Bank Reserves

It is astonishing how many men of business, otherwise well informed, lack precise information upon such matters as the nature of bank reserves and government requirements regarding the reserve. Of late years, there has been a tendency on the part of banks to give the public a better understanding of their periodical reports, while the movement toward a central reserve bank has by its propaganda added to the general information on the subject, but the average business man and all students of business may well read up on this point, since it is an important feature of American banking. No one can be said to understand the methods of banking unless he understands the question of the reserve; hence the matter is discussed at length in these pages.

Postal Savings Banks

The postal savings bank systems of Europe, particularly that of Great Britain, need to be understood in order that we may intelligently consider the mooted question of the establishment of a similar system in the United States. Canada follows the British system to a considerable extent.

Domestic And Foreign Exchange

The question of exchange in its relation to commerce, both domestic and foreign, and to international affairs generally, is of the utmost importance. All matters pertaining to foreign exchange are particularly interesting, and a complete discussion of the question by an acknowledged authority will be found in the chapters devoted to the subject.

Investments

All business men are interested in the subject of investments, hence it is well to study the various kinds of investments offered to capital, and to obtain an idea of the relative value of each. The chapter on this subject is from the pen of an investment expert of international reputation, a Western banker held in universal esteem.

Corporation Finance

In modern business, banks, trust companies, and private bankers frequently undertake to finance commercial enterprises and public undertakings, hence the subject of corporation finance is closely interwoven with that of banking, and some time and attention may profitably be devoted by the student to this subject.

Monetary Systems

Every student of business should have a thorough understanding of the monetary system of his own country. We have fully described the monetary system of the United States in two parts, - first the coinage of gold and silver, and second, the paper money, - and have also given a historical review of the monetary events of the world since 1786, which will be found extremely useful for reference.

Government, State And Municipal Bonds

The nature of government bonds and of other securities based on state and municipal obligations affords a wide field for study. The bond business is a great and growing branch of modern affairs, and there is no branch in which close and constant study of the situation is more imperatively necessary than in this. We have sketched the broad principles underlying bond issues, and the safeguards that experience has thrown round about them. All that is said upon the subject in the following pages is worthy of study.

Booms, Panics And Depressions

Some space is devoted to an examination into the causes of panics and depressions, of which a close study has been made by many eminent writers on finance. The question of booms and their effect also receives attention. These conditions occur and recur in Europe and in America. The English-speaking public on both sides of the Atlantic seem particularly susceptible to both booms and depressions, save perhaps in the case of Canada, where public sanity usually prevails to a remarkable degree.

The method followed throughout this work has been to deal chiefly with principles and methods of more or less general application rather than with individual or local methods. This is for the advantage of the great majority of students of business, - for the greatest good of the greatest number, who will be enabled by a knowledge of the general principles and methods of banking and finance to comprehend individual or local variations in method where these may occur.