17124. Providence Trust Company (Providence, RI)

Bank Information

Episode Type
Run → Suspension → Reopening
Bank Type
trust
Start Date
October 24, 1907
Location
Providence, Rhode Island (41.824, -71.413)

Metadata

Model
gpt-5-mini
Short Digest
d4f7ca561e9432dd

Response Measures

None

Description

Articles describe a run on the trust company in late October 1907, followed by the bank's failure to open and appointment of a receiver (Oct 25, 1907). A later article (Mar 14, 1908) reports the Superior Court declaring the institution solvent and ordering a reopening. Cause of the run/suspension is attributed to stringency in the money market (broader liquidity/macro conditions during the 1907 panic). OCR/wording in articles sometimes refers to 'Union Trust Company' in the body, but the headlines and context identify Providence Trust Company; I treat these as the same institution discussed in the pieces.

Events (3)
1. October 24, 1907 Run
Cause
Macro News
Cause Details
Run occurred amid general stringency in the money market (broader liquidity panic in October 1907).
Measures
Bank did not open the following day; officers consulted and decided to close to conserve depositors' interests; receiver later appointed.
Newspaper Excerpt
Posted on the doors of the Union Trust Company, on which there was a run yesterday, this morning was the following: This bank will not open today owing to stringency in the money market.
Source
newspapers
2. October 25, 1907 Suspension
Cause
Macro News
Cause Details
Suspension/closing decided because of stringency in the money market and run-related liquidity pressures; receiver appointed.
Newspaper Excerpt
Cornelius A. Sweetland was appointed receiver for the trust company. Up to a late hour last night the officers of the company expected to open today, but subsequent consultations brought a decision that in view of the light money market the interests of depositors would be conserved by closing.
Source
newspapers
3. March 14, 1908 Reopening
Newspaper Excerpt
PROVIDENCE TRUST CO. TO REOPEN. Declared Solvent by the Rhode Island Superior Court. ... Chief Justice Sweetland declared that the bank was solvent and announced that at a later hearing a date would be fixed for a reopening. ... about 96 1/2 per cent of the claims against it had been released. Out of a total of more than $19,000,000 in deposits $18,431,085 was released by 16,250 depositors, while the issue of 10,000 shares of new stock in the reorganized institution was oversubscribed.
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (2)
1. October 25, 1907 Evening Times-Republican Marshalltown, IA
Article from Evening Times-Republican, October 25, 1907

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Article Text

AT OTHER POINTS. Providence Trust Company Fails to Open Its Doors. Providence, R. I., Oct. 25.-Posted on the doors of the Union Trust Company, on which there was a run yesterday, this morning was the following: "This bank will not open today owing to stringency in the money market." Cornelius A. Sweetland was appointed receiver for the trust company. Up to a late hour last night the officers of the company expected to open today, but subsequent consultations brought a decision that in view of the light money market the interests of depositors would be conserved by closing. The company was organized in 1894 with a capital of $500,000. It conducts several branches in the state. According to its statement June 29, the bank has resources aggregating $28,238.000. Its liabilities included, besides the capital stock, a surplus of $2,250,000; undivided profits, $23,000, and deposits of $25.465,000. The New England Trust Company posted notice today requiring ninety days' notice of withdrawal of deposits.

2. March 15, 1908 New-York Tribune New York, NY
Article from New-York Tribune, March 15, 1908

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Article Text

PROVIDENCE TRUST CO. TO REOPEN. Declared Solvent by the Rhode Island Superior Court. Providence, March 14.-The Union Trust Company, which suspended last October, will be reopened for business, according to a decree of Presiding Justice William H. Sweetland in the Superior Court to-day, when the case came up after many postponements upon the question of appointment of a permanent receiver. Chief Justice Sweetland declared that the bank was solvent and announced that at a later hearing a date would be fixed for a reopening The receivers and a committee of depositors who since December 28 have been at work on a plan for the reorganization of the institution reported that about 96 1/2 per cent of the claims against it had been released. Out of a total of more than $19,000,000 in deposits $18,431,085 was released by 16,250 depositors, while the issue of 10,000 shares of new stock in the reorganized institution was oversubscribed.