First National Bank - Benson, NC

Bank Information

Episode Type: Run → Suspension → Closure
Bank Type: national
Bank ID: 12614
Charter Number: 12614
Start Date: December 1, 1928*
Location: Benson, North Carolina (35.382, -78.549)

Metadata

Model: gpt-5-mini
Short Digest: 8586fd39

Response Measures

Full suspension

Other: Legal trial of bank officers occurred later (1931) and defendants acquitted; bank had failed in Dec 1928.

Receivership Details

Depositor recovery rate: 50.0%
Date receivership started: 1928-12-11
Date receivership terminated: 1932-10-01
OCC cause of failure: Governance
Share of assets assessed as good: 45.1%
Share of assets assessed as doubtful: 19.6%
Share of assets assessed as worthless: 35.3%

Description

Article (Nov 20, 1931) states the First National Bank of Benson failed in December 1928 after a run on the bank and impaired assets (over-investment in bank building). The run precipitated the failure; defendants in a later criminal trial were acquitted. Dates in the article point to December 1928 for the run and failure. OCR minor errors corrected (e.g., 'eircumstances'->'circumstances').

Events (4)

1. December 31, 1924 Chartered

Source: historical_nic

2. December 1, 1928* Receivership

Newspaper Excerpt: First National Bank of Benson which failed in December, 1928, ... which forced them to surrender.
Source: newspapers

3. December 1, 1928* Run

Cause: Bank Specific Adverse Info
Cause Details: Heavy withdrawals (a run) precipitated by the bank's weakened condition from over-investment in its banking house and depressed local conditions.
Newspaper Excerpt: run on the bank in December, 1928, which forced them to surrender.
Source: newspapers

4. December 11, 1928 Receivership

Source: historical_nic

Newspaper Articles (1)

1. November 20, 1931 The News and Observer Raleigh, NC

Article from The News and Observer, November 20, 1931

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Article Text

SAY BENSON BANKERS MET CHARGES FULLY Attorneys For Britt and Slocumb Make Statement On Case Recently Tried L L Levinson and James Raynor, attorneys for the defense in the Benson bank case recently tried here, yesterday issued the following statement: "In the bank case in which the brought against M. T. Britt and W. H. Slocumb, president and cashier respectively of the First National Bank of Benson which failed in December, 1928, in which case both defendants were acquitted on all charges, we note that some of the newspapers reports have tended to show that the defendants set up a defense due to 'carelessness and slip-shod banking.' "We wish to say that this is far from the facts. Each charge was met with concrete, straightforward explanation of the transaction involved which explanations were completely staisfactory to the jury. "It was also shown by the evidence that every act was done in good faith and with the purpose of helping the bank and with no thought in mind to violate the law. These defendants were victims of eircumstances due to two causes. First, over-investment in banking house in Benson built in 1920 at the peak of prices, coupled with run on the bank in December, 1928, which forced them to surrender. "From our own personal knowledge there was nothing "careless or slin. shed" in the management of this bank and it required the highest type of banking ability to keep this institution going as long as it did when it is considered that its initial investment in its banking quarters was more than $182,000.00. On the day that it closed this item had been written down to $66,000.00 more than $116,000.00 having been written off between 1920 and 1928. "And except for that run and depressed conditions since that time it our belief that this building would have been almost completely paid for by this time. "The papers also referred to deadlock in the jury. We discussed the matter with the jury after court adjourned and they told us that at no time was any member of the jury in favor of verdict of guilty. The counts were submitted to them separately and it required some time for them to pass on each count."