Evening star., 1938-06-06
DC. BANKSGRANT
700 HOME LOANS
Lively Demand for Funds for
improvements Noted in
Recent Campaign.
BY EDWARD C. STONE.


Federal Housing Act since February,
when Congress passed the amended
act, according to a report just made
to the District Bankers Association,
Thomas j. Groom, president.
Loans under Title are for housing
alterations and general property bet
terments. The average loan in Wash
ington has been around $500, which
would mean that the TOO loans have
involved about $3.50, 900.
1t will be recalled that member
banks in the District Bankers Asso-
ciation several weeks ago launched a
cooperative advertising campaign to
offer funds under Title to the public
and urged as many residents of the
Capital as possible to take advantage
of the opportunity to improve their
property.
Applications quickly started arriv-
Ing at the banks and loans were
promptly made in all cases where they
were considered sound. AS the weather
became warmer, the number of loan
requests increased and much spring
otherwise might never have been
started. The eagerness of the banks
to grant such loans has proved highly
beneficial to the community, Presi-
dent Groom and his associates being
much gratified with the results.
Another report has been made to
the District Bankers Association to
the effect that up to the end of March
S08 loans were made under Title II
in Washington, involving 1886 900.
Title II covers long-term mortgage
financing, the figures released by the
Federal Housing Administration to
the bankers association disclosing
wide loan activity under this title.
These loans were granted by all
lending agencies, according to the
Housing Administration. but it is un-
derstood that the ma iority of them
were made by the banks. They are all
on District of Columbia property.
If the same rate was maintained
during April and May as in February
and March, 1916 loans were extended
during the four months since the
involving approximately $1l,672 900.
The later figures, however, are not yet
available. The earlier figures have
caused much favorable comment, and
clearly indicate wide cooperation on
the part of the banking institutions.
ID. C. Realty Bonds Rise.
Real estate bond quotations turned
upward during the month of May,
1888. Market increases for bonds Sc
cured by practically every type of
property were revealed today by the
Burr Real Estate Bond Index, pre-
pared by Burr g. Co, Inc.
Hotel bonds included in the index
recorded the largest gain for the
month, increasing an average of IL
points, followed by theaters, office
buildings and apartment houses
Apartment hotel issues we're the only
type to show loss for the month, de-
clining an average of point.
OF the various cities included in
the index, increases were recorded
by bond issues in Washington, Buffalo,
Brooklyn, New York City and Pitts
Philadelphia and Westchester County,
New York, showed slight losses for
the month. Seventy-one of the issues
increased in value during the month,
a. decreased while the remainder
showed no market change
The increase recorded in May is
the first since January and the $50
realty issues included in the index
show total decrease of 2.8 per cent
for the five months through May.
Properties located in Washington,
Miami and Brooklyn rec6fded gains
for the first five months of 1888, but
five-month losses have been registered
BY Buffalo, down ia per cent; Boston,
81 per cent; Pittsburgh, So per cent
New York City. 3.9. per cent, and
Philadelphia, 6 per cent.
Bad Debt Losses Compared.
Despite the business downturn in
the latter part of 1887, bad debt loss
ratios of representative member firms
of the National Association of Credit
Men, reveal that these companies COM
prising wholesalers, manufacturers
and bankers, had better loss record
in that year than in the reputedly
more prosperous calendar year for
1886
This is one of the findings developed
In survey by the associations Eo-
nomic Credit Council released yester-
day prior to the AID Annual Credit
Congress of the association in San
Francisco this week.
The average annual bad debt loss
ratio of firms reporting in the survey
was .27 per cent for 1937-approxi-
mately one-quarter of per cent. For
the 1896 fiscal year the annual bad
debt loss ratio was 81 per cent-ap-
proximately one third of per cent.
Operating profits in the first quar-
ter of 1888 were lower for most of the
firms reporting in the survey than
they were in the first quarter of the
previous yearsSthe survey comments.
Today's Exchange Trading.
On the Washington Stock Exchange
today 40 shares of Woodward & 10TH
rop common sold at So, up half
point from the last previous sale.
Washington Gas Light IS 1860 were
strong, a 81 600 transaction being re-
corded at 117A.
Potomac Electric Power per cent
preferred appeared on the board at
1l3&. and a tiny sale of Real Estate
Mortgage g. Guaranty preferred
brought Az.
Heard in Financial District.
The Federal Reserve Board reports
that department store sales in the IL
districts for the four weeks ended May
% registered a decline of Is per cent
from the like period year ago.
Orval w. Adams, president of the
American Bankers Association, has
sent a letter to all State association
secretaries urging banks to do every
thing in their power to make all pos
sible sound loans. Mr.. Adams adds
that it has been his observation that
''many business units seeking credit