Archive Report
Archive Report
Entrance of Banks Into New Fields
The banking business in the United States is growing at a rate that pleases even the bankers. Rising interest rates pushed up the earnings of commercial banks 10 to 15 per cent in the first quarter of 1968; during the past five years, those earnings have increased annually at an average rate of more than 7 per cent. While leading bankers are optimistic about the industry's prospects for steady growth, they are careful to make a distinction between banks which cling to traditional banking practices and banks which innovate.
During the 20-year period 1946–66, total deposits of commercial banks in the United States rose by 120 per cent. Although the volume of bank loans to business enterprises mounted in that ...