Show BANKERS FIND GROUP BANKING widespread over 13 billion dollars of bank assets in affiliated systems numbering 1850 members in nearly avery state over 1850 banks with more than thirteen billion dollars in resources are shown to be associated with chain or group banking systems in the united states in facts acts recently gathered by the economic policy commission of 0 the american bankers association cia tion the chairman ot of the commission R S hecht ot of new orleans pointed out that the facts indicate that almost ava 7 per cent ot of our banks and over 18 per cent ot of our banking resources are in the great net of group or chain banking that now covers almost every part ot of the country the commissions facts cacti comprised chain nud and group banking in the broadest sense of the term the report said they included those groups in which the controlling element was a particular bank there being reported e d 78 instances of this class involving banks and abour in combined banking resources resources they included also groups in which a non bandine ban kine holding company not subsidiary st joany to any particular bank was in control and oi ot this class 28 instances were found involving banks and neaily in resources the report also included groupings in which control was exercised by individual persons persona and these cases numbered involving 1071 banks and about in assets ai sets the total figures figure the total was over in arV regate resources some ot of the systems 50 60 to banks each head offices of the grouia were we found in all jurl jurisdictions 11 fictions but nine ot of the s states and the district ot of columbia we have not included in these fig alg ures aies the report says banking groups in which a commercial bank a trust company and an investment house bouse and sometimes a savings bank are tied together by some form ot of stock holdings and operated as complementary tary elements in an organization rendering len dering complete financial services we have held that such groups are elm bielar lar to a departmentalized bank and ill different in the purposes and operations erat ions from a chain or group bankin finx system for purposes of the tha present report we define chain or group banks as systems in which centralized control whether corporate or personal and either rigid or informal directs the operations of two or more mare complete banks not functionally complement com tary eack on its li aw awit n capital and under its own personnel and located in one or more cities or states commenting on the question whether the rapid development of 0 chain banking was in the nature ot of a reaction against restrictions imposed on branch banking by the banking laws in many states the report says saya that observation does not wholly confirm this theory since chain banking Is id prevalent in some states where virtually no restriction Is imposed on branch ban banking kingo as well as in those where the establishment ot of branch banks Is prohibited it adds the question of branch banking however the facts acts do show that anti branck branch banking laws have been a factor in some cases and probably I 1 in n some sections in the spread of chain banking instances have come to our attention where expansion along chain bank lines has been carried out by state banks whose expansion along branch bank lines was stopped by the passing of state laws prohibiting further branches branche s yet whether ex expansion on would have been along branch bank lines it if the laws had imposed no barriers it is impossible to in say there Is obviously a well developed banking opinion in some come sections that the chain bank method brings to outlying banks the strength and efficiency ot of a big organization without depriving them of 0 their local individuality and sympathies in view of the mixed factors noted we feel it is in unsafe to general biaas lie as to what hearing bearing branch banking lawa lais have on c hain chain develop developments me n t a the recent era of rapid chain bank developments has found specific reflection it iii some state legislative action tion tending to restrict rosti lct or control chain or group banking also we find a sharp difference of opinion among state bank commissioners who have expressed their sentiments regarding chain banking j in a foreword to the report issued in booklet form by the association at its new york bofty headquarters chairman hecht says that the economic policy Coin commission misson does not take a stand jim in advocacy of or in opposition to toil this now new method of concentrating cent rating banking resources through the afatia affiliation tion of banks into groups land and chains but is simply offering as a fact finding ardy what we belleve believe la Is the first complete national picture of this rapidly growing movement |