The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-04-15

were q : a II
such an idea on 80 A&ka
tile ground that
while you write Ralph
intelligently you Henderson,
are merely fol-
loving the popular trend Of
knocking the banks.
I. having had considerable
banking background suggested that
YOU wrote what. appealed to the
public and gave no thought to the
logic Of what you said. I suggest
ed that you could not write an
article outlining in|telligently one
single thing that a bank could
change which would tend to re-
vamp the busin IS along modern
lines. By that, I mean something
that could be made 10 work, a new
idea that has not been tried, one
that would give better service
in other words. substartiate your
statements. Just one little, single
thing.
"RUT please remember thaC one
- of the six will answer it,
through your columns, we hope.
It should be easy, since you say
it is obvious that banking has
Jagged"
Because they have been kicked
around so much in recent months
the bankers have every right to be
touchy. They have every right
also. to expect their critics to back
up their criticisms. For the good
of their own business. however,
they should not assume that at
titude. as the author of the above
letter seemingly has done, that the
business is being perfectly con-
Quoted. and that there is no room
for Improvement. 1t would be
rather easy to reply by making the
suggestion that the first thing the
banker should do would be to
change his point Of view.
But that would not be quite fair.
It is not what the writer of the
letter has a right to expect, and
his apparent attitude cannot be
said to be representative of the at
titude of bankers generally. Most
of them are truly DESTROYS of i'm
proving the banking business.
A SUGGESTION your CORE
"A spondent would like to offer
is that the bankers take full cog
nizance of the fact that the prod
uct which they have to sell is the
rental of other peoples money, and
that they then go out and attempt
to develop a market for their prod
uct.
It is we'll known that the vaults
Of the banks are loaded with money
which is not now prohtably en-
ployed. It is known also that this
money is eating its head of" 1t
is known. too, that industry is nun
ery for funds. The situation, there
fore, would seem to be that the
bankers have a product to sell n
that a market exists for that prod
uct. but that the buyer and seller
have not been able to get together.
But. of course. the answer IS not
so simple as it might seem. Prob
ably a very large percentage OF the
would-be borrowers lack adequate
collateral to safeguard the loans
they would make. 1t is reasonable
TO suppose, however. that there are
a great many also who would like
to borrow money and who could
meet the requirements Of the bank
ers If the two were brought to-
gether.
ANKERS in the past have been
II content to sit back and wait
for their customers to come to
them. To be sure, they have So
licited some of the larger borrow
ers. but they have made no real
effort. so far as your correspondent
knows. to contact the medium-SlZed
borrowers. They have directed their
attention almost entirely 70 pros
pective depositorS and people with
trust accounts. Their methods u
doing business have lacked fleXi-
bility. They can not be eaeSily ad-
justed to the changed conditions in
their business.
Your correspondent submits.
therefore, that the bankers do not
know the market for their product,
and that they might well contact
their depoSitors as a first step TO
getting better acquainted with 1t.
They might contact the public at
large also through advertisements
which tell more than the length
of time their institutions have been
in business. and that some old fell
lows who long since have passed
on were responsible for their ex-
iStence.