Federal Reserve Bulletin October 1931
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FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN OCTOBER, 1931 ISSUED BY THE FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD AT WASHINGTON The President's Proposal on Banking. Suspension of Gold Standard in Great Britain. Condition of All Banks in United States. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1931 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD Ex officio members: EUGENE MEYER, Governor. A. W. MELLON, , Vice Governor. Secretary of the Treasury, Chairman. CHARLES S. HAMLIN. J. W. POLE, ADOLPH C. MILLER. Comptroller of the Currency. GEORGE R. JAMES. WATLAND W. MAGEE. FLOYD R. HARRISON, Assistant to the Governor. WALTER WYATT, General Counsel. CHESTER MORRILL, Secretary. E. A. GOLDENWEISER, Director, Division of Research E. M. MCCLELLAND, Assistant Secretary. and Statistics. J. C. NOELL, Assistant Secretary. W. M. IMLAY, Fiscal Agent. CARL E. PARRY, Assistant Director, Division of Research and Statistics. Chief, Division of Examination, and Chief Federal E. L. SMEAD, Chief, Division of Bank Operations. Reserve Examiner. FEDERAL ADVISORY COUNCIL District No. 1 (BOSTON) HERBERT K. HALLETT. District No. 2 (NEW YORK) ___ R. H. TREMAN. District No. 3 (PHILADELPHIA) HOWARD A. LOEB. District No. 4 (CLEVELAND) J. A. HOUSE. District No. 5 (RICHMOND) JOHN POOLE. District No. 6 (ATLANTA) JOHN K. OTTLEY. District No. 7 (CHICAGO) MELVIN A. TRAYLOR. District No. 8 (ST. LOUIS) _.. W. W. SMITH, Vice President. District No. 9 (MINNEAPOLIS) _ GEO. H. PRINCE. District No. 10 (KANSAS CITY) W. S. MCLUCAS. District No. 11 (DALLAS) J. H. FROST. District No. 12 (SAN FRANCISCO) _ HENRY M. ROBINSON. WALTER LICHTENSTEIN, Secretary. n Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis OFFICERS OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS Federal Reserve Bank of— Chairman Governor Deputy governor Cashier Boston Frederic H. Curtiss.., Roy A. Young W. W. Paddock-... W. Wiliett. J. H. Case W. R. Burgess C. H. Coe.i New York Geo. L. Harrison J. E. Crane Ray M. Gidney.» A. W. Gilbart J. W. Jones.i E. R. Kenzel W. B. Matteson.i Walter S. Logan... J. M. Rice.* L. R. Rounds Allan SprouU L. F. Sailer Philadelphia R. L. Austin Geo. W. Norris Wm. H. Hutt C. A. Mcllhenny. W. G. McCreedy.' Cleveland George DeCamp E. R. Fancher M. J. Fleming H. F. Strater. Frank J. Zurltnden. Richmond Wm. W. Hoxton George J. Seay C. A. Peple Geo. H. Keesee. R. H. Broaddus John S. Walden, jr.» Atlanta Oscar Newton Eugene R. Black W.S.Johns M. W. Bell. H. F. Conniff W. S. McLarin, jr.i Chicago Eugene M. Stevens. J. B. McDougal C. R. McKay W. C. Bachman.i JohnH. Blair D. A. Jones.» J. H. Dillard O. J. Netterstrom.i E. A. Delaney.i St. Louis John S. Wood Wm. McC. Martin.. O. M. Attebery.... S. F. Gilmore.* A, H. Haill.a F. N. Hall.* G. O. Holloeher.1 C. A. Schacht.* Minneapolis John R. Mitchell— W. B. Geery Harry Yaeger H. I. Ziemer. H. I. Ziemer Frank C. Dunlop.1 Kansas City M. L. McClure--. W. 2. Bailey C. A. Worthington. J. W. Helm. J. W. Helm Dallas C.C.Walsh B. A. McKinney R. R. Gilbert Fred Harris. R. B. Coleman W. O. Ford.i San Francisco Isaac B. Newton... Jno. U. Calkins Wm. A. Day Wm. M. Hale. Ira Clerk » Assistant deputy governor. s Controller. MANAGING DIRECTORS OF BRANCHES OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANES Federal Reserve Bank of— Managing director Federal Reserve Bank of— Managing director New York: Minneapolis: Buffalo branch R. M. O'Hara. Helena branch R. E. Towle. Cleveland: Kansas City: Cincinnati branch C. F. McCombs. Omaha branch L. H. Earhart. Pittsburgh branch J. C. Nevin. Denver branch J. E. Olson. Richmond: Oklahoma City branch- C. E. Daniel. Baltimore branch Hugh Leach. Dallas: Charlotte branch W. T. Clements. El Paso branch J. L. Hermann. Atlanta: Houston branch W. D. Gentry. New Orleans branch Marcus Walker. San Antonio branch M. Crump. Jacksonville branch Hugh Foster. San Francisco: Birmingham branch A. E. Walker. Los Angeles branch W. N. Ambrose. Nashville branch J. B. Fort, jr. Portland branch R. B. West. Chicago: Salt Lake City branch.. W. L. Partner. Detroit branch W. R. Cation. Seattle branch C. R. Shaw. St. Louis: Spokane branch D. L. Davis. Louisville branch Memphis branch W. H. Glasgow. Little Rock branch A. F. Bailey. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE OF BULLETIN The FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN is the board's medium of commu- nication with member banks of the Federal reserve system and is the only official organ or periodical publication of the board. The BULLETIN will be sent to all member banks without charge. To others the subscription price, which covers the cost of paper and printing, is $2. Single copies will be sold at 20 cents. Outside of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the insular possessions, $2.60; single copies, 25 cents. in Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis TABLE OF CONTENTS Pag© Review of the month—The President's proposal on banking 551 Appointment of committee—Statement by Governor Harrison—Suspension of gold payments in England—Suspension by other countries—Gold withdrawals and earmarking. Changes in foreign central bank discount rates 557, 581 Suspension of the gold standard in Great Britain. _. 