New Britain herald., 1922-03-10
UNUSUAL CONDITION l
 IN AVERAGE BANKS
Profits Made From Approximately 25 Per Cent. Of Accounts Cnly

''fs it true" was asked a local banker, that 25 per cent of the de- positors in the banks of New Britain must provide enough profit to carry the loss on the other 75 per cent? In other words, is 1t true that an aver age of 75 per cent of bank lcpositors are causing the banks to lose money?"
 For answer the banker reached :n- to drawer in his desk and pulled out sheaf of papers. Here" he said, are 4 standing accounts which carry 80 per cent of the total de- posits of the bank. If we should lose all but those 14 accounts the bank would be making money"
 Surprising Proportions.
 In other words, according to the | banker, 30 per cent of the cost of op- | eratng his bank is paid by fl ac- counts, while more than 100 times that many accounts are required to pay the remaining 70 per cent.
 New Britain bankers in general have no faith in the theory of a workingman or a man whose in come almost equals his expenses putting his entire pay in the bank and paying the bills by check, ever nc cumulating balance of any account that way.
 Only One Way.
 There is only one way to save" said President William F. Atwood, of the New Britain Trust company, ''and that is by systematic saving"
 A recent investment broker from a nearby city, speaking to the New Britain Industrial Council. said that in order to save money, people should first set aside certain sum for savings and then figure their household expenses from the re- mainder. This method, instead of paying expenses and saving what is left, was that speakers method of ac- cumulating a small bank account.
 Every account, according to Treas urer John c. Loomis, of the Com mercial Trust company, which is carried on the books of a bank, av erages about $500 a year in cost 10 the bank. This figure was reached after an extensive investigation into costs when it was found that the bank could not possibly carry these accounts fc~ css than $500 per year.
 Service Fee Charged
 In orG,. C. co> CT this d man would have to carry in his personal account . about S2O0 a year. Three years ago the bank decided to charge a service fee of 50 cents a month on any de- posit under s10O, thus splitting the cost with the depositor.
 SS0 Deposits Cost Bank $500.
  action on the part of the Conner cial Trust company that local bank officer showed Herald representa- tive a list of 75 small accounts rang ing from a few cents to possibly five dollars. The entire 75 accounts amounted in total to about sS0. ''Now," said the banker, figuring on the basis of $500 per account an- nually, that $50, if it became the sole property of the bank, would only. pay for the. carrying of 10 of these ac- counts on our records In other words, it is costing that bank s6oo a year to carry a~total deposit of $50 on its books.
 The Family Budget.
 When asked his attitude on the family budget this banker smiled as he answered. Making the budget balance is the big problem of tho family, the bank, the business place and the whole country Everybody is having trouble doing it. It's one good feature is that it helps keep man within his income. It is the best family stop-loss system A man will think twice before he steps over his budget I think q budget is in dispensable If a businessman did not have budget he soon would get into trouble"
 What Mir. Atwood Says.
 You ask me to define the atutude of this bank to the small depositor, said w. E. Atwood, president of the New Britain Trust Co., Banks tMTer in policy regarding this phase | of the banking business, some taking | the position that the getting Of smal! accounts which carry an average bal n,ce of from $50 to s10O, and which in themselves do not pay their way from the use of their balances, does not pay unless a service charge of from 50 cents to S1.00 a month is made on those that do not carry an average balance of at least $10o. This bank has up to this time made no service charge on~small accounts, hut on the contrary, has opened it's doors to such depositors, taking the chance that enough of them will grow as time goes on into paying ac- counts.
 Bank Must Pay Profit.
 ssYt must. of course, be realized that | bank is in business for profit to it's stockholders upon their investment in ,ts shares. Unless it can secure nrof,t from it's business the bank is of m value to either it's stockholders or the nrblic in general, because it must make money enough to cover all nossible contingencies of loss in order thot tho hank shall always be sound |