Evening star., 1925-11-12
ARTICLE ".

or all the money making occupations
| IN the United States, that of the
banker Is the most overrated. Public
conception of the banker, nine times
| out of ten, pictures him as a powerful
| figure, dominant in the realm of COM
merce and industry as we'll as finance;
a gentleman on whose Whim hangs the
| fate of the Nations business; a person
who can wreck a railroad after a
bad breakfast and precipitate a panic
| by 3 o'clock.
That, of course. Is an utter miscon-
ceptlon. The Bureau of Internal Reve-
nue. has just made public some facts
about bankers and their income that
let's the wind out of the toy balloon
puffed up by the public and put in the
bank presidents chair.
TO begin, the bureau SAYS that the
chance of losing money in the bank
ing business is about one in three
There are 90,962 Incorporated banks
in the United States; of them, 5Sgg2
made money in 1923-a prosperous
yeae-and 1870 lost money. Losses
were greatest among private bankers,
so-called, for only rs out of 1872 re-
porting ended the year with profit.
Those institutions reported a net
profit of SS42 900 for the year, out of
which they paid in taxes more than
$4,000 to the Federal Government
X I; X
The 81 private incorporated banks
which lost money lost to the extent of
S634,000. Thus, measured in dollars
and cents. profits and losses in the
private banking business, among in
corporated companies, ran almost q
dead heat. The net profit to all the
1872 companies, after tax payments,
was about $11S,000, or somewhat less
than $1,000, on the average, for each
bank.
All told. the 5s.992 profitable banks
reported net income Of S643, ,615,5l9 on
1923 business. The 81 $40 losing insti-
tut1onS reported net losses running to
S239 .3S3,3S1. Deducting the net losses
from the net profits, the entire bank
ing business, including ~ 900 com
panies on the border line OF banking
and other business, made a net profit
in 1928 amounting to about S404 900, :
600.
The big money, it appears from the
bureaus figures, was made by the ma
tional banks. There are S.263 Of these
institutions throughout the United
States. Here again. the one-in-three
chance of losing money runs almost
true TO form, for only 5.62S national
banks made money in the year and
2,635 declared a deficit. The profits OF
Lilc SplnS concerns amounted to
sSl0l ,913, 769; the losses of the others
aggregated $50 ,595, ,O95
Thus the national banks OF the
United States, taking them as a whole,
declared profit on 1928 business
amounting to about $65, 500 900, an
average Of somewhat less than $4,000
apiece.
X X x
Here is the Government record.
taken from the income tax returns.
Of profits in the banking business for
1928, the latest year for which figures
are available:
Private bankers, IS, made. SS42,773
National banks. 5,62S, made 1O1.913.7G9
State banks, 1862, made 73,OS5,S55
Trust companies, 2,l92,
made .........s........ 99.54s ,4a2
Loan companies. 2,744,
made .:.............. S6.7s7 .129
Stock and bond brokers,
$40, made. e.......... 23,723, 3,os4
Real estate, loan and in
surance agents, and de-
velopment firms, 9,S39,
made .............. S4,937,1o9
Companies (hanking) hold
ing and leasing realty
mot realty business) 24,-
S33, made. e........... 222. .S26,35S
Total. 5S.992 corpora
tione eco r,-