Depositor

“ Sometimes depositors mislay their deposit-books, or lose [272] them altogether, and in course of time forget that they have anything lying at their credit. This is an instance of such a case:—A depositor, upon being reminded that he had not sent up his book for a periodical examination—the time for which was already past—replied that his book was lost, but that if there was any balance due to him, he would be glad to have the particulars. ”

“ Accounts have never been opened nor moneys received subject to payment on draft, check, or order, nor has the bank ever issued certificates of deposit, except such as were temporary, to give time to a depositor to determine whether he will make a term deposit or one subject to be drawn when wanted. When a deposit is made a pass-book is given to the depositor and an entry of the deposit is made in it and in the books of the bank, and the money is drawn out by the depositor on presenting the pass book or by a person holding his order. ”

“ As we have seen, a deposit of money to one's credit in a bank does not operate to diminish the estate of the depositor, for when he parts with the money he creates at the same time, on the part of the bank, an obligation to pay the amount of the deposit as soon as the depositor may see fit to draw a check against it. ”

“ 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. ”

“ But although the relation between the bank and its depositor is that merely of debtor and creditor, and the balance due on the account is only a debt, yet the question is always open, To whom in equity does it beneficially belong? If the money deposited belonged to a third person, and was held by the depositor in a fiduciary capacity, its character is not changed by being placed to his credit in his bank account. ”

“ Whoever in favour of another,—the depositor,—pays in the first payment and signs the deposit-book in his name is called the Payer.
Any one can be a Depositor who can read and write. Minors no more than persons having a legal position are debarred from being depositors.
The Post Office Savings Bank regards the Payer as empowered in the name of the Depositor to dispose of the balance to his credit as long as the latter has not informed the Post Office Savings Bank that it is against his will. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Ordinarily, where paper is indorsed without restriction by a depositor and is at once placed to his credit by the bank, the inference is that the bank has become the purchaser of the paper and in making the collection is not acting as the agent of the depositor. ”

“ Where the deposit is general and there is no special agreement proved, it is doubtless true that the title of the money deposited in a bank passes to the bank, and the bank becomes liable to the depositor for the amount as a debt. ”

“ No depositor could claim a contract, or any vested right, to make a deposit under the provision of section 4 of the act, and then claim an exemption from taxation of such stock, where the deposit was made and the stock issued after the adoption of the constitution of 1870. ”

“ The depositor in such a bank is free to check out his funds as he pleases.
Before opening an account there is more than money needed from the depositor. If unknown, he must satisfy the bank of his character, which is best done through the introduction of one known to both.
Some banks make a charge for deposits, where a man makes a convenience of them by depositing money which he checks out in a short time.
A depositor, when opening an account with a bank is required to place his signature in a book kept for the purpose. ”

“ Other related provisions declared that the registered holder of any certificate of deposit should be deemed 'for all purposes to be the absolute owner thereof and of the bonds and/or coupons therein referred to, and neither the depositary nor the committee shall be affected by any notice to the contrary'; that each depositor should be deemed, by reason of his deposit, to have assented to and agreed to be bound by all provisions of the agreement ”

“ The deposit is handed to the receiving teller of the bank, who, after verifying the ticket, makes an entry of the amount in the depositor’s pass-book. Duplicate deposit tickets are usually kept by the depositor. It is important to note that checks must be indorsed before they are deposited, so as to make them collectible by the bank. ”

“ This certificate, which is signed by the Controller, must be forwarded with the deposit book and application whenever the depositor wishes to sell the whole or a portion of her stock. When stock is sold the sale is effected at the current price—the price in the open market on the day of sale—and a warrant is sent to the depositor for the amount realised, less the commission.
All dividends on the stock standing in a depositor’s name are credited to her deposit account when they become due. ”

“ Unquestionably the complainants receive deposits as one of the primary purposes of the charter, and the second by-law of the bank provides, that 'deposits of one dollar, or any number of dollars, may be received, but are not, in the whole, to exceed one thousand dollars from any depositor, without the special direction of the attending committee.' General rule is, that no depositor is allowed to have deposits beyond one thousand dollars; but he may have that amount, and, in special cases, when it is made to appear that he can find no other investment, he may exceed that amount. ”

