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FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND

MONTHLY
REVIEW

Mobile and Modular Housing
Fifth District Investors and the
Bill Market
The Flow-of-Funds Accounts




•N * _ .

JUNE

1970

MOBILE AND MODULAR HOUSING
Since 1950 the construction of private one-family
housing units has been declining, and in the last
years of the decade of the 1960’s, the rate of decline
has risen sharply. In 1969 one-unit private housing
starts decreased 9.9 per cent from the preceding year.
The housing shortage has become more pronounced
in recent years not only because of the decline in
housing starts, but also because of a faster-than-expected growth in the number of new households de­
manding housing units. In 1967 and 1968, the num­
ber of new households increased by an average of
1.5 million per year. Requirements for new homes,
resulting from a growing population, and a demand
for replacement units and second homes of approxi­
mately a half million per year, have been estimated
at some 2 million new housing units annually. Less
than three-fourths of that number of homes were
built in 1969.
The most important factors contributing to the
national housing shortage are rising costs of con­
struction and financing. Although the price of ma­
terials has increased an average of only 1 per cent
per year over the past three years, land costs in
metropolitan areas rose between 10 and 25 per cent
last year. Current union contracts for construction
workers have provided wage increases of 10 to 20
per cent per year in recent years, and the wages for
unorganized workers have risen at a similar pace.
Financing costs have also moved up sharply, with
both down payment requirements and mortgage rates

homes has been the low cost of construction for
these units compared to construction costs for con­
ventional homes. Labor, which accounts for as much
as 50 per cent of on-site construction costs, rep­
resents as little as 10 per cent of the cost of a mobile
home. Manufacturers of mobile homes employ semi­
skilled workers at wage levels comparable to those
of other industrial workers. Building contractors,
however, must pay much higher wages for skilled
craft laborers.
The changing composition of today’s population
has also been a factor pushing sales upward. For
many years, the largest groups of mobile home
dwellers have been young couples and retired couples.
Historically these two groups have accounted for 70
per cent of mobile home sales. Rapidly increasing
life expectancy and the post W orld W ar II popula­
tion boom have made these two groups the fastest
growing segments of our population.
Growing popular acceptance has enhanced the sale
of mobile homes significantly. Although many factors
have contributed to their popularity, two of the most
important have been improved construction and dura­
bility and the development of modern, well-planned
mobile home parks. Each of these factors has been
instrumental in the decision of many urban com ­
munities to use mobile homes in redevelopment
projects.

rising. Overall, the cost of home building has risen
at a rate of approximately 10 per cent annually

the United States cannot afford to pay over $15,000

Mobile homes originally developed as an extension
of the trailer industry. Although the construction of
camping and travel trailers began in the 1930’s, it was
not until after W orld W ar II that the house trailer
became popular. These were usually 8 feet wide and
25 to 28 feet long. Units 10 feet wide and 34 to
60 feet long were developed in the 1950's. In 1962,
12-foot wide units were introduced and these have
become increasingly popular. Larger sizes, as well
as improvements in the quality of furnishings, have

for a home.

made mobile homes more attractive to low-to-middle

during the past few years.
In 1969 the average price for conventionally-built
new homes was $19,225, $5,425 higher than the cost
of a similar home in 1960.
commonly

Based on rules of thumb

used by financial

institutions,

income

statistics indicate that almost half of the families in

During the past decade mobile homes have evolved
as a partial solution to the low-cost housing problem.
Manufacturers’

shipments of mobile homes qua­

drupled in the 1960’s (see Chart I ) .

