Some Items of Resources and Liabilities of Trust Companies,

1875-1913.

Cash and

Deposits and due from

Year. due to banks. banks.

1875..

1876..

1877..

1878..

1879..

$65,900,174 $39,409,904

Average

resources.

$7.550,560 $3,511,148 76,608,647 35,338.884 8,823,200 3,359,110 67,946.390 37,765,945 8.404.212 3,169,551 59,303,327 36,741,697 8,616,954 3,166,960 61,171,877 34,841,086 9,194,570 3,494.061 74.675,537 37,654.325 10,245,051 4.229.889 101,906,566 33,057,627 11,175,663 5.049,809 132,054,203 42,813,068 14,212,161 6,093,307 140,022,358 47,760,410 15,601,710 6,245,370 158,018,009 51,250,942 19,810,611 6,853.477 141,542,649 55,126,600 19,203,984 6,209,742 156,828,458 71,802,374 24,520,701 6.626,538 196,096,830 72,927,742 27,193.319 5,502,166 250,700,648 72,578,913 35,951,687 3.197,112 291,450,367 76,725,017 38,783,114 3,677,237 327,882,540 95,707,496 46,828,003 3.381,217 356.876,320 93.973,321 55,503,845 3,138,177 385,273,548 106,206,778 61,768,148 3.572,886 462,729,597 128,824,901 70,771,477 3,187.125 374.421,713 142,224,151 75.303.366 3,148,156 433,386,461 177,086.555 84,801,698 3.334,971 462,000,949 201,164,551 84,313,612 3.289.547 445,629,725 201,128,020 89.025.267 3.361,409 539,162,445 193,977,752 97.643.666 3.831,147 599,031,033 266,086,873 105,616,167 4.121.254 727,952,137 325,841,086 148,389,339 4,586,760 939,768,891 396,222,854 168.284,468 4,835,274 1,192,488,311 447,580,690 225,524,514 4,755,911 1,303,237,200 579,459,699 314,496,334 4,328,727 1,147,605,557 667,511,015 329,789,576 4,068,868 1,549,286,662 787,918,435 363,515.702 4,196,159 1,609,467,839 760,285,420 395,373,620 3,988,181 1,601,364.237 785.999,670 397,865,026 1.379.481,474 775,875,271 416,039,899

$85,147,012 $10,856.621 12.8 10.6 87,969,758 8,671,619 9.9 3.4 84,549,038 10,826,606 12.8 3.3 73,658,004 8,399,209 11.4 3.9 76,013,662 8,727,670 11.5 3.6 1880. 90,158,637 7,536,459 8.4 3.7 1881.. 111,905,527 12,454,392 11.1 3.9 1882. 144,988,775 11,492,036 7.9 2.4 1883.. 165,645,521 13,431,867 8.1 2.3 1884.. 189,507,810 21,030,441 11.1 2.4 1885.. 188,615,186 33,499,518 17.7 5.3 1886.. 214,255,658 35,804,622 16.7 9.1 1887.. 245,797,608 35,617,727 14.5 6.8 1888.. 259,925,079 39,580,220 15.2 7.6 1889.. 302,626,471 50,320,566 16.6 8.3 1890.. 339,319,740 53,168,165 15.7 5.9 1891.. 357,540,852 56,430,480 15.8 4.6 1892. 415,431,461 77,575,370 18.7 5.4 1893.. 488,934.555 75,568,610 15.4 4.5 1894. 478,055,823 125,010,202 26.1 7.2 1895.. 553,756,721 128,482,531 23.2 6.5 1896.. 592,617,492 108,314,257 18.3 4.9 1897.. 576,598.940 118,139,249 20.5 5.1 1898.. 665,488,712 118,317,178 17.8 3.4 1899.. 837,510,725 154,868,308 18.5 2.9 1900.. 1,031,735,272 219,448,611 21.3 2.9 1901.. 1,278,849,880 217,207,097 17.0 2.0 1902.. 1,537,476,616 264,819,327 17.2 2.2 1903.. 1,711,485.439 304,409,977 17.7 3.0 1904.. 1,775,499,356 442,876,289 24.9 3.6 1905.. 2.164.645.572 393,880,801 18.2 3.1 1906.. 2,162,228,621 369,199,366 17. 3.7 1907.. 2,229,495,792 368.738,970 16.6 4.9 1908.. 2,029,978,992 515,850,773 25.4 6.1 1909.. 3,112.588.489 851,821.325 27.4 8.8 2,064,666.504 1,459,104,066 493.382.193 3,770.653 1910.. 3,260,264,582 754,147,552 23.1 8.8 2.256.572,911 1,542,241,676 498,166.836 3.865,124 1911.. 3.615,224.149 909.194,893 25.2 8. 2,429,421,081 1,114,778.687 538.870,453 3.729.105 1912.. 3,974.516,696 939.499.036 23.6 8.4 2,711,241,748 1,219,139.446 560.741,978 3.622,301 1913.. 3,863,253,808 885,751,995 23. 8.6 2,767,346,175 1,191,019.632 574,369,239 3,382,126

RESERVES OF TRUST COMPANIES.

