Evening star., 1939-07-17
Ayres Explains Interest Cuts.

ANTeS INTEREST SutS.
The new wave of reductions is in
reality merely an added phase of the
general decline in interest rates
which has been under way ever
since the bottom of the depression,
says Leonard P. Ayres of the Cleve-
land Trust Co.
Bankers make reductions in inter
est rates most reluctantly. They
would like to pay customers more
for their deposits, and to have GUS
toners pay them more for their
loans. They deal in credit. and they
would like to have general business
active enough so that their Gus
toners would gladly borrow more.
They would like to pay more on
time deposits so that their GUS
toners would eagerly increase their
deposit accounts.
In recent years bankers have paid
less and they have charged less,
because the general trend of all sorts
of interest rates has been declining
one.
Liberty Bank Work Started.
Overhauling Of the building in
which the Liberty National Bank
Is located, at Fifteenth and l streets,
which includes the erection Of
third story, was started today, and
when completed will give the bank
about double the present floor space.
The safe deposit department is to
be moved to the basement. where a
new vault will be constructed. The
space now used by this department
on the street floor will become avail
able for additional cages.
The new top floor will have IA
windows, which will furnish un-
usually fine light for the bookkeep-
ing department. The work has
been planned so that it Will not
interfere with daily banking opera
tions, President NJ H. Calnan said
today.
The alterations and additions,
when completed, will provide large
amount Of working space which is
badly needed at once, and at the
same time provide for a large
amount of future expansion. Erec-
ton of the labor union building next
door and the huge office building
on the Mclean site makes this sec
ton TEEN with construction activity.
Branch Banking Increases.
Branch banking in the United
States is steadily increasing, accord
ing to the annual report of the Fed
eral Deposit Insurance Corp, out to-
day. The number of unit COM
mercial banks declined by 1874 during
1888, the number of banks operat-
Ing branches increased by Is and the
number of new branches by 55.
The F. D. I. c. admitted 48 banks
during the year which had not been
previously insured. Of these % were
new banks and 25 were previously
operating. The corporation warns,
that displte the general good picture
of banking. problem banks still
are proving troublesome, rehabilita-
ton of some of them being consid-
cred doubtful. The corporation ex-
poets to have to make some sub
stantial cash payments in these
cases. The report stresses the i'm
portance of all banks having ade-
quate capital.
The report recommends legisla-
ton which will prevent further eX-
pansion of holding companies in
the field of banking and insists there
is very little duplication of super
vision among the three agencies, F.
D. I. G. controllers office and the
Federal Reserve System.
Heard in Financial District.
Four officials of the Riggs Ma
tional Bank started on their annual
vacations today. George o. Vass,
vice president and cashier; Nelson
B. ONeal, assistant vice president;
H. T. Bisselle, assistant vice presi-
dent, and l. j. Roberts, an assistant
cashier
Charles K. West. manager of the
K street branch of the Security Saw
ings & Commercial Bank, is back at
his desk after a weeks vacation
spent at the New York Fair. He is
one of the most enthusiastic boost
ers the fair could have
Fifteen shares of Washington
Railway g. Electric preferred stock
sold at 118 on the Washington Ex-
change today This was the high
est price reached this year. Other
issues were neglected.
Southern Wholesalers, Inc, OPEN
ed a tWo-day meeting at the Hay
Adams House this forenoon.
June Variety Store Trade Up.
Daily average sales of variety
stores for June were about 5l2 per
cent above the dollar volume of
June, 1898, according to estimates of
the Bureau of Foreign and Domes-
tic Commerce based on sales of a
constant number of stores.
The dollar value of total sales
for the first six months of 1899 was
about per cent above that for the