FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN AUGUST, 1931 ISSUED BY THE FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD AT WASHINGTON Bank Credit and the Balance of Payments Annual Reports of Central Banks: Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Latvia, Nether- lands 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. WAYLAND W. MAGEE. -, Secretary. WALTER WYATT, General Counsel. E. M. MCCLELLAND, Assistant Secretary. E. A. GOLDENWEISER, Director, Division of Research J. C. NOELL, Assistant Secretary. and Statistics. W. M. IMLAY, Fiscal Agent. CARL E. PARRY, Assistant.Director, Division of Research Chief, Division of Examination, and Chief Federal and Statistics. Reserve Examiner. E. L. SMEAD, Chief, Division of Bank Operations. 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) B. A. MCKINNEY, President. District No. 12 (SAN FRANCISCO) HENRY M. ROBINSON. WALTER LICHTENSTEIN, Secretary. 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. Willett. J. H. Case Geo. L. Harrison W. R. Burgess C. H. Coe.i New York J. E. Crane Ray M. Gidney.i A. W. Oilbart J. W. Jones.i E. R. Kenzel W. B. Matteson.i Walters. Logan J. M. Rice.i L. R. Rounds Allan Sproul.i L. F. Sailer Philadelphia R. L. Austin Geo. W. Norris Wm. II. Hutt C. A. Mcllhenny. W. G. McCreedy.* Cleveland George DeCamp E. R. Fancher M. J. Fleming H. F. Strater. Frank J. Zurlinden.. 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 John H. Blair D. A. Jones.i J. H. Dillard ._ O. J. Netterstrom.i E. A. Delaney.» St. Louis John S. Wood.. Win. McC. Martin. O. M. Attebery. S. F. Gilmore.2 A. H. HailU F. N. Hall.2 G. O. Holloeher.' C. A. Schacht.a Minneapolis. John R. Mitchell- W. B. Geery Harry Yaeger H. I. Ziemor. H. 1. Zierner Frank C. Dunlop.1 Kansas City M. L. McClure— W. J. Bailey C. A. Worthington- J. W. Helm. J. W. Helm Dallas C. C. Walsh Lynn P. Tailey. 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 BANKS 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 A. H. Dudley. Dallas: Charlotte branch Hugh Leach. 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 W. P. Kincheloe. 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. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Review of the month—Bank credit and the balance of payments 435 Reserve bank developments—Comparison with a year ago—Member bank credit—Balance of inter- national payments. Changes in foreign central bank discount rates 438 Annual report of the German Reichsbank 452 Annual report of the Netherlands Bank 457 Annual report of the Bank of Czechoslovakia 459 Annual report of the Bank of Latvia 461 Annual report of the Bank of Brazil 463 Earnings and expenses of Federal reserve banks 490 National summ-ary of business conditions 439 Financial, industrial, and commercial statistics: Reserve bank credit and factors in changes (chart and table 440, 441 Analysis of changes in monetary gold stock, gold movements 441 Member bank borrowings at Federal reserve banks 442 Discount rates and money rates 442 Member and nonmember bank credit: All banks in the United States— Loans and investments, deposits 443 Bank suspensions . 445 Number of banks, banking offices, banks operating branches 445 All member banks— Loans and investments, deposits, reserve position 443 Loans to banks _i 445 Loans to customers, open-market loans and investments 443, 491 Holdings of elibigle assets (Government securities and eligible paper) 445 Weekly reporting member banks in leading cities T 444, 480 Bankers' acceptances, commercial paper, brokers' loans 444 Security prices, security issues, and security loans 446 Production, employment, car loadings, and commodity prices 447 Industrial production 448 Factory employment and pay rolls 449 Building contracts awarded, by types of building 450 Merchandise exports and imports 450 Department stores—Indexes of sales and stocks 450 Freight-car loadings, by classes 450 Wholesale prices, by groups of commodities 451 Financial statistics for foreign countries: Gold reserves of central banks and governments 466 Gold movements 467 Foreign exchange rates 468 Bank for International Settlements 468 Central banks 469-471 Government note issues and reserves 472 Commercial banks 472 Discount rates of central banks 473 Money rates 473 Price movements: Security prices 474 Wholesale prices * 475 Retail food prices and cost of living 475 Banking and business conditions in Federal reserve districts 476-483 Detailed Federal reserve statistics, etc 485-489 Index 492-493 IV Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN VOL. 17 AUGUST, 1931 No. 8 REVIEW OF THE MONTH $125,000,000 between the end of January and During the month of July there was little the first week of July, declined by $160,000,000 change in the total volume of reserve bank in the following three weeks. On July 23 the credit outstanding and in the discount rate of the Bank of England was stock of monetary gold, which raised from 2% to 3% per cent, and on July 30 prior to that month had in- it was further advanced to 4% per cent. On creased continuously since last autumn, while August 1 the Federal Reserve Bank of New there was some return of money from circula- York announced that it "in association with tion, as is usual at this season. Reserve bank other Federal reserve banks, has agreed to pur- holdings of United States securities showed a chase from the Bank of England, if requested, small increase, and discounts for member banks up to the approximate equivalent of $125,000,- in the interior also became larger, while holdings 000 of prime commercial bills. This agree- of acceptances declined further to a low level. ment of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York A recent development in the Federal reserve has been made in cooperation with the Bank of position has been an increase in deposits held France as a part of a credit arrangement in by foreign banks with the reserve banks. This favor of the Bank of England aggregating in all item increased from $6,000,000 in the'middle of about $250,000,000." At the same time the June, a level at which it had been for a number Bank of England, in accordance with article 8 of years, to $114,000,000 at the end of July. of the currency and bank notes act of 1928, This increase was accompanied by a somewhat received from the Treasury authority to in- larger decline in the reserve banks' holdings of crease its fiduciary note issue from £260,000,000 acceptances for account of foreign correspond- to £275,000.000 for a period of three weeks. ents, which decreased their holdings of Amer- For the year ending in the last week of July, ican acceptances, earning a low rate of return, changes in the position of the reserve banks and kept most of the proceeds on deposit with reflected chiefly an increase in the Federal reserve banks. Accumulation of the a y™araagT demand for currency and a foreign deposits at the reserve banks represents growth in the stock of monetary a transfer of funds from the market and has gold.