Imperial Valley press., 1927-05-09
Continued from Saturday.
Method of Operating Units

Method Of Operating Units
''Our method of operating our
units is also peculiarly our own.
This requires an explanation of our
method of acquiring suburban and
country branches. In nearly every
instance our branch is a successor
to u correspondent bank which was
pretty apt TO be the outstanding
bank in the community. We subsi-
died nobody, purchased no man s
or bank s birthright, entered into
no contracts for exorbitant salaries,
paid no premiums for fictitious val
ues, recognized no superior rights
among inside groups of stotl holders
but paid for the last share of stock
what we paid for the first. Thus,
we laid the foundation for Il part
nership arrangement through which
the correspondent bank became Il
branch Of our bank through an inter
change Of stock. its stockholders be-
came our stock kholders, its Board of
Directors our local Executive Board,
it's officers eur officers. We Wee
more interested i'll acquiring men
who had leadership i'll their com
munities, who understood the needs
of their communities and had dem
onstrated their ability to serve those
needs efficiently and safely, than
we were III aggregate resources.
These men, our field officers, rs
4 group help us to make our credit
policy. Within the limitations Of
that credit policy they function as
local institutions with authority and
mower of action in local credits and
in local matters. A customer of the
Pacific Southwest Bank in Fresno
or in FL Centre or elsewhere may
borrow as freely and with as little
inconvenience at the local branch
as though he were customer cf
tho Central office. Our local otfic-
ers are leaders in their communities,
their prestige has been in nowise
the Pacific Southwest Bank, and
their power to serve their communt-
ties has been tremendously incrcas-
ed.
Are Home Folks
"As a result of this type of op-
Grafton in the agricultural territor-
les. we are 'home folks from FreS-
no to the Mexican line and as such
intimately acquainted with and m
terested in solving the problems of
each locality. We believe in and
have supported the cooperative
marketing movement in California.
We believe it is the outstanding
contribution to the marketing end
of scientific agriculture; we num-
Der the great cO-operatlves among
eur customers and they number us
among their staunchest friends. We
entered the agricultural territories
prepared to carry one and, like Mr..
Britling, ''see it through. we
believe we have been III no smaR
way instrumental i'll the comeback
of the Imperial Valley. We have
been foremost in the development
and support of the cotton industry
in the Southwest. We have been
proponents of and financicrs for the
reorganized raisin industry i'll the
San Joaquin valley. We liaVc car
ried the bean industry up the coast
through the cycle OF years of sub
normal rainfall. We have made the
problems of each territory our prob
lens and have contributed more
than our quota to their solution. We
have not approached these problems
biindly nor casually. We operate il
research department in which Is set
up scientific machinery 10 develop
the facts as a basis for our opera
tions. This is service that could
be supported only by large organ
ization.
Branch banking is accused, by
those ignorant OF the intcrcommun-
itv plan, of - skimming the cream
drawing deposits from branches
to be manipulated at Central office.
From the beginning, the movements
of credit in our organization has
been from Central office to the
branches and our aggregate loans in
the agricultural districts far exceed
the total deposits of those districts.
Our great valleys are producing,
developing areas. They are progress
sing to higher and more intensive
forms of dcvclopmcnt-to higher
values Each step in this process
requires money, either i'll the form
of capital or credit extension. 1t
is automatic that the development
of the San Joaquin Valley will be
in proportion to its ability TO attract
capital, either for capital invest,
ment or credit extension. Our or