Evening star., 1925-07-26
BY I. A. FLEMING.

BY /. A. FLEMING.
Because the bankers of this city have
been giving considerable attention to
non-paying accounts, II does not mean
that they are not making money, On
the contrary, most of the local insti-
| tutionS are paying satisfactory diyi-
dends to their shareholders and at the
same time accommodating siZable sur
pluSeS.
There is but one institution that is
not paying dividends among the local
banks. suspension being considered
needful during housecleaning. after
which dividends will probably be re-
sumed. They do say that the work
is just about nearly "mopped up" to
quote an Army expression.
Banks are not elemosinary institu-
tons. They are not in business for
the health of the personnel. Share
holders did not put up their millions
for the love of the business.
Ranks, although perhaps more gen
erous in their service to the Govern
ment and their patrons than some
mercantile concerns, have but one real
aim, after all-the interest of the
stockholders as represented by divi-
dends paid and advance in the value
of shares as business increases. Bank
shares have been real money-makers
of late.
What the bankers seek through the
appointment of the various deposit ac-
count committees. their findings and
| subsequent possible action, is to make
! a profit from all accounts and not to
| have little over half of the accounts
paying nearly all the profit while the
| institutions are losing money on part
! OF the accounts.
Banks Keep Books.
Banks are bookkeepers for very
| many of their customers. One of the
| many services rendered TO depesitors
| provides for the maintenance of a
| window for their especial benefit
| where they may obtain information
as TO their balances in the bank at
any time during banking hours. A
| courteous request as to your balance
| will bring the information quietly and
promptly. Books are left at the same
| window to be balanced and returned
TO the depositor
But banks do more than this. Stand
ing at the window of one of the larger
! national banks quite recently one
might have heard. first the question
as to balance, and then:
please ask the bookkeeper If check
drawn by my firm for Ss6 yesterday
| has been paid?"
No" was the answer.
How about one for s56, No. 2ss7?"
Again the answer was No"
Came the senseless one: The
! neither is provided for In the balance
! as YOU gave me-
No"
Service Proves Costly.
This makes added work for the
clerk downstairs and the bookkeeper
upstairs. and when repeated every day
| in the week it is safe TO say that the
account does not pay expenses.
One may readily ina gine the size
| of the balance of an. account that has
! to be watched like that.
That depoSitor and others of his ilk
J understand the modus operandi in
| sending a check through the clearing
! house and count on being able TO stave
! off payment for an extra "a hours
| through their knowledge.
Sometimes they are brought up with
| a sharp turn by knowing cashier
| put wise to the methods of the de
| positor by putting the check in morn
| ing clearings or sending 1t to the
/ bank on which ii is drawn by special
| messenger.
Want so Show Depositors.
! Bankers desire very much to con
/ vince that class of depositors whose
/ deposits may, in the future, grow into
| sufficient Importance to become pay
/ ing, that 1t is an actual cost in money
| to the bank today to handle their
! small but active checking accounts.
They believe, if they can educate
| this class of depositors to the actual
situation, that they will realize the
! justice and need of a service charge
and this established will then result
! in holding accounts that are worth
! having, while, If it is anything like a
unanimous charge the accounts that
are shy of earning for the bank will
not want to be eliminated
No Harm i'm knowing.
/ Bankers feel that they should in no
wise antagonize their depositors by
! analyzing their deposit accounts.
The banks are taking the same priv
| ilege that the merchant and manufac-
| turer does of estimating st-overhead
| for service rendered and 1t is legit-
| innate"
! The quotation is from an article In
| Trust Companies for June, by Arthur
Loasby, president of the Equitable
| Trust Co. of New York City. 1t is
especially appropos at this time, in
view of the study that has been made
| of local deposit accounts.
| Mr.. Loasby expresses the belief that
'depositers think that almost any de-
! posit is profitable to a bank, and that
| it is 30 per cent the fault of the bank
| if it does not. Many bank executives
/ believe that fair average balance in
variably signals a profitable account
though frequently the reverse is the
| case"
! Mr.. Loasby, being president of a
great trust company, naturally deals
/ in his article with many features of
! the business that. while applying di-
rectly to the trust companies of this
city, would not be of interest to saw
/ ingS banks and national institutions
! that are just beginning to work UP
| interest in their newly established
trust departments.
The Trust Officer.
! The trust officer is more or less OF
| confesSor himself. In the making
of a will the wealthy man, no less
! than the man of moderate means
frequently whispers secrets into the
| ear of the trust officer that the world
| must not know. at least so long as
he. the maker of the WILL is on earth
! Not infrequently a man with the
neighborly reputation of a spotless
one. will feel constrained to tell OF
matters in life that he bushes te
| speak of and make provision for his
folly. He may have lived a lie fol
decades, but in the end he must moi
| try to fool the executor of his estate
Sometimes a poor lone man. with
| plenty of money, must prepare fol
death, even while in normal health
| There are trust officers to whom the
gloomy task has been assigned of ar