No. 21. Boston Clearing House

Feb. 16, 19 -Credit

National Exchange Bank $ 1,302,234.41

F. H, Bender, Settling Clerk

How Non-Members clear. - Besides the regular members, there are a number of trust companies that make their clearings at the Boston

Clearing House through the agency of other banks which are members. These non-members keep adequate funds on deposit at their clearing bank, as a compensation for services rendered and as a guarantee against loss. They prepare their exchanges in practically the same manner as the regular members, but deliver their packages of items to their agents for deposit instead of to the clearing house for settlement. These agents classify and distribute the paper of the non-members just as they do the regular items received on deposit. The return exchanges for non-members at the clearing house are delivered to the clearing agents just as if they were payable by them. After these items are charged to the non-members by the clearing agents they are promptly transmitted by runners to the banks where they are to be paid.

Procedure in making Clearings. - Each business day at ten o'clock the exchanges take place between the banks. About five minutes before the hour designated the clerks begin to arrive. These clerks are usually two in number, each bank sending to the clearing house a delivery clerk and a settling clerk. On his arrival at the clearing house the settling clerk leaves at the desk of the proof clerk, sitting in the manager's office, his credit ticket showing the amount of exchanges with which his bank is to be credited. The proof clerk immediately transcribes this amount under Banks Cr. on a blank called the Clearing-House Proof, as illustrated on page 87.

The aggregate of the credit tickets presented to the proof clerk represents the total exchanges sent in by the various banks, and is called Credit Exchanges.

The desks in a clearing house are usually arranged in long rows, one desk being provided for each member. At one minute before ten o'clock the manager sounds a gong as a signal for the clerks to take their proper places. The settling clerks occupy their separate desks on the inside of the counter, while the delivery clerks form on the outside with their exchanges arranged for convenient distribution. Promptly at ten o'clock the manager again sounds the gong, and the delivery of the exchanges begins. Each delivery clerk advances, one desk at a time, with military precision. At each desk he hands over to the settling clerk the exchange package for that particular bank. At the same time, in an opening in the desk provided for that purpose, he deposits a check ticket, corresponding in amount to the amounts listed on the exchange slips. The settling clerk takes the amount on the exchange slips and enters it to the credit of the proper bank on his own statement. After the circuit has been completed each delivery clerk is at