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The capital of the six trust com panies, thirteen national banks and eighteen savings institutions doing business in the District of Columbia, is $17,370,916, divided as follows: Trust companies, $10,000,000; national banks, $6,977,000; savings institutions, $1,393,916. The surplus of all the banks is $12,221,627, of which the trust companies have $4,800,000; the national banks, $5,142,250. and the savings concerns, $278,977. Undivided profits are $2,387,529, distributed $1,152,167 to trust companies, $894,141 to national banks and $341,221 to savings banks. These institutions have invested in banking houses, furniture and fixtures $11,653,140, of which the trust companies furnish $6.594,188 and the national banks, $3,463,900. The total loans of all institutions March 4. from the reports, made to the controller of the currency on that date, were $60,529,593. Trust companies have $9,000,000 invested in bonds, and but $22,000 in stocks, including premium. National banks have $8,543,389 Invested in bonds, a considerable portion of which are governments. Seeking Information. A correspondent asks for information regarding the possible early payment of a dividend to shareholders in the United States Trust Company. The matter is one on which no correct report can be made at this time. Liquidation has been carried out to the extent of paying off all depositors of the Institution, during the period when the conduct of the affairs of the institution was in the hands of the Munsey Trust Company. On the order of the court the remaining assets were-placed in the hands of a receiver, who is making some progress in collections. Millions of Credit. In the conduct of the banking business, there is, naturally, millions of credit. It has been stated, officially, that there are $4,000,000,000 of cash in the United States and that there are nearly $18,000,000,000 of bank deposits. This is an evidence that $14,000,000 of "apparent" deposits are simply credit, based on the actual cash of less than 25 per cent of the amount. The handling of credits is one of the most important functions of the banker, and on his judgment must come the success or failure of the institution with which he is connected. There have been comparatively few failures of banks, due to the crookedness of officials or trusted employes. The majority of failures have been due to poor credits, lessening value of assets, failure of business men, etc. This must be the more apparent because of the large amount of credit extended. Bankers cannot be too careful in the matter of credits. It is natural for them to seek available credit information wherever possible and to endeavor, as local bankers have, to secure the fullest information of an applicant's business conditions, under oath: to secure collateral where possible and to be watchful always. Under the present system in force in some of the larger cities of the employment of a bank examiner by the local clearing house, it is possible also to establish a credit information bureau, where bank officials, in strict confidence, would be able to obtain information of the aggregate indebtedness of general borrowers. Some of the heaviest borrowers in the United States, great corporations, have planned to register all paper made by them with some trust company
