The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-08-16
Financial Notes
!om1st has said that banks are

An economist has said that banks are institutions which receive deposits, and which extend and facilitate credit. We know that credit has come to play a most vital part in modern interua- tional, national. State, municipal, commercial and domestic exchange. Credit utlizeS small savings; it trans fers capital to more productive hands; it furnishes a strong motive toward saving; it makes possible great enter prises. But credit has it's disadvan- tages as well as it's advantages. Credit may promote indebtedness; it u1zAy transfer wea1th-concrete goods, fund of capital or a mere right or privilege-to less productive hands; it may lead to overestimating prices and thus aid in bringing on commercial crises. To safeguard against the at tendant disadvantages and causes of credit, the banks and trust companies have established their own credit de- partments.
 In the larger banking institutions, the credit department has not only developed into an agency for safe guarding the interest of the bank; but also it has come to be used by | their depositors and clients as a source through which reliable credit information may be obtained to safe SUdIu EaSlT 1nrSI0SlS. 11t6 p<tEd1louI1L idea of the credit department is to render service to the banks and it's depositors and clients, and also. with 1 in reasonable bounds, to other banks, general inquirers and mercantile agencies, who avail themselves of it's facilities.
 The Credit Department of a large bank is fully equipped to supply re- liable, complete and detailed credit
 
 mercial, industrial, agricultural or financial institution, corporation or firm located in any part of the world i Credit Department records are kept up to date by periodical revision; they include data on individuals, firms companies and corporations in the United States and throughout the world which has been collated from authentic and reliable information obtained from the record of other de partments, from offices and repr esent- atives at home and abroad. and from affiliated institu tions; personal in- vestigations; investigations by core Ispondence; general balance sheets, in come profit and loss accounts, and annual reports; mercantile agency re- ports; newspaper clippings; invest ment, comm ercial and industrial man
 uals and publications, and dtgesteo
 analytical reports compiled in the de
 partment.
 The Credit Department of the Guar.
 anty Trust Company of New Yorl
 maintains reference library whic1
 contains, among other things, com
 plete file of investment commercial
 and industrial manuals and publbca
 tions from all parts of the world in al
 languages; annual reports containing
 general balance sheets and income
 profit and loss accounts of all com mercial, industrial. agricultural, ant financial institutions in the United
 States and throughout the world: sta
 tisticaI reports obtained direct iron
 offices and representatives at hom
 and abroad and from affiliated an'
 correspondent banks throughout tn . world, covering staple comm oddities commercial, industrial, agricultural a.nt { financial institutions; stock exchang quotations in all exchanges through out the world obtained from ddrec sources. and analytical reports com piled from the library records, Analytical reports made up from tn general balance sheets and the in ! eome-proftt and loss accounts assis the investigator in determininl twhather or not the firm is financial.