS The Rapid Growth of Deposits and
 ClearinSs Recently. GROWTH OF THE LAST YEAR Shows an Increase of Nearly Three Mil lion Dollars in the Clearing House Report-A Word About
 Each Bank.
HISTORY OF HER BANKS
GROWTH OF THE LAST YEAR

Birmingham has been a banking town from it's earliest days, the pioneer of the business here having been MT. Charles Linn, who organized in 1871 the National Bank of Birmingham. Upon the organiza- ton of the bank, the erection of its build- ing was at once begun. This building is the three-story brick on the corner of First avenue and Twentieth street, which is now owned and occupied by the First National Bank. At the time it was built it was so far ahead of anything else in the town and so much beyond the general idea of it's requirements, that the building was known as "Linn's folly
 The National Bank of Birmingham had monopoly of the banking business in Bir- mingham until about the year 1Sl9 when its deposits having grown to the munificent sum of $50 000, its success began to attract attention, and the private bank of T. l.. Hudgins & Co. began business. This bank was incorporated the next year with cap ital of si0O,O0O under the name of the City Bank. In the course of the next year or two the development of Pratt mines and the erection of the Alice furnace caused quite ingress of population, and in the fall of 1883 the Alabama State Bank, with a capital of $2O0,000, was organized by Gov ernor Johnston and associates and began business early in the following year.
 The National Bank of Birmingham and the City Bank were consolidated in May, 1884, the new institution assuming the title of the First National Bank of Birmingham.
 In the summer of 1885 MT. William Ber- ney organized the Central Bank of Birm- ingham with a capital of $50,0O0, which few months later was increased to $1OO,OOO and the title of the bank changed to the Berney National Bank.
 Tn October, 1885, MT. c. F. Enslen organ ized the Jefferson County Savings Bank, with capital of $50,0OO.
 About this time speculation in real estate began, and the boom gathering strength early in 1886 continued in full force through out that year. People have habit of look ing back to that period one of unparal-s leed prosperity and as being a hacyon time, when everybody in Birmingham had plenty of money. It is worthy of note, how ever, that reports made to the comptroller of the currency on October 2, 1896, when the boom was at it's height, show that the banks of Birmingham had total deposits of $1,SS5 ,0OO., while the reports of the banks to the comptroller on May 5, 1898, and in- formation furnished by other banks who are not required to report to the comptrol- Ter, show that on that date the deposits of the Birmingham banks were in excess of $3,40O,00O, or nearly double the amount held by the banks during the boom period. Dur ing the boom year the banks showed a re- serve against their deposits of less than 20 per cent, whereas at the present time their reserve is more than 40 per cent.
 In 1887 two national banks were organ ized, viz, the Birmingham National Bank and the American National Bank, each with a capital of $250,0O0 and in 1888 the Peoples Savings Bank began business with capital of $50,00O, and the Birmingham Trust and Savings Company with a capital 2 $5OOOOO.
 In 1889 the City National Bank was or ganized with paid-in capital and sur plus of $200V00, and the Central Savings Bank opened it's doors with a capital of $50000. In addition to this, there were sev- eral private banks doing business here, and at one time there were eighteen banks and banking institutions in Birmingham Since 1892, however, there have been no new banks organized, and, on the contrary, there has been a tendency toward consoli- dation. The Birmingham clearing house, which was organized in 1889, with a mem- DeTSInp or IWelVe DankS, now consists or seven members. The capital of the banks now composing the Birmingham clearing house, not counting their surplus or profits, aggregates $1,550,000, and their total depos- its, as above stated are about 8, 400 900.
 To the credit of Birmingham it can be said that no bank depositor has ever lost dollar through a banking failure; no re- ceiver has ever been appointed for a bank ing institution in Birmingham, and those banks that have gone out of business did htr of x,,itr lot Hf...a all depositors paid in full. This is indeed wonderful record.
 The Birmingham banks to-day are among the most solid financial institutions of the country and their business is drawn, not only from the city of Birmingham and county of Jefferson, but from all sections of the state of Alabama and from points in Naighboring states.
 Ths evolution CT the banking business, from ono bank nineteen years ago. with a capi,sl and deposits Of sl0o,000, to banks at the present r-tirle with capital and de- posits of s5.0n.e00, is no less remarkable than the growth Of population and the in- dustrial development during the same per iod
 An evidence of the upward tendency of the banking business in Birmingham for the past few years is shown by these fig ures, furnished by the manager of the clearing house:
 The total clearings for the month of June, .e9f ..............S1 S1 ,1io, 275. 20 June, lss5 1,576 63i. .33 June, 1876 ................ 1.53f 742. .27 June, lSsf .... ............ 1,5!3, ,s10. .e7 June, 1898 .. .. . 7S0 4.S n5
 Total clearings for the year ended June 3o 1898, were s22,675, ,7i775, as against total of $l9,i22,O9lO6 for the year ending April 30 1897, showing gain during the last year of S2, ,953. .656 69.
 The First National Bank
 
 This 1ourishing institution occupies near ly all of the ground floor of the building in one corner of which twenty seven years