“ Deposits are made to be invested for the benefit of the depositors, and the bank is under obligations to repay the amount when demanded, agreeably to the by-laws and charter. 3. Only remaining condition to bring the case within the words of the body of the act is, that the deposits should be made with a person, bank, association, company, or corporation engaged in the business of banking. Agreed case shows that the corporation complainants were engaged in receiving deposits, and loaning the same on interest for the benefit of the depositors. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It is clear that the various advantages of banks to the depositor, obvious as they are, cannot be a substitute for the investment of his capital or its employment in productive enterprise. It will therefore be, as a rule, a portion of what is designated as the circulating, rather than the fixed, capital of the nation which be placed in banks. When banks, however, offer interest upon deposits, under conditions which afford security, they will probably retard the process by which unused capital seeks a definite and profitable employment, and thus secure for the hanks a larger line of deposits. ”

“ Banks of deposit, as has been mentioned, make loans from their capital and deposits. If from capital, the banker has no greater profit by the transaction than if he had lent out his money in any other way, equally safe, and involving the same amount of trouble. If from deposits, the interest he receives, so far as it exceeds the interest, if any, paid to the depositors, and a ratable proportion of the expense of carrying; on the business of the bank, is pure gain to him. ”

“ The country depositor, however, even when he leaves fairly large sums at interest, is generally waiting to invest his money in house property, which will return him from 5 to 6 per cent., or to place it out on a first mortgage at from 31⁄2 to 4 per cent. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The modern deposit grew out of the older form of deposit in which the fund was held separate and intact, and the sole purpose of the deposit was safe-keeping. Safe-keeping is still a very important function of deposit banking; and from the point of view of most depositors the chief one. [15] Borrowing by a bank (as distinguished from a rediscount) is commonly regarded as evidence ofweakness. [16] Often the loan is made in the hope of averting insolvency. Loans made by one bank to another commonly involve a pledge of assets, since only upon such a condition is the transaction possible. ”

“ A respectably dressed working man, when making a payment one day at the Bradford savings bank, which brought his account up to nearly eighty pounds, informed the manager how it was that he had been induced to become a depositor. ”

“ Many were banks of such high reputation that the very fact of being a depositor was a hall-mark of a man's prosperity, while others were minor establishments, whose business was mainly with small accounts and middle-class customers. ”

“ Rates on deposits, though sometimes employed, have no place in commercial banking, since commercial deposits are only the credit balances resulting from loans and discounts or from funds intrusted to the bank for temporary safekeeping or disbursement in the interest of the depositor. ”

“ Numerous herders have brought their stock into market, and after disposing of them have deposited their moneys [Pg 17] with the steady little institution, in which they have implicit confidence, and through which the financial affairs of the merchants and farmers round about are transacted.
The last depositor has departed, and the door has just been closed. The assistant cashier and a lady clerk are engaged within in settling up the business of the day. ”

“ Another cause of the good condition of the place may be found in the reward given under certain conditions to the deserving and to the saving—habits induced by the establishment of a bank, depositors in which receive interest at the rate of five per cent. That the men appreciate the advantage of such an institution is clear, when I state that some of them are depositors to the extent of £300 or £400. ”

“ The written instruments covered by this article include any check, draft, or oder for the payment of a sum of money drawn upon any bank or other depository, whether or not the drawee bank or depository is actually in existence. The phrase 'bank or other depository' includes any business regularly but not necessarily exclusively engaged in public banking activities. The words 'making' and 'drawing' are synonymous, and refer to the acts of writing and signing the instrument. ”

“ The requirement in that rule, that 'every assignee and the clerk of said court shall deposit all sums received by them severally, on account of any bankrupt's estate, in one designated depository,' seems to us to be abundantly satisfied by interpreting it as meaning that the assignee and the clerk shall deposit all sums received by them severally, that is, respectively, on account of any bankrupt's estate, in one designated depository. ”

“ Bank, 174 U.S. 125, 19 S.Ct. 628, 43 L.Ed. 920, and pledge its assets therefor, Wyman v. Wallace, 201 U.S. 230, 26 S.Ct. 495, 50 L.Ed. 738, it may likewise pledge assets to secure a private deposit. The fallacy of this contention has been many times exposed. [14] The difference between deposits and loans is fundamental and far-reaching. The amount of the deposits is commonly accepted as a measure of the bank's success; an increase of deposits as evidence of increased prosperity. The depositor does not think of himself as lending money to the bank. ”