Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF SAVINGS BANKS, ]

COMMONWEALTH BUILDING, BOSTON, Feb. 26, 1894.

To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled.

The Board of Commissioners of Savings Banks herewith presents Part II. of the eighteenth annual report of the Board, relating to co-operative banks, collateral loan companies and mortgage loan companies, placed by statute under its supervision, showing the condition of the following institutions at the close of business Oct. 31, 1893, viz. :

Permission has been given during the year to organize the following banks, viz.:

Middlesex Co-operative Bank of Lowell; incorporated Nov. 2, 1892; commenced business Nov. 3, 1892.

Mount Washington Co-operative Bank of South Boston; incorporated June 14, 1893; commenced business June 21, 1893.

The Palmer Co-operative Bank of Palmer has discontinued business, and distributed its assets, without loss, to the share

lin Co-operative Bank, whose assets were finally distributed in 1892, be dissolved.

During the year seventeen banks have had shares mature. The number of months between the date of issue and the date of maturity in the several banks was as follows:

The foregoing table does not include series 3 and 4 of the Waltham Co-operative Bank, which were retired before maturity, and have been treated as retired shares in the tables of this report.

The average time of maturity, as shown by the foregoing table, is 1373+ months.

During the year 1,027 shares have matured, the value of which is $208,575.57, which is equivalent to $203.09 per share. Of these 1,027 shares, 265 were pledged for real estate loans and 86 for share loans, leaving 676 unpledged or free shares. These shares were held by 289 members, 76 of whom were borrowers.

The number of real estate loans cancelled by the maturity

of shares was 50, amounting to $51,850.00, an average of $1,037.00 to each loan.

The number of share loans cancelled by the maturity of shares was 29, amounting to $9,905.00, an average of $341.55 to each loan.

The whole amount paid in on shares matured was $138,848.00 and the profits credited to these shares were $66,256.84.

The following table exhibits all shares matured during the year, and is a continuation of the table published in the report of 1892. The two tables together include all shares matured since 1888, the year when shares first reached maturity:

During the year the sum of $5,036,997.53 has been paid into the banks as monthly dues, $920,806.38 as interest and $65,094.48 as premiums.

The number of shares withdrawn during the same time is 87,654. The members holding these shares have had returned to them $2,257,337.86, representing the amount paid in, and $272,258.90 in profits, less $38,573.85 withdrawal profits, which were retained by the banks.

During the same period 1,504 shares have been forfeited, and members holding the same have received the amount paid in by them, $27,474.00, and $4,189.66 profits, less $803.74 retained by the banks as forfeiture profits.

Shares to the number of 7,356 have been retired, and dues paid in on them to the amount of $622,013.00 have been returned to the holders, with $179,455.43 profits.

The aggregate of shares withdrawn, retired and forfeited illustrates how successfully the co-operative system works. It shows that 11,421 members, holding 96,514 shares, have received all the money paid in, amounting to $2,906,824.86, and in addition $455,903.99 in profits, a grand total of $3,322,728.85; the banks retaining $39,377.59.

The number of shares now in force is 427,598, an increase of 22,031 during the year. Of these about one-fourth, or 108,596, belonging to 13,501 borrowers, are pledged for loans, and 319,002, belonging to 43,847 non-borrowers, are free.

The total membership of the banks is 57,348.

In striking contrast to the recently defunct bond and endowment orders, and to those spurious concerns which boast the name of building and loan associations, or mutual assistance societies, and arrogate to themselves the attributes of the co-operative bank, which are a snare to the ignorant and a pitfall to the unwary, are the results attained by co-operative banks. These results should be brought clearly home to the large class of persons of small means, for whose assistance these corporations were established.

The person of small means who can save but a few dollars a month is assured by the foregoing figures that in the co-operative bank his money is safely kept; that it is placed on interest as soon as it is deposited; that if he finds it necessary to with