DEVELOPMENT OF THE MOBILE HOME MARKET

income families whose demand for housing is re­
stricted to homes under $20,000.
In spite of improved construction, better furnish­

One of the

ings, and more living space, many people still as­

major reasons for the growth in sales of mobile

sociate mobile homes with the trailer camps that

2 FRASER
Digitized for


mushroomed in the post W orld W ar II period.
Evidence of the slowly changing image of mobile
homes can be seen by examining current housing
statistics. The Department of Commerce continues
to exclude mobile homes from their housing statistics ;
instead mobile homes are classified with vehicles,
even though 80 per cent initially placed on a landsite
are never moved. Mobility is not an important
reason for purchasing mobile homes. Statistics indi­
cate that the average American family living in a
conventionally-built home moves more frequently
than the average mobile home dweller.
The importance of mobile homes to the housing
market should not be underestimated. These homes
accounted for 90 per cent of all housing selling for
under $15,000 in 1968. More than one-third of all
single-unit homes started in 1969 were mobile homes.
The median income of mobile home families was less
than $1,000 below the 1968 national average of
$8,632. One-fourth of the heads of mobile home
families are skilled workers, and 15 per cent are
professional workers. A recent Housing and Urban
Development (H U D ) survey of families living in
new mobile homes showed that 50 per cent of the
heads-of-households were under thirty-five years old.
Since the peak earning years are still ahead for most
of these families, this partially explains why the
median income of mobile home families is less than
the median U. S. family income.

The large per-

C h art i

CO M PARISO N OF H OUSIN G STARTS AND
MOBILE HOME SHIPMENTS, 1960-1969
Thousands

centage of retired couples also contributes to a lower
median income level for mobile home dwellers.
PROBLEMS FACING THE MOBILE HOME INDUSTRY
Although the low cost of mobile homes makes them
attractive for purchase by several income groups in
the United States, the mobile home industry faces
major obstacles in its efforts to assume an important
role in reducing the national housing shortage.
Am ong the most significant problems are those con­
cerned with park development, local zoning laws and
tax structures, and availability of favorable financial
terms for purchase of mobile homes and development
of parks.
Park Development U niversal C .I.T . Credit C or­
poration recently conducted a national survey of
mobile home dealers to determine the major obstacles
to future growth in the industry. Forty-three per
cent of the dealers responding to the national survey
cited shortage of parks as the main problem that
should be solved to improve sales. W oodall Publish­
ing Company, which publishes the Mobile Home
Park Directory, claims that there is a sizeable
shortage of park space. Their figures show an in­
crease of 118,105 mobile home sites in 1969 com ­
pared to a gain of 77,444 in 1968. Although W oodall
compiles statistics on less than 55 per cent of the
sites, the Company contends that the remaining sites
are filled. Specific figures on the shortage of park
space are very difficult to determine, since approxi­
mately 50 per cent of all mobile homes produced are
placed in rural areas or backyards of suburban land
developments.
Recent ventures into construction of mobile home
parks by corporate giants indicate a widespread feel­
ing among these firms that shortages of space will
provide sufficiently attractive returns to warrant con­
tinued expansion in the industry. Some of the re­
cently developed parks are designed to give the ap­
pearance of a typical suburban housing development.
Some parks also provide swimming pools, community
centers, and golf courses.
Zoning and Taxation A n oth er m ajor obstacle to
future growth in the industry results from the re­
luctance of local government authorities to permit
parks to be built in areas zoned for residential
housing.
These restrictions drastically reduce the
quantity o f reasonably priced land available to
park developers and result in the location of
parks in sections that are unattractive for, and often
far removed from, other residential housing.

Source:

Mobile Homes M anufacturers Association and
U. S. Departm ent of Comm erce, Construction
Review .




Not

only does this cause the head of the household to
commute from outlying areas, but it often means that
3

schools and shopping centers are inconvenient for
tne mobile home dweller.
Recently some states have begun to regulate mobile
and other factory-built housing rather than leaving
supervision to local authorities. In Virginia, for e x ­
ample, a law which will become ettective July 1971,
provides that factory-built units and mobile homes
meeting state specifications will be allowed in all lo­
calities. The opposition which county officials have
expressed to this law illustrates why states must take
the initiative in zoning regulations. Since the major
criticisms cited by county officials have been over­
crowding of existing schools and increased need for
new schools, an influx of factory-built homes into the
counties may force local government officials to re­
evaluate the role of these homes in their overall
tax structure.
A t the present time, some states consider mobile
homes as vehicles and issue license plates, while
others treat them as personal property not subject to
real estate taxes. One state considers them home­
steads if they are attached to the ground, and owners
are permitted to claim a $3,000 homestead exemption.
The various ways that governmental units approach
the problem of taxing mobile home dwellers point to
the need for further study in determining an ap­
propriate tax structure.

