The rates of dividends declared during the year, as compared with those declared during the year ending Oct. 31, 1897, are The 24 banks which declared dividends at rates other than the general rate of 2 per cent., semi-annually, made dividends The total amount of dividends declared was $17,768,299.79, -an increase of $432,780.33 over the total for the year end- No bank made an extra dividend during the year; in fact, dividend by occasionally paying a semi-annual dividend at a It will be noticed, by a comparison with last year's return, that the rates of dividends are gradually being reduced; while 17 banks paid over 4 per cent. during the year ending Oct. 31, 1897, only 11 have exceeded that rate the past year; the num- ber paying less than 4 per cent., as shown by the present report, is 2 in excess of the number shown in the previous The following statement shows the rates of dividends during the past year, as compared with rates of those declared in the At the present time it seems probable that extra dividends The earning capacity of the banks at present, as compared At the former date loans at less than 4 per cent. At the former date loans at over 4 per cent. The present report shows loans at less than 4 per cent. to be $11,903,555 00 263,163,911 00 * Two paid 31, 7 paid 34 and 4 paid 3 per cent. The decrease in earning capacity would be made still more Business of the Banks. The following statement gives certain statistics of the busi- A comparison with the returns of Oct. 31, 1893, discloses an increase during the five years, in loans secured by mortgages of real estate, of 13,968 in number and of $45,399,303 in The average of such loans was in 1893 $2,768.21; in the present returns it is $2,842.50. The number of loans of all kinds not exceeding $3,000 each has risen from 56,421 in 1893 to 66,874 in 1898,- an increase The above statements demonstrate the truth of the oft-repeated Liabilities and Assets. A classified statement of the aggregate liabilities and assets of the banks is contained in Exhibit D, which follows; the increase, or decrease, in the several items, as compared with those given in our previous report, is also shown therein. Exhibit D. AGGREGATE STATEMENT OF LIABILITIES AND ASSETS, Showing Increase or Decrease, as compared with the Year ending Oct. 31, * Consisting of interest and suspense accounts, taxes and insurance paid, real estate expenses, etc. 69,795 14 182,665 24 2,317 18 .13 20,665,699 23 2,588,240 01 $519,999,625 14 3.98 The total amount of deposits, say $488,642,923.92, represents a total of 1,406,722 open accounts, an average to each of $347.36, as against $342.35 on Oct. 31, 1897, at which date the number of accounts open was 1,384,329. The total amount deposited during the year, exclusive of dividends, was $82,608,619.69; the number of deposits being 1,246,565, these figures indicate a decrease of 1,638 in number and of $205,393.09 in amount of deposits, as compared with the previous year. The deposits during the year average $66.27 to each, — a decrease of 7 cents from the average of the preceding year. The total sum withdrawn from the banks during the year was $83,382,101.76, the number of withdrawals being 1,117292, an increase of $4,047,293.88 in amount and of 46,020 in number, as compared with the previous year. The sums withdrawn during the year average $74.63 to each withdrawal, an increase of 57 cents from the average of the preceding year. Deducting the deposits and assets of those banks which have gone into receivers' hands during the year from the aggregate deposits and assets on Oct. 31, 1897, the present return shows an increase of $17,045,496.01 in the aggregate deposits and of $18,461,346.33 in the aggregate assets over the previous return. The guaranty fund amounts in the aggregate to $21,092796.85, an increase of $947,986.92 over the total on Oct. 31, 1897. Undivided earnings show an amount of $6,053.68 less than on Oct. 31, 1897. Investments. By reference to the preceding table, it will be seen that since the previous statement the holdings of the banks in Public funds have increased Railroad bonds have increased Boston Terminal Company bonds have increased 2,470,120 00 1,695,966 84 392,918 00 an aggregate of rising $10,750,000 in assets which, while they do not produce a large rate of income, are considered among |