Deposit account

“ The bank cannot discharge its liability to account with the depositor to the extent of the deposit, except by payment to him, or to the holder of a written order from him, usually in the form of a check. If the bank pays out money to the holder of a check upon which the name of the depositor, or of a payee or indorsee, is forged, it is simply no payment as between the bank and the depositor ”

“ As he makes his payments by check his own deposit account declines, but the bank accounts of his creditors increase, so that the net result of borrowing in Canada is an increase in the total of bank deposits. Consequently, in good times, when the banks are freely extending credit, the deposits grow, and in periods of dullness and liquidation they decline. A growth of deposits, therefore, is commonly accepted as an indication of business and industrial activity. ”

“ A general ledger, showing generally the accounts of the bank, including the account in totals of the deposits made and checked out daily; a cash book, giving each day's business; a daily balance book, which was a summary of the general ledger; these three books were kept by Schardt; and an individual ledger, which showed in detail the deposit account of each individual depositor, and was kept by a clerk, who had no other duties, and was known as individual bookkeeper. ”

“ No more than £200 Government Stock can be purchased in any one year, and the total amount of stock standing in a depositor's ac- count at any one time must not exceed £500. The dividends or interest on any Government Stock is credited periodically to the holder's ordinary deposit account. When a depositor wishes to withdraw the whole or any part of his money, he has to fill up and forward to the Savings Bank Department in London, a notice of withdrawal, and a form for the purpose may be obtained at any Post Office Savings Bank. ”

“ The balance of a depositor in paid up deposits and capita [Pg 72] lised interests is not permitted to amount at any time to more than 1,000 florins.
The Depositor must with the first deposit inscribe his signature in the place appointed on the third page of the deposit-book and must further give an account of his calling or occupation, the place, day, month, year of his birth, as well as the place where he lives and his address. He must moreover sign with his own hand the so-called «Gegenschein» (Counter-certificate) to be found in the deposit book. ”

“ Where several bank accounts are kept and a check register—in addition to the cash book—is used to keep record of the accounts with the various banks, it may happen that checks drawn on one bank are wrongly charged to another; that checks drawn, or deposits made one day, are not credited until the next; that certain drafts deposited with the bank for collection are not credited to the depositor’s account until collection is made, whereas the depositor debited the bank at the time of the deposit ”

“ Experience proves that, after a little while, a customer becomes tired of continually transferring sums from his running account to deposit, and then, when his account is getting low, paying the deposit-receipts to his credit. ”

“ The customer must take care that his account is not overdrawn, that is, that the debits on his account do not exceed the credits, since overdrafts, except by accident or for very short periods and small amounts, are not allowed in this country, and in other countries, where they are allowed, they must be provided for in advance by a special agreement between the bank and the customer, which usually involves the deposit with the bank of ample security. ”

“ If a bank account has not been added to or drawn upon by the depositor for more than 20 years, and no one claiming the money has, within that period, filed with the bank any notice showing his present residence, and the president or managing officer of the bank does not know that the depositor is alive, then the bank shall, upon entry of a judgment establishing these facts, deposit with the state treasurer the amount of the deposit and accumulations. The suit cannot be begun until after the expiration of the 20 years. ”

“ In the same way a statement with reference to the remaining balance retains its validity without regard to these repayments or debit entries, until in its place comes another acknowledgment of receipt in consequence of a new deposit, or a new statement with reference to the balance of the account in consequence of a new payment made without delay.
It is evident of itself that a higher sum than the balance remaining at the depositor's disposal after deduction of the last repayment and entered in the book cannot at any time be paid. ”

“ Deposits given priority under subsection (1) (db) do not include— (a) a deposit held for the account of the Exchange Fund established by the Exchange Fund Ordinance (Cap. 66) ; (b) a deposit held by an excluded person in his own right, or, in the case of a deposit held by an excluded person and a non-excluded person in their own right (except where those persons carry on business in partnership) , the portion of the deposit attributable to the excluded person’s share in the deposit ”

“ No Depositor is permitted to obtain, or cause to be obtained on his behalf, more than one deposit-book issued in his name; on the other hand every one is free, beyond their own deposit-books, to obtain for other, wholly distinct persons, deposit-books and to pay in deposits on their behalf. ”

“ A depositor, as a rule, draws his interest twice a year. Some persons, however, leave their receipts from three to five years without disturbing them; and the bank-manager, always [54] anxious to swell the profits of his branch, is careful, when they are presented, to make his calculations at simple interest instead of at compound. Deposit customers, therefore, even when they do not require the interest due to them, should present their receipts six months after date in order to have the interest added to the principal, when both bear interest together. ”

“ The Comptroller's definition of 'deposits' should be honored here. For where the risk is on the customer that his cash and checks may never reach the bank, he cannot in good sense or in good law be deemed to have made a deposit while the funds are in transit. ”

“ If the person to whom the notes are thus paid by the borrower has himself no purchase to pay for, or no payment to make, he may, the moment he gets them, return them to the bank that issued them, to lie there on deposit. ”

“ It is not ordinarily bound to inquire whence the depositor received the moneys deposited, or what obligation such depositor is under to other parties. It is only when there gather around any deposit, or line of deposits, circumstances of a peculiar nature, which individualize that deposit or line of deposits, and inform the bank of peculiar facts of equitable cognizance, that it is debarred from treating the deposit as that of moneys belonging absolutely to the depositor. We notice, therefore, the peculiar circumstances which cast knowledge upon this bank, in respect to these deposits. ”