C hart II

A V ER A G E CON STRUCTION COST OF PRIVATE
ONE-UNIT HOUSING, 1960-1969
D ollars

(N O N FARM )

Source:

U. S. Departm ent of Com m erce, Construction
Review.

F inancing T h e third m ajor problem con fron t­
ing the mobile home industry has been the financing
of new homes and parks. Recent legislation should
greatly ease financial conditions for both purchasers
and developers. In 1968 and again in 1969 Congress
passed housing legislation authorizing the Federal
Housing Administration to insure mobile homes.
The 1969 bill, passed in December, extended the
maximum repayment period to 12 years and in­
creased the maximum permissible size of the loan to
$10,000. In order to qualify for a loan, a borrower
must plan to use the mobile home as his principal
residence at least three-fourths of the year and must
have F H A approval of the proposed site.
Revised F H A regulations also provide more favor­
able conditions for park developers. They permit
loans to be insured up to a maximum of $3,500 per
space and permit repayment over a 40-year period.

tions for mobile home purchases vary widely through­
out the country, currently ranging from the 8 to
9 per cent average on conventional home mortgages
to the 18 per cent that other lenders charge for in­
stalment credit. The average effective interest rates
are usually 11 to 12 per cent, because mobile homes
are still considered vehicles and loans are made on
an instalment basis. Since these loans yield a higher
rate of return to financial institutions than most
other loans, mobile home buyers have been able to
finance their purchases in tight money periods.
Many commercial banks and savings and loan as­
sociations, however, are reluctant to begin making
mobile home loans. Financing in the past has been

The former regulation limited the insurance to $1,800

financing for dealers.

per space and the repayment period to 15 years.

have become more and more active in mobile home

Conventional retail financing of mobile homes is

concentrated in a small number of commercial banks
and finance companies which also provide inventory

and park financing.

Since 1965 finance companies
Statistics indicate not only a

currently similar to that of automobiles. The lending

higher rate of return on mobile home loans than most

institution usually buys consumer paper from the

other types of loans found in the portfolios of fi­

dealer.

Maturity terms range up to seven years for

nancial institutions, but also a lower delinquency

new homes and require only about a 10 per cent

rate than loans on one- and two-family houses in­

down payment.

sured by the F H A .

Rates charged by financial institu­


4


In an effort to allow Federal savings and loan as­
sociations to engage actively in mobile home financ­
ing, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board has en­
acted three changes. The recent ruling permits the
savings and loan industry to lower immediately its

C h art III

CON TRACT RATE ON C O N V EN TIO N A L FIRST
M O R TG A G ES FOR NEW HOMES, 1961-1969
Per Cent

ratio of liquid assets to total deposits from 6 to Sy2
per cent, thus freeing additional funds for lending
purposes; it formally authorizes Federal savings and
loan associations to finance mobile hom es; and it
allows them to lend up to 5 per cent of their assets
for new and used mobile homes. Maximum maturity
periods of 12 years are permitted for new homes and
8 years for used homes.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN HOUSING
D espite a threefold increase in sales since 1960,
mobile homes alone cannot fill the void in housing
requirements.

A likely candidate which has emerged

in recent years to fill this gap is the related modular
housing industry.

Like mobile

homes,

modular

homes are built in factories rather than at the resi­
dential site. One or more units are moved to the
location and are then assembled at the site.
The major advantages enjoyed by modular con­
struction firms over conventional contractors are
obvious.

Labor costs, as indicated earlier, are sub­

stantially lower for factory-produced housing than
for conventionally-built units.

