21786. Exchange Bank (Richmond, VA)

Bank Information

Episode Type
Suspension → Reopening
Bank Type
state
Start Date
January 1, 1839*
Location
Richmond, Virginia (37.554, -77.460)

Metadata

Model
gpt-5-mini
Short Digest
58ac0055

Response Measures

None

Description

Articles describe a Suspension in 1839 and a later resumption (resuming by 1840/early 1841). No bank run is mentioned. The cause appears to be the wider Southern banks' suspension/depression rather than a run on this bank.

Events (3)

1. January 1, 1839* Suspension
Cause
Macro News
Cause Details
Part of the broader suspension/depression affecting Southern banks in 1839; bank had suspended operations then.
Newspaper Excerpt
Since the suspension in '39, the line of discounts in this Bank has nearly doubled ...
Source
newspapers
2. October 26, 1840 Reopening
Newspaper Excerpt
The Exchange Bank has also driven a safe and profitable business... The indications are those of resumption, and the hope has been falsely propagated ... it cannot be evaded, and the U. S. Bank must stand or fall. ... The Exchange Bank has also driven a safe and profitable business, and its discounts ... will be able to follow suit to the resumption of the north.
Source
newspapers
3. February 27, 1841 Other
Newspaper Excerpt
Since the suspension in '39 ... Since the suspension in '39, the line of discounts in this Bank has nearly doubled the above sum at each weekly sitting of the board, and on Wednesday the usual facilities were given. The curtailment in the institution, since the resumption has been about two per cent.
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (2)

Article from Morning Herald, October 26, 1840

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Article Text

$382,313 Overdraw by three houses, The stock of the Dry Dock is now on the rise, it is said, because of the sy mptoms of improvement in the real estate of that neighborhood. Speculation is thus on foot in various ways, fostered, as it were, by the necessity which exists for the employment of capital temporarily, during the depression of the Southern business, caused by the continued suspension. From all quarters, the indications are those of resump. tien, and the hope has been falsely propagated by the U. Bank, in order to lull public feeling, the matter has been pushed so for by the Southern banks, which have shown many indications of their ability to resume, that it cannot be evaded, and the U. S. Bank must stand or fall.The following is from a Richmond paper in regard to the banks of that state:The Bank of Virginia has met with heavy losses,whie added to her large subscription to the Jaines River and Kanawha Improvement, has unavoidably been the source of embarrassment. The bank has been compelled to curtail its outstanding debt as fast as the exigency of the times would allow, with out a rigor which would have created distress. It has at the same time been induced in self-defence to limit its discounts considerably, though not to so great a degree as many suppose. The bank fortunately had a large surplus, the aid of which, with the withholding of the last semi-annual dividend, and its ge. neral prudential policy, will enable it to resume with ease along with our other banks. The Farmers' Bank is in excellent condition, and has acted nobly in the exigencies which have been visited upon us. Its discounts have been as liberal as with justiceto itself they could be; and they have been, we believe exclusively, or almost so, confined to regular business paper, and its customers have been singuarly punctual Hence its profits have been good, and it will be able at any time to follow sxit to the resumption of the north. The Exchange Bank has also driven a safe and profitable business, and its discounts, in proportion to its means, have been liberal, and have been of material service to the trade of our city. The high prices and prompt sales of our staple product, tobacco, have too furnished the very best funds to our banks, and thus they have received important aid. The balance of trade, if not turned in our favor, has been pretty well equalized, and the banks havefunds which will, we are sure, meet all demands at the point where they will be required. A general resumption in the present state of the coun. try, will cause an early revival of business in the spring, which will absorb all the real capital of the country now idle, yet the banks, which will have newly resumed, will not be strong enough to go beyond the actual demands of business, and continue to control their old accommodation loans; consequently a rigid a therence to a cash system and short credits will not only be necessary, but the natural consequence of the ill established confidence in the stability of the suspended banks on the pert of the New York banks. The absorption of idle capital by the increase of business, will stop the speculations going forward in fancy securities.


Article from Daily Richmond Whig, February 27, 1841

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Article Text

EXCHANGE BANK. In our notice of the markets yesterday, we were led into an error in regard to the business of this institution, which we take pleasure in correcting upon authentic information. We stated that the Bank had only discounted about $30,000 on Wednesday, and also inferred that she was carrying into effect a very rigid system of curtailment. The opposite, we are assured, is the true state of the case. Since the suspension in '39, the line of discounts in this Bank has nearly doubled the above sum at each weekly sitting of the board, and on Wednesday the us ial facilities were given. The curtailment in the institution, since the resumption has been about two per cent. We are assured that every effort is made by the Bank to give what facilities it can to the community, avoiding large amounts to any one individual and distriting impartially to those who ask for aid. Paper at 4 months is discounted liberally, which has been a great accommodation to the community, and from this fact, the Bank has not been able to extend her discounts as far as the other institutions of the city.