PROXY JOHN WARD, Manufacturing Stationer, 25 John Street, N. Y according to the number of votes I should be entitled to cast if then personally present. all meetings of shareholders, or be amended so as to limit This form of proxy may give power to vote at any and day the power to a particular meeting, to vote on a specified. question. Every shareholder is entitled to receive due notice, either by public advertisement in a local newspaper, or by mail, of any special meeting to vote on any such question as an increase or a reduction of the capital stock or voluntary liquidation, and where the law creating a bank does not specially prescribe this, the shareholder is usually entitled to receive such notice 30 days before the meeting is held. To determine questions at such special meetings a vote of two-thirds the entire capital stock or number of shares is usually necessary, while in voting for directors, or to amend the articles of association or rules governing the general conduct of the bank's affairs, a majority, or one more share than half the capital stock, is required. Where the law imposes additional liability upon shareholders and requires them to make good any "impairment” of capital stock caused by losses sustained on loans or other investments, or through the dishonesty of officers or employes, the National or State official charged with the administration of the law under which the bank is organized usually notifies the managing officers of the amount to be made good and the time within which the assessment must be paid in, and the officers, in turn, send out a written or printed notice to each shareholder, notifying him that an assessment has been made and that he must pay into the bank the amount of money representing his proportion within a stated time. National bank shareholders are allowed three months' time, after receiving notice of assessment, within which to pay it. The payment of such an assessment is voluntary with each shareholder unless a majority of the whole capital stock decides to pay, in which case the stock of any shareholder unwilling or unable to pay at the end of three months after receiving notice may be advertised for sale by the directors for a month, and sold at auction, at the end of that time, for an amount not less than the amount of the assessment. In such a case, title to the stock goes to the new purchaser, the former owner being entitled only to any excess over the assessment his stock may fetch at the sale. In case a bank fails and an assessment has to be made to help pay its debts, such an assessment is compulsory on the shareholder, and is a legal claim against his estate in case he refuses to pay it voluntarily. The minimum limit of capital stock required of National banks is based on population, as follows: $25,000 in places with population not exceeding 3,000 persons. $50,000 in places with population not exceeding 6,000 persons. $100,000 in places with population not exceeding 50,000 persons. $200,000 in places with population exceeding 50,000 persons. As to State banks, the capital required is fixed by the laws in each State. In some States banks can be organized with as little capital stock as $5,000. Anyone desiring to organize a National Bank can obtain full information and instructions free upon application to the Comptroller of the Currency at Washington, D. C. Information as to the organization of State banks, savings banks, or loan and trust companies can also be had from the banking department of the State in which it is to be located, on application addressed to the capital of the State. The officers of a National bank are required to keep a correct list of the shareholders of the bank, showing the address of each shareholder and the number of shares standing in his name, and this list is subject to inspection by any shareholder or creditor of the bank at any time during business hours of any business day. CHAPTER IV. UNDIVIDED PROFITS, DIVIDENDS AND SURPLUS. BANKING, like every other business, is done with the object of making, or "earning," a profit on the capital or funds invested in the business. There are different terms applied to these profits; for instance, before "expenses" for conducting the business are deducted, all profits made from various sources are called "gross earnings." When expenses are deducted from "gross earnings," the remainder is called "net earnings." But a bank usually incurs some losses on loans and other investments, in spite of all the care to be exercised, and when these are deducted from the "net earnings," the remainder is called "net profits." These two terms are sometimes used synonymously, and again in the National Bank Act, "net profits" is used, referring to the profits before deducting losses. "Expenses" usually include such items as rent, taxes, salaries to officers, clerks and employes, books, stationery, postage, advertising, attorney's or counsel's fees, interest on deposits, and any other expenditures incurred in the conduct. of the business. "Losses" are incurred by the failure of borrowers to repay money borrowed from the bank, and also by the shrinkage in value of any real estate, bonds, stocks, mortgages, or any other form in which its funds may be invested, or sometimes through the theft or dishonesty of officers or employes. |