Assembly line tech­

niques result in more efficiency and better quality
control than is possible in on-site building.

The rate

of output per man-hour is also considerably higher
for factory-built homes.
M odular units are no longer limited to a small
number of unattractive box-like structures.

Several

Note:

Interest rate data for 1961 and 1962 are F.H.A.
estim ates.
Source:
Federal Reserve Bulletin.

obstacles.

Problems

similar to

those facing

the

mobile home industry must be overcome if the po­
tential of the industry is to be realized.

In some

sections of the country, modular units are prohibited
since local building inspectors must be able to
examine wiring and plumbing at the home site.
F H A officials travel to factories to check units as
they are constructed, but local governments often do
not provide factory inspection. Before factory-built
housing receives general acceptance, the public must
be convinced that the quality of workmanship equals
or surpasses that of conventionally-built homes.

firms now have the ability to produce single- or
multiple-family housing units in a variety of shapes
with choices of wood, aluminum, and brick-veneer

W ith the total number of households expected to

sidings.
H U D ’s “ Operation Breakthrough” provides an in­

grow from approximately 63 million in 1970 to 84
million in 1985, total housing requirements in this

dication of the importance of modular construction

cou n try. will continue to increase.

in satisfying future housing needs.

have emerged as one possible means for satisfying a

The project’s

CONCLUSIONS

major purpose is to develop methods for producing

small portion of the housing needs.

reasonably-priced high-density housing.

greatest potential,

H U D se­

however,

lected 22 companies to participate in Government-

modular construction.

sponsored nationwide building projects.

Mobile homes
Perhaps the

lies in multiple-unit

Rising land and construction

The em­

costs necessitate the development of methods that will

phasis is apparent when examining the plans of the

provide high-density low-cost housing, and modular

award-winning firm s; for example, one H U D award

construction appears to be the most likely candidate

winner plans to build two 150-unit high-rise apart­

to meet these qualifications.

ment houses using modular units.
Modular construction, however, is not without its



Clyde H . Farnsworth, Jr.
H. Suzanne Jones
5

Fifth District Investors and the Bill Market
In 1969 individuals, particularly small investors,
became increasingly important as purchasers of
Treasury bills. These obligations have traditionally
been a popular short-term investment for banks and
other financial institutions, nonfinancial corporations,
state and local governments, and U. S. Government
trust accounts. The Federal Reserve System carries
out its open-market operations mostly through pur­
chases and sales of Treasury bills. Individual in­
vestors have shown little interest in Treasury bills,
generally placing their funds in commercial bank
savings deposits or with savings and loan associations
or mutual savings banks where interest rate ceilings
are fixed by the various regulatory agencies. In
1969, as rates paid on Treasury bills greatly exceeded
these ceilings, individuals began increasingly to in­
vest their money directly in Treasury bills and other
market instruments, bypassing the financial institu­
tions. This article discusses the changing par­


6


ticipants in Fifth District Treasury bill auctions
during 1969 and early 1970.
A t present the Treasury sells four types of bills
on a regular basis. Each month the Treasury auc­
tions $0.5 billion of bills maturing in nine months
and $1.2 billion of bills maturing in twelve months.
And each week the Treasury offers $1.8 billion of
bills due in three months and $1.3 billion of sixmonth bills. The bills sold in these regular auctions
replace maturing issues. In addition to its regular
bill auctions, the Treasury occasionally offers strips
of bills, tax anticipation bills, notes, and bonds.
The Federal Reserve Banks act as agents of the
U. S. Treasury in marketing the new Federal issues.
The weekly auctions of three- and six-month bills
are held each Monday at the various Federal Reserve
Banks and their branches.
Tenders for Treasury bills may be submitted
through commercial banks, or directly to the Federal
Reserve Bank by the subscriber or his agent. Often
a single tender form from a commercial bank may
contain bids from many investors. In 1969, as a
growing number of investors entered the market,
more and more banks began to charge a fee for this
service.

