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Show BANKERS IN NATIONAL OVE FOR UNIFORM FJNANfcffiL PRACTICES Would Promote Greater Consistency Among All the State Laws in Respect to Banking Conditions Uniformity Uniform-ity of Practice and Understanding Will Make for Greater Convenience, Efficiency and Safety for All Business. By S. J. HIGH President State Bank Division, American Bankers Association RAPID interchange of business, and the quick transportation transporta-tion of goods in the United States, coupled with almost instantaneous in-stantaneous means of inter-communication by telegraph, tele- r' phone and wireless, have welded the country coun-try into an economic unit. The nation is not, in a business sense, conducting its affairs in water-tight compartments, as in a measure it did in the days of slow travel and remote places, but styles, methods, commodities and business practices flow freely today in all directions. Therefore it is desirable that finance, trade and industry throughout the country operate along generally uniform uni-form or at least consistent lines, so that a contract or an agreement or obligation in connection with business transactions shall mean virtually the same thing in all parts of the country. Particularly necessary in this connection is the establishment of uniform financial and banking practices so as to facilitate fa-cilitate the flow of trade alone: accented and S J high understood lines. . Banking in the United States is recognized recog-nized as a semi-public type of business and is therefore subject sub-ject to laws to define the scope and character of its activities. These laws at nresent set un a erreat diversity of conditions under which banking ts conducted la various parts o the country since they come from both stats and federal fed-eral authorities. The national banks are all chartered . by the federal government gov-ernment and therefore operate on the same lines In every state of the Union, but there is no such regularity regu-larity In respect to the conditions under which the state banks chartered by the respective forty-eight states must conduct their business. All state banking codes, while they have similarities, simi-larities, also have many great dissimilarities dissimi-larities in respect both to the national na-tional bank laws and the banking laws covering state bank operations in other oth-er jurisdictions. Bankers Mova for Uniform Laws The State Bank Division of the American Bankers Association, which latter includes In Its membership banks of all descriptions throughout the country subject to all the variations varia-tions of state and federal banking laws, Is committed to the eifort to bring about greater consistency and Uniformity among the statutes of all these various jurisdictions. This body Is conducting a vigorous nation-wide campaign urging that active steps be taken to secure greater co-ordination In banking legislation, more equitable conditions and more uniformly efQ-cient efQ-cient public supervision of banks In the several states. The organization Is particularly concerned con-cerned with fostering this movement to bring about more uniformly desirable desir-able conditions throughout the United States in respect to the public supervision super-vision of banking institutions by the state banking departments. It is on record as favoring the policy that the Important office of state bank commissioner commis-sioner should be kept as free from entangling partisan politics as the ju-. ju-. diclary Itself and should be completely complete-ly detached from all other functions of state government. It Is also on record as favoring the 8 bank commissioners in some states ts found in laws giving them complete charge of insolvent banks and their liquidation as distinguished from more costly liquidation through the courts. In the Public Interest Distinctly in' the public interest are laws prohibiting or limiting an officer or liirector of a bank from borrowing from his own bank unless his collateral col-lateral security is approved by a majority ma-jority of the board of directors of the bank. Also there is recent legislation noted providing for closer supervision and regulation of building and loan associations, credit unions; finance companies and private banks. In some states measures have been enacted broadening the field for Investment In-vestment of funds of savings banks and trust companies, which have materially ma-terially enhanced the service that these institutions can render, particularly particu-larly In the way of co-operation with their customers In personal financial management. Another type of legislation, legis-lation, Important especially to banking bank-ing in view of the frequent efforts to defraud banks, Is that which makes the issuance of worthless checks a misdemeanor with specific penalties. The State Bank Division of the American Bankers Association endorses en-dorses in the fullest degree in principle princi-ple the development of banking laws along the foregoing lines and is actively active-ly engaged in fostering the spread of such legislation wherever its services are considered useful both to banking and to the public. Uniformly sound banking institutions and practices, together to-gether with common methods and understanding, un-derstanding, will materially add to the convenience, efficiency and safety of business in serving the well-being of the public in all parts of the nation, especially in those transactions Involving Involv-ing dealings between different localities. policy that the tenure of office of state bank commissioners should be made more secure and lasting than Is now the case In many state Jurisdictions and that this Important public officer be -granted sufficient compensation and discretionary power so that the office shall attract and retain the services serv-ices of men of outstanding executive ability and successful banking experience. expe-rience. It is also a part of this policy that the bank commissioner's ability to serve well should be strengthened by providing him with adequate forces of bank examiners, selected on the basis of merit from men having the requisite requi-site qualifications of honesty, ability, f training and banking knowledge to carry out the duties of their offices on the highest plane of usefulness to the public as well as to banking. The Trend of State Laws The Association's StaOj Bank Division Divi-sion has recently concluded a nationwide nation-wide survey of state banking legislation legisla-tion and conditions and In general has discovered a definite trend along the following JInes: There Is a distinct tendency among the states to raise the minimum capital capi-tal required for banking Institutions to $25,000 and also to give the bank commissioners or the banking boards sole power as to the granting of charters char-ters for new banks, thus enabling them to use discretion as to the need or desirability of added banking facilities facili-ties or the fitness of the organizers' tc enter the banking field. In this connection con-nection many states are creating banking boards to act in an advisory capacity with the state bank commissioners. commis-sioners. There has also been observed a tendency to increase the compensation compensa-tion of the bank commissioners and to lengthen their terms of office and to give them power to appoint necessary deputies and examiners so as to build up an adequate force to carry out their responsibilities and duties. An Important Impor-tant augmentation of th power of |