| Show RADICAL CHANGES CHANCES TRANSFORM BANKING national commission sees changing opinion on branch banking issue studies group and chain banks NEW YORK modification of the at ot of bankers on the long disputed branch banking question la Is forecast in a review and report covering rapid changes going on in banking issued here by the economic policy commis slon sion of the american bankers asso elation the report however after referring to recent proposals that na banks be given branch banking powers within the business territory surrounding their location declares that we do not believe that so called trade area branch banking Is likely to gain gala the support of any large per ot of the banking fraternity the commission says that the most important development that has at af fectea american banking in recent years involves the rapid growth of multiple banking organizations in the form of group chain and branch bank ing systems and adds that we pre sent this report as an unprejudiced economic study and have no theories or policies to urge at this time the statement says that the commissions information indicates there are now group or chain bank systems which control 1923 1922 banks and 15 in aggregate resources and that there are only six states and the district of columbia where it does not find any group organizations the commissions investigation I 1 we have been in touch with the mana managers gers of many important bank groups I 1 the report says aside from the obvious economies of centralized operation and control a number of these those organization heads very frankly tell va us that they do not feel that the system has been la in operation and tested long enough to justify them in J making positive or sweeping state meats ments as to its advantages or vantages compared to unit banking the banking and currency corn com cittee of the house which is con ducting an investigation tafito banking developments has called a number of operating heads of some of the great group systems these men declared that they found under certain condl eions definite operating and economic advantage in both group and branch banking over independent unit bank ing some thought group banking was only a transitional stage that branch bank banking irig was preferable and it if it were permitted on an extensive enough scale they would change their groups over to branch systems others held that group banking was preferable I 1 some held that the ideal plan was a combination ot of the two with group bank units for localities strong enough to support complete banking felons and with branch offices extend ing further into the smaller places requiring banking services but not large enough to support complete banks several of these who advocated multiple banking declared that nev never er they believed there would al ways be room tor for vigorous dent unit bank competitors government officials express views the comptroller of the currency recommended that national banks be given branch banking powers within trade areas the governor ot of the federal reserve board appeared to be in general agreement with the cc comp mp he said there were banks and 3 branches a total of banking offices that in this total 6 offices were either branches or bank members of groups or both leaving banking institutions that might be definitely termed inde pendent unit banks having no branches and in no way conn connected eted with group affiliations he said all the banks had total loans and invest meats ot of 58 of which the group and branch systems held 30 or more than half he opposed nationwide branch banking at present but said that alti it bankers became trained and experienced in the larger technique of trade area banking he thought it would in time evolve nationwide branch banking under control of rel few banks but he did not be aleve thia this would mean monopoly or lack ot of competition he favored branch over gr group banking which hG however he said represented an economic development along trade trad area earea lines and would spread unless something else were substituted and thought trade trad earea area branch banking would serve thia this purpose it ie Is the intention ot of the commis alon slon to develop its own studies in these questions watch carefully every move that la Is made and every bit of information that may develop in this connection and keep itself prepared to giva give an unbiased and accurate statement ot of the facts ot of the case whenever that is de desired strod 1 the report concludes federal reserve pay pays government in the fifteen years since ita its llah ment in 1814 1914 aggregate net oarn earn inga lags ot of the federal reserve system twelve regional banks have amounted to ot of which has hu been paid to the member banks aa as dividends representing 6 per cent an dually on cu their contributions ot of capi tal to the tho reserve banks while has been added to tha tho surplus ot 01 the reserve bunka banks and hm liss ba mau dald over to the F federal A 0 ax |