A s a result many investors in the Fifth

District submitted their bids directly to the Federal
Reserve Bank of Richmond or to its Baltimore or
Charlotte Branches. The first chart shows a monthly
average of the number of tenders submitted and the
average issue rates for the weekly bill auctions. The
average number of tenders submitted directly in­
creased from 57 in January 1969 to 272 in January
1970.
The second chart shows that the number of sub­
scribers submitting bids in weekly auctions, whether
directly or through banks, increased from an average
of 310 in January 1969 to 992 in January 1970.
The number of bids submitted by Fifth District
banks, nonbank financial institutions, nonprofit in­
stitutions, state and local governments, and businesses
remained relatively stable over the year.

The bulk

of the gain came from individuals whose bids num­
bered on average around 200 a week in early 1969
and 858 bids a week in January 1970.
As the number of participants in weekly bill auc­
tions increased, the total dollar value of bids sub­
mitted rose.

A s shown in the third chart the average

' weekly value of bids in the Fifth District climbed
from $12.8 million in January 1969 to $31.4 million
in January 1970.

Not all of the rise was due to in­

creased participation of individuals in the market.
W hile the number of banks and other institutions
submitting bids did not grow substantially, there was
an increase in the size of bids, particularly from
banks, nonbank financial institutions, and state and
local governments. The average size of bids from
individuals remained relatively constant at about $20
thousand during most of 1969, but dropped to around




the $16 thousand level in December 1969 due to the
increased number of small bids.
The peak of activity in weekly Treasury bill auc­
tions was reached in January and February 1970,
after having begun to accelerate in July 1969. March
1970 saw a reversal of this trend. The Treasury De­
partment increased the minimum denomination of
Treasury bills from $1,000 to $10,000, effective
March 5, 1970. The increased minimum denomina­
tion of bids together with declining rates and the
lifting of interest rate ceilings at banks and other
thrift institutions led to reduced participation in
Treasury bill auctions. The number of tenders o f­
fered in the Fifth District fell from 345 in February
to 107 in March, primarily because of a decline in
directly submitted tenders. The number of bids
placed dropped from an average of 850 a week in
February to 381 in March. This decrease was due
almost entirely to reduced bids from individuals.
The average size of individual bids increased to about
$23 thousand in March, following the increase in the
minimum denomination of Treasury bills.
W ynnelle Wilson and M arjorie Solomon

7

THE FLOW-OF-FUNDS ACCOUNTS
Though the first form of the flow-of-funds accounts
had been developed by 1952,1 and has been published
by the Board of Governors since 1955, knowledge of
this system of accounts and of its possibilities for
economic analysis appears to be limited to a few o f­
ficial and academic quarters. Yet, the information
mobilized in these accounts is of great potential use­
fulness not only for the professional economist and
the policy-maker, but also for observers of current
and prospective conditions in the country’s financial
markets.
The flow-of-funds accounts provide a basis for
m easuring financial flow s through the econom y.
Dividing the economy into sectors, the accounts
record purchases and sales of goods and services for
each sector, capital flows to and from each sector,
and changes in balances of money, other deposits,
money market instruments, and financial positions
in general.
Like any other accounting framework, the flow-offunds rests on certain equalities. On a business
balance sheet, assets equal liabilities plus net worth.
Similarly, in the flow-of-funds accounts, one person’s
financial asset equals another’s liability. This is the
basic equation of the flow-of-funds framework. The
conceptual usefulness of the flow-of-funds lies in its
provision of a measurement of credit flows and of
the monetary needs of the economy. Some con­
tinuous balance must be maintained between total
credit actually used (borrow ed) by all sectors and
total credit advanced by all sectors, including the
monetary authorities.
The flow'-of-funds accounts
make use of this equality to analyze this balance.
More importantly, the accounts offer a method of
analyzing the relationship between credit flows and
nonfinancial flows for each major sector. From such
analysis inferences may be drawn respecting the
amount of new money which must be supplied to the
economic and financial system if economic growth is
to proceed at capacity rate. E nough cash should
be provided to support an expanding volume of
transactions and to support additional purchasing
power needed to buy the increment in output at
stable prices.
RELATION TO NATIONAL INCOME ACCOUNTS
The flow-of-funds are closely related to national
income-product

accounts.

