Page No. 40. Summary of assets and liabilities December 31, 1938, and receipts and disbursements in 6 months ended December 31, 1938, of the 24 District of Columbia credit unions__. No. 41. Summary of assets and liabilities June 30, 1939, and receipts and disbursements in 6 months ended June 30, 1939, of the 24 District of No. 45. Assets and liabilities of active mutual savings banks, June 30, 1939- No. 46. Assets and liabilities of active private banks, June 30, 1939- No. 47. Assets and liabilities of all active banks other than national, June No. 48. Assets and liabilities of active national banks, June 30, 1939_ No. 49. Savings deposits and depositors in all active banks in the United States and possessions, according to classes of banks, on or about June 30, 1939___. 268 No. 53. Assets and liabilities of active mutual savings banks, December No. 54. Assets and liabilities of active private banks, December 31, 1938_. No. 55. Assets and liabilities of all active banks other than national, Decem- No. 56. Assets and liabilities of active national banks, December 31, 1938_ No. 57. Assets and liabilities of all active banks, June 30, 1920, to 1939. No. 58. Assets and liabilities of all active banks other than national, June No. 59. Assets and liabilities of all active national banks, June 30, 1920, to No. 60. Federal Reserve notes, segregated by series, printed, shipped, and canceled, issued to banks, retired, and destroyed since organization of the banks, with balance in vaults and amount outstanding October 31, No. 61. Loans on and purchases of preferred stock of national banks dis- bursed by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation from March 9, 1933, to June 30, 1939, inclusive, and outstanding as of June 30, 1939_ _ _ No. 62. Loans made by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to aid in the reorganization or liquidation of closed national banks from February No. 63. Summary of unlicensed national banks in the United States, and nonnational banks in the District of Columbia, on March 16, 1933, and unsecured liabilities released to October 31, 1939, grouped in accordance No. 64. National banks in charge of receivers during year ended October 31, 1939, dates of organization, appointment of receivers, and final clos- ing, with nominal amounts of total assets and total liabilities at date of failure, capital stock and stock assessments, amounts collected from all sources, including offsets allowed and earnings, together with the disposi- tion of such collections, and various other data indicating the progress and results of liquidation to October 31, 1939 No. 64-A. District of Columbia Statc-chartered banks and banks in- corporated under the laws of the District of Columbia, under the super- vision of the Comptroller of the Currency, in charge of receivers during year ended October 31, 1939, dates of organization, appointment of re- ceivers, and final closing, with nominal amounts of total assets and total liabilities at date of failure, capital stock and stock assessments, amounts collected from all sources, including offsets allowed and earnings, to- gether with the disposition of such collections, and various other data indicating the progress and results of liquidation to October 31, 1939--- Page No. 65. Annual liquidation costs-national bank receiverships, 1925-39__ No. 66. Total deposits, percentage amounts of dividends paid, costs of liquidation, and average time required to complete liquidation, insolvent national banks completely liquidated and finally closed, by years, No. 67. National banks restored to solvency after having been placed in charge of receivers, from the date of the first national bank failure in 1865 to October 31, 1939__ No. 68. National banks restored to solvency which subsequently became insolvent, from the date of the first national bank failure in 1865 to No. 70. Summary of status, progress, and results of liquidation of all national banks placed in charge of receivers from the date of the first national bank failure, April 14, 1865, to October 31, 1939__ No. 71. National banks placed in charge of receivers, by years, since 1865, the number of active receiverships November 1, 1939, and the number of receiverships terminated by restoration to solvency and through liquida- tion to November 1, 1939, together with various data indicating the results of liquidation for those receiverships closed through liquidation__ No. 72. National banks placed in charge of receivers, by States, since 1865, the number of active receiverships November 1, 1939, and the number of receiverships terminated by restoration to solvency and through liqui- dation to November 1, 1939, together with various data indicating the results of liquidation for those receiverships closed through liquidation__ No. 73. Bank suspensions, by States, in the year ended June 30, 1939_. No. 74. Bank suspensions, by States, in the 6 months ended December 31, No. 75. Bank suspensions, by States, in the 6 months ended June 30, 1939- No. 76. Bank suspensions, years ended June 30, 1864, to 1939-- No. 77. Bank suspensions, years ended December 31, 1921, to 1938. No. 78. Bank suspensions since inauguration of Federal Deposit Insurance, January 1, 1934, to June 30, 1939- No. 79. Bank suspensions since inauguration of Federal Deposit Insurance, years ended December 31, 1934, to 1938. Table "Q". Statements of assets and liabilities of the individual national banks at close of business December 30, 1939, arranged alphabetically by States, Territories, and towns. (Omitted from this report and published 436 437 REPORT OF THE COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY, Washington, D. C., January 3, 1940. SIR: In accordance with the provisions of section 333 of the United States Revised Statutes, I have the honor to submit the following report covering the activities of the Bureau of the Comptroller of the Currency, for the year ended October 31, 1939. This is the seventyseventh annual report made to Congress since the organization of the Bureau. Under date of February 25, 1863, the Thirty-seventh Congress passed an act to provide a national currency secured by a pledge of United States bonds and to provide for the circulation and redemption thereof. This act created a separate bureau in the Treasury Department to be administered by an officer designated as the Comptroller of the Currency, with the assistance of a Deputy Comptroller and the clerks necessary to discharge the duties of the office. This act also provided for the organization of associations to be formed by not less than five persons to carry on the business of banking. Thus, the origin of the national banking system and the creation of the office of the Comptroller of the Currency were simultaneous. On January 1, 1863, the Nation was engaged in war. Financing the war was extremely difficult. There were approximately 1,500 banks in operation throughout the country, all of which were organized and operating under State laws. They issued bank bills or bank notes which formed the circulation of the country. Notes were printed upon every variety of paper and no two banks issued bills of similar appearance. It was generally the case that bank notes current in one State could not be circulated in the other States, and it was impossible for any one but those skilled in handling money in vast quantities to detect the innumerable counterfeits and altered notes which were in circulation. The Honorable John Sherman in an address