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BANK CLOSED FOLLOWING FAILURE OF RICKER
President Of State Savings Loan & Trust Company of Quincy Charges Failure His Bank To Shrinkage of Farm Values
The Bank of Green City, for some time the only operating bank of the town, which closed early last week, still in the hands of the State Finance Department. F. A. Guiles charge and the bank will remain in the hands of the State Finance partment until satisfactory arrangements are perfected for its reopening.
The capital stock of the bank was $20,000. Myers was cashier and E. Pfeiffer president. The closing of the Quincy Ricker National Bank of Quincy, III., is assigned as a reason for the closing of the Bank of Green City, the Quincy Ricker being correspondent of the Green City bank.
The State Savings Loan and Trust Company of Quincy closed last Saturday and smaller banks in Missouri and Illinois suffered because of their business relations with the banks that had suspended active business. Quincy, III., Nov. Quincy banks were in the hands of bank examiners tonight; two affiliated institutions in small towns of Illinois and Missouri were closed. and the remaining banking institutions of this city, after weathering a heavy run of withdrawals, remained open for the usual Saturday evening business and announced they would do business as usual next week. J. W. Gardner, president of the State Savings Loan and Trust Company, blamed the situation on the shrinkage of farm land values. The overnight closing of his bank, oldest in this part of the state, brought the situation to crisis and was followed by the closing of two branch banks here and in Payson, III., 15 miles away. On Nov. 13, a state bank in Green City, Mo., correspondent of the National Bank, closed its doors. The succession of shutdowns started week ago when the institution, only national bank in the city, closed. The State Savings Loan and Trust Company had $6,216,000 deposits when its last statement was issued, and capital. The South Side State Savings Bank and the Payson State Savings Bank at Payson, branches, closed during the morning. Mr. Gardner's bank was founded by C. H. and Lorenzo Bull, pioneers who gave the original institution their name. His statement on the closing of the bank and its branches said: "The closing was decided upon as the only way to save the assets of the bank. The steady withdrawals by both savings and commercial depositors since the closing of the Quincy Ricker made heavy inroads on the bank's quick assets, and there was every indication that the condition would continue. The principal cause of the bank's difficulties is the situation in regard to farm loans. The business was established and developed through the business of farm loans since the days of the L. & H. Bull Bank. The very condition that made the bank is now the cause of its trouble. Farm values have shrunk from 40 to 60 per cent. The bank has these loans assets. but not liquid. It too early too talk of the bank's future. believe there are sufficient assets so that the depositors will not lose."