The

national

income-

product aspect of social accounting provides a means
of viewing the economy’s real output produced and
distributed in each sector, without specific informa­
tion about the money or financial flows that have
accompanied income and production. The flow -offunds system is specifically concerned with the fi­
nancial sector and complements the national income
approach by illustrating how one sector’s saving fi­
nances investment of another sector, and by showing
the impact of financial transactions on income and
product.

In particular, saving is used either to ac­

quire assets or to reduce liabilities.
STOCKS AND FLOWS
The flow-of-funds data published in the Federal
Reserve Bulletin are divided into ‘ sources’ and ‘uses’
and assets and liabilities.

The ‘source-use’ classifica­

tion refers to flows, and asset-liability, to stocks of
funds.

These labels may be best understood by

analogy with business accounting statements.

T able I

SUM M ARY STATEM ENT BASED ON
N A TIO N A L INCOM E AND PRODUCT A CC O U N TS
($ billions)
Federal Governm ent
1. G N P Expenditures
2. Proceeds received from
fin al sales1
3. Line 1 minus line 2
4. Personal taxes minus transfer
paym ents, grants, and
net interest
5. Nl and P deficit
6. Sum of lines 4 and 5




States

-

1964
________

1965-67
(total)

65.3

234.5

61.6
3.7

221.7
12.8

0.1
3.8
3.7

11.0
13.0

563.4

1,986.2

567.1
3.7

1,999.0
12.8

0.1

2.0

2.0

All O ther Sectors
7. G N P Expenditures
8. Proceeds received from
fin al sale s2
9. Line 8 minus line 9
10. Personal taxes minus tran sfer
paym ents, grants, and
net interest
11. Net funds ad van ced to
Federal Governm ent'5
12. Sum of lines 10 and 11

-

3.8
3.7

10.8
12.8

1 C orporate profits tax liability plus indirect business ta x and non­
tax liability plus contributions for social security insurance less
subsidies minus current surplus of Governm ent enterprises.
2 G ross n ational income less 2.
3 G ross private saving plus state and
minus gross investment.

1Morris A . Copeland, Study o f M oneyflow s in the United
(N e w Y o rk : N ational Bureau of Economic Research, 1952.)

The

income statement of a firm represents a flow of in-

Source:

local governm ent surplus

Departm ent of Com m erce, Survey of Current Business.

come into and expenditures out of a business. The
balance sheet is an instantaneous picture of the fi­
nancial position of the firm at a given point in time,
usually the end of a year. Sources and uses of funds
are analogous to the income statement, measuring
increments in financial holdings of each sector.
Assets and liabilities are similar to the balance sheet
and present a picture of the stock of financial hold­
ings outstanding at the end of the year for each sector.
The flow-of-funds accounts classify sectors as fol­
lows : households, businesses (corporate and non­
corporate), state and local governments, the Federal
Government, the rest of the world, and the financial
sector. The financial sector includes the monetary
authorities, commercial banks, and nonbank financial
institutions. The Treasury’s monetary accounts are

outstanding, which had shown fairly stable growth
at about 8 per cent per year from 1960 to 1965,
slowed to a growth rate of 5 per cent in 1966 and
2 per cent in 1969. The 1969 rate followed 10 per
cent rates of increase in 1967 and 1968. Bank credit
flows, measured as a percentage of total credit, also
reveal the effect of the monetary restraint. A s may
be seen in Chart I-A , this percentage fell sharply in
the first quarter of 1966 and 1969 and remained
relatively low throughout each year.
On the other hand, even though funds from bank
credit fell sharply, the total volume of funds advanced
in all credit markets was high in 1966 and 1969
when compared to previous years. Judging from
the behavior of total credit extended by commercial
banks, these institutions felt the effects of monetary

included under the monetary authorities sector.

stringency more than other lending institutions.

