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BAY CITY CHEERED BY BANK'S OPENING
Otto Schupp of Saginaw Factor in Organizing Institution.
BY HENRY G. HUNT.
(Daily News Staff Correspondent.)
BAY CITY, Mich., July 1.βBay City's financial structure took on new strength Friday when the National Bank of Bay City, successor to the First National and Bay County Savings banks, opened its doors for business.
From the hour of the opening, the bank was crowded with patrons, many of them reestablishing savings and commercial accounts, while other availed themselves of the opportunity to reclaim part of their savings that were included in the assets of the two closed institutions.
M. W. Carroll, Bay City produce dealer, a quiet, grey-haired Irishman, is the financial Moses to whom Bay City is looking to lead the city from the bewilderment that gripped it when the Bay City bank closed its doors and was heightened when the First National and Bay County Savings banks collapsed.
Mr. Carroll is one of Bay City's best known men. To watch him circulate through the crowded lobby of the bank Friday morning, shaking hands with grizzled farmers, slapping the back of a business associate or stopping for a brief visit with some elderly lady in whose hand was clenched a worn bank book, was to know that those who had organized the new bank had chosen well in selecting Mr. Carroll as president of the institution.
It is of more than passing interest to set forth that a Saginaw banker, Otto Schupp, president of the Bank of Saginaw, was influential in directing the early steps of the bank's reorganization.
The First National and Bay County Savings banks closed Dec. 3, 1931. Mr. Schupp was then a director of the one-time National Credit corporation. He immediately counseled with the Bay City men who had been prominent in the affairs of the bank before its closing.
Mr. Carroll commented Friday on the aid extended by Mr. Schupp in the plans for the establishment of the new bank.
"Mr. Schupp came to us when the sky was the darkest," declared the president of the new bank. "We were at loss which way to turn. We had ordered the First National and Bay County Savings banks closed to protect those depositors who had not withdrawn their money.
"Then Mr. Schupp entered the picture. He counseled with us and went both to Detroit and Chicago where we discussed with federal bank examiners the possibility of opening a new bank to take over the assets of the two that were closed.
"It was the inspiration he provided that heartened our group to continue the fight to establish the new bank and we are extremely grateful to him for what he did."
Mr. Schupp was on hand for the bank's opening Friday to congratulate the bank's officials on their success.
Unusual Feature.
What is there about this new Bay City bank that smacks of the unique and has attracted nationwide attention during the process of its organization?
The most unusual feature is that part of the new bank's charter calls for the establishment of a trust fund of approximately $3,000,000 that will receive all the bank's earnings until such time as the depositors of the two closed banks have been paid 100 cents on the dollar for their old accounts.
Briefly, the plan for the new bank follows:
The National Bank of Bay City will pay immediately to any depositor 10 per cent of the amount of his original account. On or before the end of the first year of the bank's existence it will make available an additional 10 per cent. For the next three years it will provide for the payment of 10 per cent each year until 50 per cent of all deposits will have been paid if the depositors to withdraw.
Stock in Trust Fund.
Meantime, the trust fund, made up of the remaining 50 per cent of the bank's assets, will remain intact. It will receive all the earnings of the new bank. All stock, except that held necessarily by the directors in accordance with law, will be held in the trust fund. No stockholder will receive a dime in the shape of a bank dividend until the trust fund appreciates to a point where all deposits of the two closed banks are guaranteed.
That there is good psychology in this arrangement was proved by comment heard from Bay City business men. Many depositors Friday were making no effort to withdraw the 10 per cent that was made available to them. Many were establishing new accounts. Public sentiment is strongly favorable to the new institution.
The closing of the first National and Bay County Savings banks followed the withdrawal of approximately $4,000,000 over a period of six months. At no time was there a run on the bank. Public confidence slipped after the Bay City bank closed its doors and the gradual reduction of the bank's resources led its directors to close that other depositors might be protected.