Reporting Special Happenings

The general manager wants to know how the branch is progressing. He can tell, roughly, how things are tending from his examination of the balance sheets. But any special change in the figures, or any interesting banking or financial happening in the localitysuch as the gain or the loss of an important deposit, change of bankers by any of the important business men or firms, movements of other banks - should be faithfully reported. To enable him to pass intelligently on all the propositions emanating from the various branches, and perhaps to decide as to whether or not the branch shall be kept open, the general manager requires to be reasonably familiar with the financial history of the place. Besides these general letters or reports there are always particular matters to be written about - changes in the positions of the members of the staff, special expenditures of the bank's money on the office or on the building, the working of particular discount accounts, applications for new credits.

Watching The Credits

It has already been observed that the lines of credit granted by the bank to the larger borrowing customers are given, subject to certain terms and conditions. The general manager stipulates on behalf of the bank that the borrower shall give certain signatures or certain documents as security, that the credit shall be reduced or paid off by a certain date, or something else. In the actual working out of these credits it often happens that the borrower wants an easing up of the conditions. He may overstep the limits as to total amount; he may not pay off or reduce as agreed upon; he may want to give security other than that named in the stipulations. In all of which events there must be considerable correspondence with the general manager.

Usually the manager evinces something of a disposition to excuse the customer's position. He is influenced insensibly by his fears that the customer will move his account to another bank if held too rigidly to the letter of contract. The general manager, having a better knowledge of what frequently results from laxity in this respect, insists upon the observance of the conditions.

Thus originates a large part of the head office correspondence. There are a number of instances in which the conditions may with safety and propriety be relaxed. But if the manager champions his customers too ardently or too promiscuously, the general manager may get the idea that he is more intent upon holding his business than upon guarding the bank from loss.

Applications For Credits

There will also probably be considerable correspondence regarding applications for new credits. Maybe the manager has succeeded, after a long campaign, in inducing a good customer of another bank to make application for a line of credit. The general manager is a great deal more suspicious of these proposed changes of bank accounts than is the manager. He has in his mind the fear that the other bank may be "unloading" an unsafe or undesirable account; and he always requires a full and satisfactory explanation as to why the change was decided upon before he will consider the application.

In all this correspondence it is advisable for the manager to be very careful and conservative in the promises and opinions he forwards. The customers should be educated to keep their promises well within the limits of what they can perform, and so the manager should keep his own. The chief thing to aim at in this respect is to build up a reputation with the general manager, so that he will get in the way of observing, mentally, to himself on reading the letters: "I can depend on what this man says." It takes time to build such a reputation, but once attained it carries great rewards.