Mercantile Savings Bank (Baltimore, MD)

Episode Information

Episode UID
7010071599
Episode Type
Suspension โ†’ Closure
Bank Type
savings
Bank ID
701007 routing
Routing Number
7-0100
Start Date
March 16, 1933
Location
Baltimore, Maryland (39.290, -76.612)

Metadata

Model
gpt-5-mini (chosen from majority vote of a three-model LLM ensemble)
Short Digest
b663d194b03d37c3

Response Measures

None

Description

Articles show a government-ordered/holiday suspension and later the bank in receivership (distribution in 1935); the exact failure/receiver appointment date is not given.

Events (3)

1. March 16, 1933 Reopening
Newspaper Excerpt
licensed the Mercantile Savings Bank of Baltimore ... to reopen on a 2 per cent basis.
Source
newspapers
2. March 16, 1933 Suspension
Cause
Government Action
Cause Details
Closed during the national banking holiday and restrictions imposed by Maryland authorities; reopening licensed on a 2% withdrawal basis.
Newspaper Excerpt
licensed the Mercantile Savings Bank of Baltimore ... to reopen on a 2 per cent basis. These institutions were closed yesterday
Source
newspapers
3. December 4, 1935 Receivership
Newspaper Excerpt
Warren F. Sterling, Maryland Bank Commissioner, receiver for the Mercantile Savings Bank, Baltimore, announced ... mailed to the depositors ... distribution of five per cent on the unpaid balance ... makes a total of 51 1/2 per cent which has been distributed to the depositors of that bank.
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (2)

Article from Evening Star, March 16, 1933

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Article Text

CONFIDENCE SHOWN IN NEARBY BANKS Virtually Every Institution in Metropolitan Area Gains in Deposits. Reassured by the display of confidence on the part of depositors yesterday. bank officials in nearby States eased the restrictions under which some of the institutions were operating and licensed several new ones to open today. Meanwhile the bankers themselves in institutions that have not been permitted to resume operations on an unrestricted schedule devoted their full time to plans that would permit them to get back on a 100 per cent basis. In many instances these included recrganization The Bank of Bowie was the only one in the vicinity of Washington which demonstrated its strength to such an extent in a single day that the 2 per cent withdrawal restriction on it was promptly lifted. Receiving Tellers Busy. Without exception the banks in the metropolitan area surrounding the Capital City reported business to be brisk at the receiving teller's window on the first day they have been permitted to open since the national banking holiday while the paying tellers found themselves for the most part with time hanging heavy on their hands. In addition to lifting the ban at Bowie, State Bank Commissioner John J Ghingher of Maryland permitted the Bank of Hampstead, Carroll County. to allow 10 per cent withdrawals today instead of 2 per cent He also licensed the Mercantile Savings Bank of Baltimore and the St Michaels Bank Talbot County, to reopen on a 2 per cent basis. These institutions were closed yesterday Another Maryland bank which will open for the first time today is the Forest Hill State Bank, Harford County. which will function on a 100 per cent basis. Reorganization plans of the Union Trust Co. of Baltimore and the Baltimore Trust Co were reported progressing satisfactorily These two large institutions. fami iar to most Maryland ers, are to be replaced by national banks. Record in Deposits. Officials of the 10 banks that have resumed operatic in Montgomery County reported today that deposits at the end of business yesterday aggregated nearly twice those of any previous day in their history The deposits made in one bank located in the metropolitan area totaled nearly $3,000,000, while those of another institution in the same district threatened the $2,000.000 mark R. Weir Waters, president of the Takoma Park Bank. said this morning that more than $2,700,000 was placed on deposit by patrons of that institution and that that figure far surpassed the total of withdrawals. The Silver Spring National Bank received $66,725.36 for deposit during the day, according to Ira C. Whitacre. cashier, who declared that the amount of deposits exceeded the total withdrawals by $45,725.36. Both Waters and Whitacre asserted that withdrawals were mainly on checks which were issued before or during the Maryland banking holiday and President Roosevelt's proclamation and had accumulated at the bank during the two periods. Some Gold Received. Regular depositors, they declared, showed no inclination to make withdrawals except for groceries. light, heat and other household necessities. Two other banks in the metropolitan district handled exceptionally large amounts of deposits. S. Walter Bogley, vice president of the Bank of Bethesda, and A. L. Votaw. cashier of the Citizen's Bank of Takoma Park, both said that deposits at their respective institutions were twice as much yesterday as they are normally. All four banks in the area immediately adjacent to the District of Columbia took in some gold in small amounts from their depositors. Bogley said that between $10,000 and $15,000 in gold was turned in at the Bank of Bethesda during the day. No heavy gold deposits were made by any one person, however. he declared. The Farmers Banking & Trust Co. of Rockville and the Bank of Damascus. the only members of the group of 10 county banks open for business that are operating on a restricted withdrawal basis, continued to grant its depositors 2 per cent withdrawals today. Awaits U. S. License. The Montgomery County National Bank at Rockville, the only bank in the county which is not open, was still awaiting today its license from the Federal Reserve Bank at Richmond to resume business. The bank had applied for a license to reopen on a 100 per cent withdrawal basis, according to the cashier. The banks of Prince Georges County were still taking deposits rapidly today, although business was much nearer normal than yesterday which witnessed a rush of depositors who threatened to swamp employes of several financial institutions in their eagerness to bank their money Another Prince Georges bank was opened to do business on a 100 per cent basis this morning- the Bank of Bowie was so to as it said brisk cashier, -and handle that according business it the office in arrived. to force deposits William was Luers unable Luers, he believed the restriction placed on


Article Text

Commercial Breaking Records The Commercial Credit Company will break all records in volume of business and net profits for 1935, according to estimates made yesterday by Dow, Jones & Co., New York. Total receivables are expected to reach fully $475,000,000 for the year now ending, and would compare with $377,959,000 for the preceding year. Net profits after provision for preferred dividends are expected to equal about $5 a share on the common stock as against $4.11 a share reported for 1934. The previous peak in company's business was reached in 1929 when receivables aggregated $442,607,262, and net income was equivalent to $4.36 a common share. During the nine months ended September 30, 1935, receivables reached $384,662,424, increasing about 25 per cent. over the previous year's total, and net income was equal to $4.29 a common share. Mercantile Savings Payment Warren F. Sterling, Maryland Bank Commissioner, receiver for the Mercantile Savings Bank, Baltimore, announced yesterday that he had mailed to the depositors of the Mercantile Savings Bank checks representing a distribution of five per cent. on the unpaid balance due to each depositor. The amount of this distribution was $16,865.43 and makes a total of 51 1/2 per cent. which has been distributed to the depositors of that bank.