3,868.286 3,403,376

Of special interest, in view of the recent agitation of the question in New York and elsewhere, is the subject of trust company reserves. The third column of the table gives the reserve carried by the companies each year, the figures representing the proportions of the amounts in the second column to those of the same years in the first column. From 1875 to 1884 inclusive the per cent. of reserve never exceeded 12.8, the lowest reserve reported being in 1882, when it was only 7.9 per cent. After 1884 the reserve reported was materially higher, never going lower than 14.5 per cent. (the figure for 1887), and reaching its maximum with 27.4 per cent. in 1909. The average reserve for the thirty-nine years was about 17.3 per cent. From 1908 to 1913 inclusive it averaged 24.6 per cent.

The criticisms against the trust companies as to reserve have, however, been directed more especially towards the amount of actual cash carried in the vaults of the companies. In the fourth column of the

table are given the percentages of such cash reserves for the several years (including as cash the amount reported for cash items) the figures representing the proportion of cash and cash items to total deposits. For the thirty-nine years the average of such cash reserve has been a little over 5.1 per cent. It was highest in 1875, with 10.6 per cent., 1886 being next, with 9.1 per cent. The lowest percentage was in 1901-2 per cent. From 1876 to 1884 inclusive it ranged from 2.3 per cent. to 3.9 per cent. From 1885 to 1897 it was somewhat higher, averaging about 6.2 per cent. From 1897 to 1908 inclusive it averaged 3.4 per cent., and since that year 8.5 per cent.

INCREASE IN SURPLUS AND UNDIVIDED PROFITS,

A noticeable thing has been the tendency to increase in the surplus and undivided profits as compared with the capital. This has been due in part to the accumulation of earnings, and in part to the tendency in organizing new companies to have a large surplus paid in at the start. Most of the States that have any legislation on the subject require the accumulation of a surplus fund until it reaches a certain percentage of the capital stock; but the accumulation has gone far ahead of any legal requirements. Chart C shows the relative growth of these two items, the heavy line representing the capital, and the dotted line the sum of surplus and undivided profits. During 1899 the latter became greater than

CHART C, showing growth of capital and of surplus and undivided profita
of the frust Companies of The United States, as given in the Reports of
the Comptroller of the currency, from 1875 to 1918.

Capital

Surplus and Undivided Profits

the capital, and has increased in greater ratio since then.

The average resources of the companies appear to have been greatest during the years 1881 to 1887. The writer has been unable to find any special reason for this. It might have been due to reports being received mainly from the larger institutions. During the greater part of the time. the resources have averaged from three to three and a half millions. From 1899 to 1905, inclusive, the averages exceeded four millions.

STATISTICS OF TRUST COMPANIES IN THE VARIOUS STATES.

The following table gives the numbers and aggregate resources of trust companies in the various States and Territories on or about June 30, 1913, according to the figures of "Trust Companies of the United States" and the Comptroller of the Currency. The reader is reminded

that the lists intend to include all companies bearing the name of "Trust Company" or "Loan and Trust Company" from which reports could be obtained; and that many of these companies do a State banking business only, performing no trust functions:

It will be seen that in the number of companies Pennsylvania is far in the lead; and as a matter of fact, that State developed the trust company movement earlier and more generally than any other. In the total resources of her companies, however, New York, which is fifth in the number of companies, is far ahead of any other State. The eighty companies in New York report resources of $1,673,684,876, an average of $20,921,061 per company. The two hundred and seventy-four Pennsylvania companies show total resources of $877,625,216—an average of $3,203,012 per company. The big average for New York companies is, of course, due to the great companies of New York city, the largest of which at this date,-The Guaranty Trust Company, had resources of over two hundred and thirty-four million dollars.

TRUST COMPANIES IN THE LARGER CITIES.

The following table gives the numbers and aggregate resources of the trust companies in the cities of the United States having a population of over 100,000, according to the census of 1910. The figures are compiled from "Trust Companies of The United States," and are of the date June 30, 1913:

There are nine cities in the above list, in each of which the aggregate resources of the trust companies exceed one hundred million dollars. These are, in the order of such resources, as follows:

New York..

Chicago

$1,463.922,814

494.505.295

16

8,683,345

65,406,909

80,766.828 4,369,767 17,459.9SS 17,375.757

126,493.906

5.394.198 Worcester. Mass..

2.714.549

18,969,574

8

21.261,690

7

51.558.508

1

11,383,335

Totals

The total resources of the trust companies in these nine cities is $3,368,156,782, or nearly 62 per cent. of the total resources of all trust companies in the country.

COMPARISON BY GROUPS OF STATES.

An idea of the general distribution of the trust company business throughout the country may be obtained by segregating the statistics by groups of States, as shown in the following table:-*

Group of
States.

North Atlantic
South Atlantic

North Central

South Central
Western

Aggregate Resources. $3,456,877,122

252,029,502

1,169,056,179

277,441,831

322,675,591

$5.478,080,225

Number of
Companies.

642

193

411

333

153

....1732

We have seen that the trust company first came into existence in the United States in 1822, with a single company, which had no competitors

"As used in the table, the North Atlantic States comprise Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania; the South Atlantic States. Delaware. Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida; the North Central States. Ohio. Indiana, Illinois, Michigan. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas; the South Central States, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas. Oklahoma and Arkansas; the Western States, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii.

Newark, N. J.

30.127,527

New York

29.124,007

29,038,589

27.910.485

27,404,103

27,185.596

26,967,779

26,773,743

25,010,268