in the Senate commented: "How is it possible to have a currency and how is it possible for any honest man to detect the genuine from the counterfeit, when he has to select from 7,000 different kinds of bank bills, and the bills of those banks have been counterfeited; when so large a portion of them are spurious and counterfeit." At that time banks could be organized very easily. For instance, former Comptroller of the Currency A. Barton Hepburn, in writing of a particular State which was for a time the favorite place for incubating note-issuing banks, without capital, banking offices, or furniture, stated: "A circular letter which was issued, offer ing aid to any one desiring to start such a bank, stated that the sole cost necessarily incurred in starting a $100,000 bank would be $5,000 for plates to print the notes and expenses, including compensation to the promoter, and $5,000 as margin to carry the necessary bonds to be deposited." It is easily seen that with such a multiplicity of banks depending upon different organizations, with no common regulator, and no common check or control over them, there could not be a uniform national currency. Especially was this true in view of the fact, that as a general rule, the weakest banks issued the most bank notes, and the strongest banks either did without the privilege of issuing bank bills, or used it slightly. These shortcomings of the system eventually exhausted the patience of the American people and the result was the creation of the national banking system. The National Currency Aet of 1863, as it was called until 1874 when the title was changed to "The National Bank Act," was proposed as a means of providing a uniform currency, as well as to help finance the war. The establishment of a national commercial banking system was regarded as secondary to the creation of a national currency. The first Comptroller of the Currency, Hugh McCulloch, in his annual report to Congress on November 28, 1863, stated that the purpose of the National Currency Act "contemplates the organization of national banks, which by becoming its financial agents may aid the Government in the safekeeping and transmission of its revenue and the transaction of its business and through the instrumentality of which a safe and uniform circulation may be furnished to the people." The creation of the national banking system quickly resulted in the establishment of a uniform currency, after the Supreme Court held that the prohibitive Federal tax on State bank notes was constitutional. The National Currency Act was one of the first important steps of the Federal Government in the field of administrative law. The Bureau of the Comptroller of the Currency, which title has been inappropriate for many years, became the first truly administrative agency of the Federal Government. Throughout the past 77 years much of the progress in this country has been made possible by the credit facilities afforded by the members of the national banking system. The original act has been revised from time to time to meet changing needs and conditions, but many of the provisions of the original act are still in force. In 1913 the Federal Reserve System was set up to provide additional credit facilities. More recently the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has been created. Changes in banking have, of course, resulted from changes in the needs which have developed along with the alterations in our whole political, social, and economic structure. No longer do national banks supply the currency for the country. They have gradually restricted their field to "banking" in its truest sense. With the tremendous technological, industrial, agricultural, and commercial developments of the past 77 years, banking has become more and more important to the welfare of the Nation. In view of this brief history of the origin and development of the national banking system, it is pertinent to review the evolution of Undoubtedly, a considerable portion of the time and effort of the first Comptroller and his staff was consumed with the organization of new banks or the conversion of State banks into national banking associations, but the major function was the issuance and redemption of the circulating notes. At the time of the submission of the first annual report, no circulating notes had as yet been issued to the limited number of newly created national banks; but State banks in existence on the date of its passage were, under the act, permitted to issue circulating notes secured by a pledge of United States bonds in an amount equal to 50 percent of their capital. This provision was retained in the act of June 3, 1864, which repealed the former act but retained most of its provisions and included additional ones. This act was acknowledged to be an improvement over the original act, and has been described as a "new birthday" for the national system. The first annual report of Comptroller Hugh McCulloch is replete with arguments which he considered favorable to the establishment and growth of the national currency system. It is a commentary upon Mr. McCulloch that whereas he was president of the State Bank of Indiana and came to Washington in 1862 for the purpose of opposing the establishment of a national banking system, in the belief that such a system would prove injurious to the State banks of the country, he accepted the appointment as Comptroller of the Currency and became one of the most ardent advocates of the national system. His recommendations for improvement during the formative years amply evidence his wisdom and foresight. His report stated that even though the War in which the country was then engaged was a great calamity "it would not be an unmixed evil financially" if one result were the establishment of a system of banking by which, without interference with the rights of the States, and without detriment to their solvent institutions, a bank note circulation should be furnished to the people, solvent as the Nation itself, and uniform in value, as a substitute for that supplied by the States which, in his opinion, was neither uniform in value nor, in general, properly secured. The report discussed the provision of the act requiring that national currency be furnished State banks and concluded that that provision was unwise because of the lack of any governmental supervision of the State banks. Further, the report stated, if two systems of banking, National and State, were to coexist, they should do so as separate and independent systems. Then followed Comptroller McCulloch's recommendation to the Congress that in order for the national banking system to become the sole agency, other than the Government itself, for the issuance of circulating notes, the State bank circulation should be subjected to taxation to force its withdrawal. In the first annual report, the Comptroller stated that 134 banks had been organized, situated in 17 States and in the District of Columbia. Reports of condition as of October 1, 1863, for 66 banks are listed in detail. Of these banks, 25 are still in active operation. The 66 reporting banks had total resources of $16,793,758.40. Their combined capital was $7,184,715, and deposits were $8,673,740. Although no circulation had been issued, United States bonds pledged with the Treasurer of the United States amounted to $3,925,275. At that time the personnel of the Bureau of the Comptroller of the Currency consisted of the Comptroller, one deputy, and six employees. |