"Biggest"

Impressive is the capitalization of "biggest" U.S. banks.*Among them: National City Bank (N. Y.), $75,000,000; Chase National Bank (N. Y.), $50,000,000; Bank of Italy, National Trust and Savings Association (San Francisco), $50,000,000; American Exchange-Irving Trust Co. (N. Y.), $32,000,000; Guaranty Trust Co. (N. Y.), $30,000.000.

But far from impressive was the initial capital with which many a bank now counted as "biggest," opened its doors. The National City bank claimed but $800,000; Chase, $300,000; Bank of Italy, $150,000; Guaranty Trust, $100,000.

Exceptionally impressive, therefore, were figures made public last week by Joseph Wallace Mclntosh, Comptroller of Currency, announcing U. S. approval of a charter for yet another national bank in Manhattan's Wall Street. Initial capital and surplus of the proposed Commercial National Bank and Trust Co. will total $12,000,000. No national bank, Comptroller Mclntosh revealed, has ever started with so large an amount.

Bankers scanned the list of directors, noted these names with particular interest: Robert Lehman (investment banking); Walter P. Chrysler (motor cars); William Wrigley Jr. (chewing gum) ; Thomas L. Chadbourne (law) ; Edward Phillip Farley (shipping); Clement M. Keys (airplanes); Charles F. Noyes (real estate); David A. Schulte (real estate, cigars).

* "Biggest" English banks are Lloyd's (paid capital, $355,762,000); Barclay's (paid capital, $79,291,085). "Biggest" French banks include: Credit Lyonnais (capital, $10,000,000); Societe Generate (capital, $12,000,000); Banque Nationale de Credit (capital, $20,000,000). On April 24, stockholders approved an increase to $90,000,000.