Show SEES HEAVY CLAIMS ON FUTURE BANKERS american bankers association official declares that banking changes creating large bank systems will call for broader social viewpoints larger scale group or branch banking will inevitably bring a new era of banking organization and operations to the united states and bankers will hive to develop new conceptions new administrative methods and sew economic views rudolf S hecht chairman of the economic policy commission of the american bankers Asa ocla alon recently told the members of the american institute of banking the institute Is the educational sec of the association and he emphasized the point that the new era in banking demanded that we must step up our education so that banking shall be fortified tor new responsibilities what the future calls for we must broaden our social conception of banking mr hecht said not only tor the technical operations 0 the new banking must we alt ourselves but both as individuals and an organized profession we must charge ourselves ath serious consideration of the social problems that are involved already we hear and tears and doubts as to whether the changes that are coming about in banking in the extension ot group and branch systems do not constitute the looming of a new financial menace a monopolistic threat not only to the individual unit banker but to the financial liberty of society in general I 1 am stating these things merely as facts that must be taken into consideration in our studies public opinion cannot be ignored by any business least of all by banking which Is admittedly semipublic semi public in character and ts therefore subject i to special supervision by the consal buted authorities it banking develop tendencies that give rise to public fears we must so conduct ourselves as to reassure all doubts for true that business succeeds only by serving society that no business can permanently prosper which does not both render service to the public and at the same time convince the public that it Is rendering that service banking therefore must take cognizance of what the public Is of this new era in its develop nent it must be part of the technique of modern banking administration whatever form our enlarged institutions take avoid the creation of monopolies or even the appearance of euch a centralization of financial power as to be able to exercise an undue influence over public or private finance or other lines of business the publics right to the safeguards of fair competition must be observed must preserve individual initiative it must also be an item of man argement that individual initiative and opportunity shall be maintained it america has outstripped other nations in the distribution of the benefits of its progress it is due to the fact that there are no barriers of social caste or business tradition against advancement tor character ability and alve american business baa learned that it serves itself best by ing by every practical means ual ambition and initiative and hurts itself most by repressing or neglecting them competition tor efficiency both within an organization and between organizations will prevent any institution from long enduring in which maintenance of opportunity and recognition of initiative are not controlling principles of management As beads of the greatest of our financial and industrial du institutions stand men who started from the humblest of beginnings through all the grades of ex authority and reward stand men in positions in keeping generally speaking with their individual merits I 1 personally see no reason tor fearing that the enlarged banking organizations which the future may hold would supply future bank employees with any less opportunity for achievement than unit banking again a major consideration of administration in any multiple form of banking organization must be its public relations in every community it touches its foremost consideration must bo actually and visibly to serve the economic building up of that community no system will be long tolerated whose local members work or are suspected as working to draw economic strength from one place to enlarge the power of another the local unit bank has always been part and parcel of the communities where it lives and no system can last which does not make it a major principle of operating technique to serve and not exploit the communities into whose business lives it enters |