Evening star., 1921-10-04
|S0ME STATISTICS
|DF NATIONAL BANKS
Hold Resources of $685..
446,O00-Discount Cor
porations Aid to Trade.
BY 1. A. FLEMING.

By 1. A. FLEMING.
The controller of the currency has
lust issued a complete analysis of
the statements Of national banks in
response to his call for a showing at
the close of business June 80, 1921.
At that time the deposits of the
s,154 national banks of the country
were divided as follows: Demand,
$s.7O9,s25.O0o; time. $685.. sos. 600;
United States deposits, s249. .030, 600.
and sufficient bank and other de-
posits to bring the total to s15.142,-
331 900.
taied ssaes sisSss 900 % and and pheAS ehe loans
and discounts. SLIPS. 100000.
The District of Columbia national
banks, fifteen in number. showed
loans of s55,619.0OO, s305,000 of Gus
toners acceptances, $16,3S1,000 Cow
900 of other stocks and bonds. valued
only $5,155, 900, owned $66S. 900 other
real estate. held S6.42S, 600 lawful re-
serve with the Richmond bank and
had s7.170,0O0 cash in strong boxes
and were generally prosperous
Discount Corporation of New York.
The statement for the third quar-
ter of 1921. made public today by
the Discount Corporation of New
York, shows capital, surplus and un-
divided profits of $6,S73,316 and as
sets over S72.77O.OOO.
This corporation was organized in
January, 1919, by leading CONNER
cial and financial interests. with the
view of stabilizing. and further de-
veloping the open discount market
feature of banking vitally impor-
tant in the financing of international
trade and absolutely essential In or
der to make the dollar world cur
rency and the peer of the pound
sterling.
The valuable aid given to Ameri-
can commerce and industry through
the services of this corporation is
evidenced by its turnover. dis
counted and resold to investors
operations throughout the United
States-during the year 1919 'an ag-
gregate of $S54,9S6.121 of bank and
bankers acceptances and banR-ln-
dorsed trade bills; during the year
1920, s1.7SO,s43,651 and for the first
nine months of 1921. s1.319.9o7. $40.
a total turnover of 1856, ,sS7.712 in
thirty-three months
!. Every dollar of the ss54.96S.121 &C
ceptances have been paid promptly at
maturity. and total turnover of
s3,s55.S37.712 accomplished. This is
the nine-nonth record.
John McHuSh is the president of the
company and E. G. Wagner vice presi-
dent The board of directors includes
the presidents of the Central Trust
Company, the First National Bank.
National City Bank, Bankers Trust
Company, Guaranty Trust Company.
Chase National Bank, Farmers Loan
and Trust Company, John McHugh
and ]. P. Morgan.
What this company has accom-
plished in nine months gives an in
dication of what the proposed For
eign Trade Finance Corporation
might be able to do for the business
of the nation. The Discount Corpora :
tion of New York has a capital of
but $5.O00.000. a surplus of s1,000.000
and $S73,316.S4 undivided profits,
while the proposed capital Of the A.
B. A. project is s10O,00O,0 900 capital.
Project Not Abandoned.
= John Drum, head of the committee
having the proposed Foreign Trade
Finance Corporation in charge. in an
address delivered before the conven-
tion of the A. B. A. urges that the
project be carried to a conclusion.
calling attention to urgent need for
it and to the fact that number of
states were expected to pass laws
permitting banks to make subscrip-
tions to the project.
Sfxty-Seven Years. Service.
Clearing houses have served the bank
ers Of the United States for sixty seven
years.
In his address this morning A. A.
Crane, president of the Clearing House
citation, told the delegates to the an
nual convention now being held, that
''for fifty years or more the clearing
houses of this country have been the
leaders in banking thought"
AS a matter of fact that first clearing
off
in 1853
Mr.. Crane declared that ''the clearing
house is based upon the proposition that
the combined Judgment of several
bankers is less liable to error than the
independent judgement of one indi-
vidual.''
Nor can there be any question but
what the great clearing houses of the
country have in a large measure, con-
trolled the banks that are on their men,
banks in all cities.
There is no line of work to which our
section is more committed said Mr.
Crane, than that which pertains to the
clearing house bank examiner system
Your executive committee is clearly
alive to the fact that this system Of
examination and supervision is one that
provides the greatest safeguard possible
for conservative and legitimate banking
'.At the beginning of the year nineteen
CledIlIS houses ndQ tnlS special system
Of examination. Four more have Joined
this year-Hutchinson. Kan: Mont
gomery. Ala; Ogden, Utah. and Indian
apolis have special examiners.
There Is no question but what this
system of examination is in measure
Indispensable. Letters which the secre-
tary has received from leading bankers
in every city where such a system is
in force bear out the fact that under
no consideration would they even think
Of giving it up
Washington was nightly impressed
with the need of this system at the
White Sulphur convention, if one may
judge from the applause that greeted
arguments in favor of an examiner by
Mr.. Coates of Cleveland.
Good Buying Of Bonds.
There was a fair reinvestment de-
mand for local securities today and
prices on the sales recorded were de-
cldedly strong with an upward trend
Potomac Electric general mortgage
IS were the favorite bond issue, SELL
ing freely at 97A to 81. Washington
Gas 5s were strong at 80. The notes
of the same company, bearing ~ per
cent interest, sold at 102, with a
small note at 10315.
Gas shares firm at 47E to 4S. Rail-
way shares slow, with the preferred
quoted at 5SA. A little Mergen-
thaler brought 121 and single shares
of Lanston, 72A to 721a.
FAILURES INCREASED IN
SEPTEMBER 0iIkPTEP