Globe Bank (Boston, MA)

Episode Information

Episode Type
Suspension → Closure
Start Date
December 26, 1899
Location
Boston, Massachusetts (42.358, -71.060)
Bank Type
state

Metadata

Episode ID
Bank ID
City ID
250617565
Model
gpt-5-mini
Short Digest

Notes

Receiver appointed and paying depositors; bank remained in receivership rather than reopening.

Events (2)
1. December 26, 1899 Suspension
Cause
Bank Specific Adverse Info
Cause Details
Discovery of large unrecorded checks, heavy insider loans, overdrafts and fraudulent/bookkeeping irregularities uncovered by examiner leading to closure
Newspaper Excerpt
there are but few developments in the banking situation... Receiver Wing, who is in charge of both the closed institutions, the Globe and the Broadway National banks
Source
newspapers
2. December 26, 1899 Receivership
Newspaper Excerpt
He was appointed receiver of the bank, and while it was not thought that the depositors would get 10 per cent he has already paid them 40 per cent and expects in time to pay 100 per cent. He will continue as receiver.
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (4)
1. December 27, 1899 St. Johnsbury Caledonian Saint Johnsbury, VT
Article from St. Johnsbury Caledonian, December 27, 1899

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Article Text

# BROADWAY BANK. Boston, Dec. 26. There are but few developments in the banking situation, although Receiver Wing, who is in charge of both the closed institutions, the Globe and the Broadway National banks, has not paused in his work of readjusting the tangled affairs. Late yesterday he received word from Comptroller Dawes in Washington that the time limit for the reopening of the Broadway bank, which expires tonight, be extended for one week. This was good news to those who have been working assiduously toward getting the institution on its feet. Notwithstanding numerous published interviews with prominent bankers and brokers as to the cause of the recent troubles, the general public have been much in the dark until Receiver Wing's long statement, which has in a great measure thrown light on many of the transactions in the Globe bank. Future information is looked for when ex-President Cole arrives from California and tells his side of the story, probably in the federal courts. Receiver Wing's statement follows: "About Aug. 1 I came to Boston, under the new system inaugurated by the controller of the currency, for the special examination of banks. On Sept. 9 I found $600,000 of Globe bank checks outstanding, which did not appear on the books. Mr. Cole admitted this to be his personal loan. "I felt to close the bank would cause not only the failure of that bank, but also, by reason of its relations to other banks, brokers and business houses, the probable failure of several important banking and business firms and individuals. "Consequently Mr. Bigelow, who was the only director within reach, Mr. Cole and myself went to Washington, and laid the matter before the controller. Mr. Bigelow agreed to personally guarantee that Cole's shortage should be made good to the bank at once, Cole having turned over certain securities to him, and Messrs. Clark and Coolidge assisting in guaranteeing Mr. Bigelow. "The controller of the currency directed that Mr. Cole should resign at once as president, that the whole matter should be laid before the directors, and that I should at the proper time report the facts to the district attorney. "At this time Messrs, Coolidge and Clark were each borrowing not more than $100,000 of the bank, with plenty of securities at the then market price, and each had about $75,000 cash on deposit. Mr. Bigelow owed not more than that, and had more than enough on deposit to pay his loan. "On the following Monday Coolidge and Clark gave Cole $80,000. Cole added $12,000 of his own money, and repaid $200,000 of the $600,000. The balance, $400,000, was repaid in three days by the sale of Cole's securities, a part being bought by Coolidge and Clark through their respective brokers. "The bank's assets were thus bettered by $600,000 in cash. About a month later the facts, so far as known, were laid before the full board of directors, and further investigation showed that there were $300,000 more of checks outstanding not on the books, and that the indebtedness of the Lovell Arms company was really much in excess of the amount shown by the books, and that Mr. Cole was himself personally the holder of nearly $500,000 of the Lovell paper. "There was also found an apparent overdraft of the Squires amounting to $525,000, in addition to their regular loan, which was in excess of the $100,000 limit. "Mr. Cole admitted his responsibility for this overdraft, either to the bank or to the Squires, and turned over to the bank his own securities, including the Lovell paper owned by him, to secure the entire indebtedness, for which he admitted responsibility. "This amounted to nearly $1,000,000, and the securities turned over, at their then market value, were considerably in excess of this amount. "The six directors and Messrs, Coolidge and Clark then entered into a written guarantee that these securities should be sufficient to make good the Cole indebtedness. "Mr. Stevens, who was elected president Nov. 8, the directors and Messrs. Coolidge and Clark have since then done everything in their power and made great personal sacrifices to save the bank from failure. "The bank's assets are better off today by about $700,000 cash, over $1,000,000 of notes and securities, and the personal guarantee of these gentlemen,