“ We treat it, in this respect, exactly as the parties have treated it, that is, as a case where the notes have been paid and credited as cash. The notes have not been credited as notes, or as a special deposit; but the transaction is precisely the same as if the money had been first paid to the plaintiffs, and instantaneously the same money had been deposited by them. It can make no difference that the same agent is employed by both parties, the one to receive, and the other to pay and credit. ”

“ Deposits payable only at an office of a bank located in a foreign country are not to be insured and are not to be counted in computing the total deposit liabilities of a bank as a basis for determining the amount of Class A stock to which it must subscribe. ”

“ As a general rule, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, a deposit, not made specifically applicable to some other purpose, may be applied by the bank in payment of the indebtedness of the depositor. ”

“ The deposits, at whatever office they may be made, can be withdrawn from any other office which transacts a savings bank business. The accounts are kept in London and all moneys are remitted to the headquarters, where it is handed over to the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt, who invest the funds in public securities.
Deposits may be made as low as one shilling or multiples thereof, and the limit of deposits for an individual is $150 during one year or $650 in all. Charitable societies may deposit without limit. ”

“ Persons depositing money only once, or very seldom, and intending to draw for the same at once, usually receive from the cashier a certificate of deposit, which states the name of the depositor, the sum deposited, and to whose order it is to be paid. ”

“ For any person, firm, corporation, association, business trust, or other similar organization, engaged in the business of issuing, underwriting, selling, or distributing, at wholesale or retail, or through syndicate participation, stocks, bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities, to engage at the same time to any extent whatever in the business of receiving deposits subject to check or to repayment upon presentation of a passbook, certificate of deposit, or other evidence of debt, or upon request of the depositor ”

“ But if a bank can employ all its capital, it is obvious that it cannot employ all deposits in making loans, because occasions are always occurring for removing deposits, as well as making them. Business men, for example, day by day, deposit with their bankers the checks or sums of money which they receive in the course of their business; and, on the other hand, day by day, draw out such sums as they require for the payment of purchases of goods, wages, rent, and other expenditure. A bank, therefore, while continually receiving deposits, is continually repaying deposits ”

“ If the amount realized from such emergency assessments shall be insufficient to pay off the depositors of all failed banks having valid claims against said depositors' guaranty fund, the state banking board shall issue and deliver to each depositor, having such unpaid deposit, a certificate of indebtedness for his unpaid deposit, bearing 6 per centum interest. ”

“ The New York statute does not profess, however, to change the legal relation which results from a deposit made in a bank. The deposit of money by a customer with his banker is one of loan, with a superadded obligation that the money is to be paid when demanded by a check. ”

“ A certificate of deposit is a subsisting chose in action and represents the fund it describes, as in cases of notes, bonds, and other securities, so that a delivery of it, as a gift, constitutes an equitable assignment of the money for which it calls. ”

“ A bank depositor, A, has not ordinarily "deposited money"; and whether he has or not, he certainly cannot properly say that he "has money in the bank." What he does have is the bank's promise to pay money on demand. The bank owes him money. When a private person owes money, the creditor never thinks of saying that he has it on deposit in the debtor's pocket.
§ 2 III.14 It cannot be too strongly emphasized that, in any balance sheet, the value of the liabilities rests on that of the assets. The deposits of a bank are no exception. ”

“ Presumably, therefore, moneys deposited by them were the proceeds of cattle consigned to them for sale. Their business being known to the bank, such presumption goes with their deposits; and, while not of itself notice, is a circumstance to compel inquiry on the part of the bank in respect to any particular deposit. We do not mean to be understood as implying that a bank receiving deposits from one whom it knows to be in the commission business receives every deposit in trust for any unknown principal. ”

“ In such circumstances and in view of the way in which business is done at the present day, it might be found to have been natural and reasonable to suppose that a certificate of deposit from a well-known solvent bank in the neighborhood would be enough. ”

“ A bank that permits a depositor to keep a box of jewelry or silver in its vault for his accommodation, while absent from home and without receiving any compensation therefor, is not required to exercise the same degree of care as a safe deposit company whose chief business is to do such things and is paid for its service. ”

“ But in addition to collecting checks, the bank collects other debts, such as coupons and negotiable paper.
In addition to these advantages which the depositor obtains from his bank account, he sometimes receives interest upon his deposits. Among the commercial banks of the United States, the practice of paying interest upon deposits is not widespread. Persons who desire interest upon deposits must, as a rule, be content to surrender something of the absolute and immediate control over their funds, which is the characteristic of commercial banking. ”

“ Whereas commercial banks under the law on commercial banks, as well as finance companies under the law on the practice of financing business, security business, and crédit foncier business, now accept deposits by means of issuing certificates of deposit, and the said certificates of deposit are negotiable instruments, it is appropriate to designate measures for prevention of forgery of the described instruments in order to protect common interest which may injured by the use of forged certificates of deposit. ”

“ It has been alleged that a fisherman might get advances from the merchant who employs him, although he had a deposit receipt in the bank, especially in a distant place, where it would cost some trouble to him to go to his bank and get his deposit receipt altered. ”

“ The plaintiff in error was organized under the Federal statutes, and does business at Rutland, Vermont. For several years it has maintained a 'savings department,' allowing depositors therein interest at a rate exceeding 2 per cent per annum, payable on the first days of January and July in each year on deposits remaining in bank on those days. Certain other depositors have received certificates of deposit with interest at the rate of 3 per cent per annum for each calendar month that the deposit continued. ”