571 Condition of all banks in the United States on June 30, 1931 _ 598-600 Annual report of the National Bank of Albania 571 National summary of business conditions „ 558 Financial, industrial, and commercial statistics: Reserve bank credit and factors in changes (chart and table) 559, 560 Analysis of changes in monetary gold stock, gold movements 560 Member bank borrowings at Federal reserve banks 561 Discount rates and money rates 561 Member and nonmember bank credit: All banks in the United States— Loans and investments, deposits 562, 588, 598-600 Bank suspensions _ 564 Number of banks, banking offices, banks operating branches. 564 All member banks— Loans and investments, deposits, reserve position 562 Loans to banks 564 Loans to customers, open-market loans and investments 562 Holdings of eligible assets (Government securities and eligible paper) 564 Weekly reporting member banks in leading cities 563, 589 Bankers' acceptances, commercial paper, brokers' loans 563 Security prices, security issues, and security loans 565 Production, employment, car loadings, and commodity prices . 566 Industrial production 567 Factory employment and pay rolls 568 Building contracts awarded, by types of building 569 Merchandise exports and imports 569 Department stores—Indexes of sales and stocks 569 Freight-car loadings, by classes 569 Wholesale prices, by groups of commodities 570 Financial statistics for foreign countries: Gold reserves of central banks and governments 574 Gold movements 575 Foreign exchange rates 576 Bank for International Settlements 576 Central banks 577-579 Government note issues and reserves 580 Commercial banks 580 Discount rates of central banks 581 Money rates 581 Price movements: Security prices 582 Wholesale prices - 583 Retail food prices and cost of living _. 583 Banking and business conditions in Federal reserve districts 584-592 Detailed Federal reserve statistics, etc 593-597 Index - - - 601 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN VOL. J7 OCTOBER, 1931 No. 10 REVIEW OF THE MONTH resources and the primary need is to mobilize them in such a way as to restore in a number of The President of the United States, on Octo- localities the confidence of the banker in his ber 7, after consultation with leading bankers and representatives of both ability to continue normal business and to President political parties, issued the fol- dispel any conceivable doubt in the mind of Hoover s pro- f . those who do business with him. posal lowing statement: "In order to deal with this wholly abnormal "The prolongation of the situation and to bring about an early restora- depression by the succession of events in tion of confidence, unity of action on the part Europe, affecting as they have both commodity of our bankers and cooperative action on the and security prices, has produced in some part of the Government is essential. There- localities in the United States an apprehension fore, I propose the following definite program wholly unjustified in view of the thousand fold of action, to which I ask our citizens to give resources we have for meeting any demand. their full cooperation: Foolish alarm in these sections has been accom- "1. To mobilize the banking resources of panied by wholly unjustifiable withdrawal of the country to meet these conditions, I request currency from the banks. Such action results in the bankers of the Nation to form a national limiting the ability of the banks in these local- institution of at least $500,000,000. The ities to extend credit to business men and farm- purpose of this institution to be the rediscount ers for the normal conduct of business, but be- of banking assets not now eligible for redis- yond this to be prepared to meet the possibility count at the Federal reserve banks in order to of unreasoning demands of depositors the banks assure our banks, being sound, that they may are compelled to place their assets in liquid form attain liquidity in case of necessity, and thereby by sales of securities and restriction of credits enable them to continue their business without so as to enable them to meet unnecessary and the restriction of credits or the sacrifice of their unjustified drains. This affects the conduct of assets. I have submitted my proposal to the banking further afield. It is unnecessary to leading bankers of New York. I have been specify the unfortunate consequences of such a advised by them that it will receive their sup- situation in the districts affected both in its port, and that at my request they will assume further effect on national prices of agricultural the leadership in the formation of such an products, upon securities, and upon the normal organization.