2. January 19, 1900 Little Falls Herald Little Falls, MN
Article from Little Falls Herald, January 19, 1900

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Article Text

BOSTON BANK SWINDLES. How McKinley's Controller Handled Them. Boston Correspondence Springfield Republican: The, course of events in the Globe bank failure has this week absorbed attention beyond all other topics: the case of the Broadway bank is very. trifling in comparison. But here was a bank run for months in the interest of stock-gamblers; when its fraudulent condition became known to that smart McKinley politician, young Dawes, who is controller of the treasury, and has for duty to guard the public and stockholders of national banks against just such failures as we now see-he put the evidence in his pocket, hushed the matter up, and here is the result. Had the rascally facts come out in September, when Dawes knew the bank might have gone under, as it has now, but the whole finanical situation would not have been imperiled-and the city of Boston certainly would not now have almost half a million of its public funds tied up in a broken bank. Moreover, the stockholders would have had some chance to save themselves from the loss that now seems certain. When the suspension occurred, pains were taken. by false representations. to show that things were not very bad and the clearinhouse, which boggled about issuing certificates for a few hundred thousand dollars to the Broadwav bank -really unlucky more than rascally -rushed to the rescue of the copper gam olers' bank with $3,500,000 in certicates-and of no avail It is a chapter in the finanical story of Boston and of Washington that ill not soon be forgotten by the sufferers; and itexposes once more. as so often before, the sham morality of the bankers and brokers here. who in 1896, had no terms but such as are due to pick-pockets, for the bonest advocates of currency inflation by means of silver. I have never been one of those advocates; never gave in to the free silver delusionbut no more did I. to the artificial morality and manufactured scare got up by the McKinleyites in that panicky and corrupting campaign. While the Globe bank figures are under investigation. I wish we we could be told how much of its stockholders' money went into Hanna's campaign fund; for most of the Boston banks were then assessed to aid in electing the Ohio president who is now pulling very wire to get himself re-elected. And I fancy it will be found that the gamblers and swindlers who have brought this strange panic upon us-this etarvation of money in the midst oi plenty-were active and shouting denouncers of the "silver mine owners" and the awful doctrines of Bryan and his followers, who the gentle Wolcott called pirates. Is a silver mine fraud, then, so much worse than a copper mine fraud? The success of Mr. Bryan could not have given us half SO swift an inflation of the currency as the outpour of gold has produced, nor led to a tithe of the gambling and fraud which is now coming to light among the virtuous McKinleyites of 1896. So widespread has been the interest manifested in The Chicago Chronicle's

3. July 24, 1900 Daily Inter Mountain Butte, MT
Article from Daily Inter Mountain, July 24, 1900

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Article Text

# BUTTE CITY WATER COMPANY. Boston News Bureau: Judge Brown of the United States district court has authorized Receiver Wing of the Globe Bank to deposit securities of the Butte City Water Co., valued at $70,000, with the Massachusetts Loan & Trust Co., and to accept the terms of the reorganization plan. He further authorizes the receiver on the completion of the reorganization plan to receive in place of the stock which he surrenders the new stock and bonds, the cash which has to be paid under the re-organization plan for the coupon scrip is now in the hands of the receiver, and a syndicate has been formed to carry out the reorganization scheme. The receiver holds now $47,000 first mortgage bonds of $1,000 each, $10,000 bonds of $1,000 each and another $10,000 of the bonds as collateral security for a loan to one A. M. Whitney, and $3,270 in scrip, par value.

4. October 5, 1900 The Red Cloud Chief Red Cloud, NE
Article from The Red Cloud Chief, October 5, 1900

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Article Text

# Nebraska Man's Luck. Daniel G. Wing, former special bank examiner, has been elected vice presi-dent of the Massachusetts bank. Mr. Wing went to Boston two years ago, and discovered the crockedness in the Globe bank, and by his efforts pre-vented a threatened panic. He was appointed receiver of the bank, and while it was not thought that the depositors would get 10 per cent he has already paid them 40 per cent and expects in time to pay 100 per cent. He will continue as receiver. Mr. Wing is thirty-two years old and for eight years was assistant cashier and cashier of the American Exchange bank of Lincoln, Neb.