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1 Many of the officials Post Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:33:20 +0000 Secondly, they were for a long lime over- shadowed by the superior prestige of the private bankers, partly the result of the social and political importance of many of the old banking families, partly the result of long custom and the innate conservatism of the public, Thirdly, and perhaps this was the greatest handicap of all, both directors and officials were often sadly lacking in practical experience of the management of a bank. In many of the early joint-stock banks none of the directors had had any acquaintance with banking methods previous to their ap- pointment on the board of the company. 1 Many of the officials wero in a similar position ; the supply of thoroughly trained men was entirely inadequate, and to get over the difficulty, recourse was had to men who enjoyed high social standing. Autor of the post: Undefined The size, the solklity Post Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:15:45 +0000 Important as this qualification is in a bank manager, it is obvious that it cannot compensate for an entire lack of business training, and it can hardly have been expected that the retired army officers and others of similar position who for many years were appointed as branch managers of joint- stock banks, could have success- fully compared with the private banker who, in many cases, had inherited business inbtincts and banking traditions through several generations. Time has to a great extent removed these impediments iu the way of joint-stock banking enterprise. The size, the solklity, and the publicity attached to joint-stock banks have partly counterbalanced the personal importance of the partners of private banks. Autor of the post: Undefined For one reason, we Post Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:56:19 +0000 The boards of directors of the former now always contain a large proportion of men who have acquired practical experience, while the higher officials are the pick of a large staff who have had a life- long training in all the details of the daily routine of the office. For some reasons we cannot but deplore the gradual passing away of the private banker in favour of the bank manager. For one reason, we are in danger of losing a type of man which is very interesting and essentially British, and of which we had many reasons to be proud. Autor of the post: Undefined The development of joint-stock banking Post Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:40:08 +0000 Another reason is, that, from the point of view of the public, it is more satisfactory to transact business with a partner on the spot, who can answer applications either " yes " or 11 no," than with a manager who must refer all important questions to a distant board of directors. On the other hand, it may be that we gain in efficiency from having to submit applications for advances to the cold and unsym- pathetic judgment of a far-away board of directors who cannot possibly be influenced, however unwittingly, by personal or local considerations. The development of joint-stock banking has been marked by a series of important landmarks to which attention has been drawn in previous chapters. Autor of the post: Undefined It created '* reserved liability," Post Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:25:25 +0000 Their admission to the privileges of the Clearing-House in 1854 was one of these, and was quickly followed by the Act of 1858, which ex- tended to bank shareholders the protection of limited liability. The Companies Act of 1879 was another of these landmarks. It created '* reserved liability," and thus allowed the more influential joint-stock banks to give their shareholders the privileges of limited liability without losing the confidence of their depositors. Autor of the post: Undefined , which are by courtesy regarded Post Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:10:22 +0000 From that year the adoption of limited liability was very rapid, and at the present time all the banks registered under the Companies Acts are thus limited, with the exception of one or two banks, such as Coutts and Co., and Giyu, Mills, Currie, and Co., which are by courtesy regarded as private banks, and the shares in which are all held privately. Autor of the post: Undefined Many of the old country Post Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:00:21 +0000 The recent development of joint-stock banking has exhibited several very distinct tendencies. In the first place there has been a marked extension of the branch system. Many of the old country private banks are now branches of joint-stock banks with head offices in London, or one of the other large towns. Autor of the post: Undefined This ilicrease is shown Post Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 9:42:44 +0000 Many towns, which were not sufficiently wealthy to support a local private bank have now a branch of a joint-stock bank, or in the case of the very small towns, a sub-branch or agency, possibly open on one or two days only in the week. In this icspect the English system is approximating more nearly to the system in Scotland, where the fact that all the banks are banks of issue led to an early development of branch banks in neighbourhoods where a bank relying entirely on its deposits could hardly have subsisted. This ilicrease is shown by the figures given each year in the Banking Almanac: Number of Banking Offices open. Autor of the post: Undefined , and in Ireland 44i per Post Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 9:31:33 +0000 It will be seen that the increase since 1886 is much greater in England and Wales than in the other two countries, being in England and Wales 83 per cent., in Scotland 23 per cent., and in Ireland 44i per cent. Autor of the post: Undefined On the one hand Post Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 9:18:52 +0000 This extension of banking facilities has been rendered possible, not so much by any reduction in the expenses of manage- ment, as by the attraction of new classes of depositors The volume of the country's banking business has in- creased in a much greater proportion than have its popula- tion and wealth. Half a century ago a banking account was the privilege of 1he wealthy; to-day it is within the reach of all but the poorest classes. On the one hand the public have been quicker to estimate the advantages and conveniences of payment by cheques, and, taught by the increased stability and greater resources of our banks, have overcome their mistrust of confiding their money to the keeping of others. Autor of the post: Undefined 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |