Northwest Trust & Safe Deposit Company

Bank Information

Episode Type: Suspension → Reopening
Bank Type: state
Start Date: January 31, 1917
Location: Seattle, Washington (47.606, -122.332)

Metadata

Model: gpt-5-mini
Short Digest: 354f0b20

Response Measures

None

Description

Article (Jan 31, 1917) reports unusually large crowd and the bank requiring 60 days' notice on savings withdrawals (invoking the 60-day rule). This is a partial suspension of payments triggered by runs on neighboring banks (Northern bank failure) rather than a stated solvency problem at this bank. No closure or receivership is reported in the article, so classified as suspension with eventual reopening (no failure mentioned).

Events (1)

1. January 31, 1917 Suspension

Cause: Local Banks
Cause Details: Panic/withdrawal pressure sparked by failure of the Northern bank and runs on other Seattle banks; precautionary invocation of 60-day notice on savings withdrawals.
Newspaper Excerpt: The American Savings Bank and Trust company, which had more than the usual crowd in the lobby, demanded 60 days' notice of withdrawals of savings deposits.
Source: newspapers

Newspaper Articles (1)

1. January 31, 1917 Evening Capital News Boise, ID

Article from Evening Capital News, January 31, 1917

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Article Text

German-American Places Itself in Hands of State Examiner When Crowd of Depositors Appears. SUPPORT PROMISED. San Francisco, Jan. 31.-The federal reserve bank here telegraphed all Seattle banks today that it was prepared to support them. Seattle, Jan. 31.-The German-American Mercantile bank did not open for business today. The bank's officers had stated earlier in the day that the bank would open. A line of 300 persons gathered at the bank before 10 o'clock and at that time notices were posted that the bank was in the hands of the state bank examiner. The clearing house association, prior to. 10 o'clock issued a statement saying it "stands willing and able to assist all solvent banks of the city if occasion should arise." The banks of the city have resources totaling over $130,000,000. The association also said it knows the present disturbance is not a legitimate cause for alarm. The German-American Mercantile bank is capitalized at $100,000. No recent statement of its affairs has been published. The bank is not a member of the clearing house. RUN ON BIG BANK. Half an hour before the People's Savings bank opened 500 persons stretched in a long double line from the bank doors. Every effort was made by the bank, which is one of the strongest in the Pacific northwest to expedite payments. The run was regarded as due to the bank's location near the Northern bank. which failed yesterday. The lobbies of the ScandinavianAmerican bank and the Northwest Trust and Safe Deposit company were filled, but there was no crowd in the street. Both paid depositors without asking questions. The American Savings Bank and Trust company, which had more than the usual crowd in the lobby, demanded 60 days' notice of withdrawals of savings deposits.