The herald., 1898-12-16
NEW YORK BANKS HAVE AN
UNPRECEDENTED AMOUNT
ELEVATOR INSURANCE RISKY
Copper Output Heads the List-Mining
Notes-Number of the Phil
ippine Islands
OFFICE OF THE HERALD,

While new rec0rus are Deing mace III con-
nection with the volume of bank clearngs at
New York and throughout the country at
large, it is no less important to notice that
the deposits and loans of the banks are as
suming unparalleled dimensions. The cir
cumstances in this connection seem to be
general, and from many widely-separated
interior points the intmations are that the
banks are unable to profitably employ their
accumulating deposits, so that in some cases
a reduction of the interest usually allowed
to certain classes of large depositors is being
discussed as necessity OF the situation.
The New York banks now have an alto
gether unprecedented amount of deposits
and loans The former item at the end of
last week was $7s9, 100000, compared with
$866,0O0,OOO the year before and $500, COO, 900
in the first week of December, 1896. The
loans have also kept pace with the expan
sion of deposits, the average of the former
item being $697 100000 which is an increase
of some $l00,O00,000 over the figures of year
ago, while it composes only S412,44l 900 OF
outstanding loans in 1896. Meantime the
total cash reserves are now $2l4, ,470,0OO, or
27.2 per cent, as against the legal reserve
requirement of 25 per cent, and the surplus
reserve, standing at sl7,007 900, is sufficient
iOr all prdtticui putposts VI "SsuiiHS 'hS
financial community as to the probability
of comparatively easy money market condi
tions for long time to come
There are number of very interesting
points, says Bradstreet's in regard to the
present position of the New York banks.
1t may be noted that the rise of their de
posts has been attended by large gain
in the reserve balances which interior banks
are maintaining with their metropolitan cor
respondents. The plethoric condition of tie
banks at SO many. local centers has already
been referred to and would explain in part
the gravitation of funds toward New York.
even though the interest allowed on such
balances is limited, and the Banks find little
profit in them when call loans are quoted
(as is row the case) at 2h per cent for a
maximum. 1t may be remembered, how
ever, that after January a very large further
influx of outside money is looked for, with
the probability that all previous records
in respect to New Yorl's deposits will be
broken. This expectation is based on the
belief that, the January payments and set
Elements once finished, the pressure of idle
and superabundant money in various cities
will become more intense and cause posi-.
bly, an exaggeration of the customary mid
winter flow of funds from the interior to New
York
The item of loans is entitled to examina.
ton at this time, not only on account of its
large amount, but of the general character of
current borrowings. 1t seems to be ad-
mitted that very large, probably the larg.
est, proportion of the whole S697, 900. GOO
represents call loans. The stock market
seems to have practically ceased to borrow in
any other day, and week after week the
descriptions of the money market published
in these columns have dwelt on the limited
inquiry for time loans and the poor supply
of commercial paper Yet there has been
one feature of an active kind in regard to
loans. The fact tha since October the
average bank loans at New York have in
creased from $685. 900 to the present
level is principally due to the borrowing of
large amounts of money on foreign en-
change collateral. The increased activity
of the stock and bond markets has, of course,
contributed to some extent to this result;
but the s60,000000 gain in two months in the
loans of the New York institutions could
hardly have been seen had the relative plen-
ty and ease Of the money markets here, as
compared with London adm Berlin, afforded
bankers here an opportunity to find profit
able employment for their reserves by dis
counting Europe's time obligations incurred
through its purchases OF our breadstutfs and
other products.
Apart from these general considerations,
the position of individual New York banks
is full of interest. 1t is noticeable that
comparatively limited number of institutions
hold virtually all the surplus reserve, and
that quite a number are little under the
% per cent reserve requirement This,
however, is not unusual and is of little inn
portance. A fact that has attracted wide
attention is the large record figures some
of the leading banks are exhibiting, as, for
instance, the National City banks deposits
of no less than Sl04, 100000, while the
National Park bank has seen its deposit
line rise to over S5l 100000, and notable new
records have been made by such institutions
as the Hanover National and Western Ma
tional banks.