Pepys & Baker

At nearly every gathering they have attended in the past year U. S. bankers have been admonished to enliven their publicity, redouble their educational efforts, explain their services & operations to the public. In the last fortnight two banks have made newsworthy publicity. Union & New Haven (Conn.) Trust Co. began publishing a monthly called A Pepys Diary of Banking, a day-by-day account of the institution's routine. Sample entry: "Regular meeting of the trust committee. The Trust Company's own bond account reviewed; market value on Dec. 31, 1935 substantially exceeded book value. . . . Purchases and sales of more than 100 items of securities for 48 trust accounts approved." Another entry: "Temperature zero. Practically no one seemed in the mood to visit the bank today; lobbies quiet."

More surprising was the other bit of publicity, for it emanated from Manhattan's fabulous First National ("The Baker Bank"), an institution whose able management has never thought it necessary or dignified to tell the public anything. In a sudden confidence President Jackson Eli Reynolds announced that First National's list of stockholders has increased by about 1,000 in the last year, now numbers 4,500. Of these some 1,400 held only one share each.

In itself this was not a startling revelation, since one share of First National stock, now selling for $1,875 per share and paying $100 in dividends, represents a tidy little investment. During 1929 the stock sold above $8,500 per share, touched a Depression low of $800. What did catch Wall Street's eye was President Reynolds' comment: The number of one-share stock holders exceeds the total number of depositors. With deposits of $479,000,000, First National has less than 1,400 depositors, showing an average balance of at least $300,000. Fact is, First National is primarily a bank for other banks and big corporations.

First National's largest stockholder is Chairman George Fisher Baker, son and namesake of the bank's longtime head. The Baker holdings are around 25,000 shares, one-fourth of the stock outstanding. According to the late George Fisher Baker, a prime factor in success is SILENCE. Reared in this tradition, the present Mr. Baker is no public figure, makes news more frequently as yachtsman than banker. Now 57, he went to Harvard (Class of 1899), worked in J. P. Morgan & Co. for a year, has been in the family bank ever since. Few years ago he built a new town house on Manhattan's East 93rd Street, there carries on the old Baker custom of lavish Christmas Day receptions, with a big present for each guest.

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