Merchants National Bank - San Francisco, CA

Bank Information

Episode Type: Run → Suspension → Unsure
Bank Type: national
Bank ID: 8487
Charter Number: 8487
Start Date: November 2, 1907
Location: San Francisco, California (37.780, -122.419)

Metadata

Model: gpt-5-mini
Short Digest: 87b03ec2

Response Measures

Accommodated withdrawals, Borrowed from banks or large institutions, Full suspension, Books examined

Other: Asked comptroller to send a special bank examiner; clearinghouse loaned to legal limit; paid out large withdrawals and liquidated assets.

Description

Article (Los Angeles Herald, pub. 1907-11-13) reports Merchants National Bank (San Francisco) suspended on Nov. 2, 1907 after heavy withdrawals attributed by the president to vicious rumors following the earlier failure of Oregon Trust & Savings. The paper records requests for an examiner and assistance from the Clearing House; the president states the bank is solvent and expects to resume, but no definitive reopening is reported in these excerpts, so outcome is uncertain.

Events (4)

1. December 31, 1906 Chartered

Source: historical_nic

2. November 2, 1907 Run

Cause: Rumor Or Misinformation
Cause Details: Sustained anonymous letters and telephone messages urging depositors to withdraw; rumors following failure of Oregon Trust & Savings Bank.
Measures: Clearing House association loaned up to the national-bank-act limit; requested comptroller send a special bank examiner; solicited assistance from correspondent national banks.
Newspaper Excerpt: Since the failure of the Oregon Trust and Savings bank last August we have paid out of our deposits $2,300,000... We attribute this special run on our bank to the fact that vicious rumors about the bank were started at that time and kept up continually...
Source: newspapers

3. November 2, 1907 Suspension

Cause: Rumor Or Misinformation
Cause Details: Immediate heavy withdrawals driven by persistent rumors about the bank's soundness; clearing losses triggered suspension of payments.
Newspaper Excerpt: The bank suspends today after having lost $157,000 in the clearings yesterday. This loss has been running on an average of $75,000 a day for some time.
Source: newspapers

4. May 31, 1912 Voluntary Liquidation

Source: historical_nic

Newspaper Articles (1)

1. November 13, 1907 Los Angeles Herald Los Angeles, CA

Article from Los Angeles Herald, November 13, 1907

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Article Text

"What Others Advertise, We Sell for Less" may No matter if it is 25, 33 1-3, 50 or 75 per cent discount that any other local store we offer, remember that all you have to do is to bring your ad to Hamburger's and part will sell you the same merchandise for less; purchasing as we do the greater of our merchandise directly from the makers for spot cash we are able at any and all times and positively do sell merchandise in a great many instances for less than what other stores would have to pay for the same wholesale; having our buyers constantly in the field backed with plenty of ready cash we are always in a position to make good the store axiom that has been ours for 26 years-"What others advertise we sell for less." Hamourgers BAPEST TRASS Hamburgers Hamburgers mass 80 SAFEST emburgers of which forms a large per cent of the tank's asset. ILLETT TO "There has been a strange lack of confdence in the bank for some time. There Ga: was no reason for any such feeling, and ALL SESSION why it should have been singled out and persecuted with rumor after rumor as to its soundness is past my understanding. NEXT WEEK The bank suspends today after having lost $157,000 in the clearings yesterday. This loss has been running on an average of $75,000 a day for some time." ERNOR IS NEARLY DECIDED The following is the statement of J. Frank Wilson, president of the Merchants TO TAKE ACTION National bank: "Since the failure of the Oregon Trust and Savings bank last August we have paid out of our deposits $2,300,000, and of SUMMON LEGISLATURE IF this sum we have liquidated more than STRINGENCY CONTINUES $1,500,000 since the holiday season commenced. We attribute this special run on our bank to the fact that vicious rumors about the bank were started at that : Executive Confers with Leading time and kept up continually ever since nkers and Announces That in the holiday season began. In fact we have been informed by some of our deAll Probability He Will Aspositors that they have received anonymous letters and messages by telephone semble Lawmakers from anonymous sources advising them to withdraw their funds from our bank. The Clearing House association loaned us sociated Press. up to the limit permitted by the national N FRANCISCO. Nov. 2.-"Unless banking act. unforeseen change occurs within "Our New York correspondents, Han.. ext few days materially relieving over National, National Bank of Commerce and the Merchants National, united money stringency I shall call a in offers of all assistance needed to tide al session of the legislature to us over the emergency, but we were of ene on the first of next week." course prevented from availing ourvernor Gillett made this stateselves of this tender of assistance also today before he left for Sacraby the national banking act. We have 5 on the 5:40 train. asked the advice of the comptroller of the ring the day the governor was in currency and he will probably send a altation with both the commercial special bank examiner here at once to ers and the heads of the sayings take charge. The Merchants National tutions. He talked with Judge bank is absolutely solvent and we are or and had a long conference with confident we shall be able to resume they General Webb. operations in a short time." early every one whom I have yet