SOME EXAMPLES
The analytical usefulness of flow-of-funds data can
be illustrated by considering credit flows in 1966
and 1969, both years of stringent credit restraint.
Over both years, the economy experienced rising in­
terest rates accompanied by little growth in the money
supply and bank reserves.

The stock of bank credit

The other major sources of credit are:

(1 ) non­

bank financial institutions, which include savings and
loan associations, mutual savings banks, insurance
companies, etc. and (2 ) direct lending in security
markets by nonfinancial sectors such as individuals
and nonfinancial businesses.

As shown in Charts

I-B and I-C, it is clear that when bank credit flows
declined, the resulting shortages of funds were met
by direct lending and to some extent by nonbank
financial institutions.
T o illustrate, bank credit flows were reduced in

Chart l-A

C H A N G E S IN C RED IT FRO M COAAM ERCIAL B A N K S
R ELA TIV E T O T O T A L C RED IT FLO W S
Per Cent




the first quarter of 1964.

A t the same time, credit

from direct lending and nonbank financial institu­
tions met the demand. During the monetary restraint

Table II

U. S. GOVERN M EN T SECTOR
SOURES AND USES OF FUNDS
($ billions)

Sources
1. Total nonfinancial sources
2. Increase in outstanding
obligations
3. Increase in trade debt and
m iscellaneous liabilities
Total

1964

(A verage
Per Year)
1965-67

1968

115.0

139.5

176.3

6.4

6.1

13.4

.9

2.1

2.2

122.3

147.7

191.9

52.3
12.9
22.8
8.3
23.3
.6

63.5
16.0
28.0
9.4
28.8
.2

78.0
21.5
33.5
11.6
38.2
1.7

Uses
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Expenditures on defense
O ther expenditures
G ra n ts, donations, etc.
Interest paym ents
Insurance benefits
Increase in cash
Increase in other fin an cial
assets
Total

Source:

3.9

3.9

11.0

124.0

149.4

192.1

Federal Reserve Bulletin.

9

of 1966, however, both bank credit and lending from
nonbank financial institutions fell. Bank credit de­
clined in the first quarter of 1966, and the per­
centage of credit from nonbank financial institutions
began to drop beginning in the fourth quarter of
1965. But direct lending began to rise during the
first quarter of 1966. Commercial banks again felt
the squeeze of tight money in 1969 when direct lend­
ing increased sharply in the first quarter. Credit
flows from nonbank financial institutions did not
diminish until the third quarter of that year. Both
1966 and 1969 were years in which direct lending
supplied a large portion of credit.
In ‘normal’ periods, bank credit and nonbank fi­
nancial flows remain fairly stable, and direct lending
is relatively low. Credit funds tend to flow through
intermediaries, e.g., banks, savings and loan associa­
tions, mutual savings banks, etc., during periods of
nonrestrictive monetary policy. In contrast, the data
suggest that a larger fraction of total funds advanced
are supplied directly by other sectors of the economy
during periods of monetary restraint. Interest rate
ceilings and other regulations which affect the lend­
ing activities of the financial sector made it profitable
for individuals and nonfinancial businesses, which
ordinarily provided funds to the financial sector, to
lend directly in the credit markets.

The increased

activity of individuals in Treasury bill auctions and
sales in the past year is a good example of this point.

In terms of long-run trends, it appears that there is
an inverse relationship between credit supplied by
financial institutions and by private investors.
Uses of Funds Chart II presents the percentage
shares of total credit flows going to each sector for
the decade of the 1960’s. W hile state and local gov­
ernments and the foreign sector received a relatively
constant share of credit, the other three sectors’
shares fluctuated a great deal more.
The per cent share going to households was rela­
tively stable until the tight money period of 1966,
when it decreased from 40.9 per cent in 1965 to
33.9 per cent. The household sector experienced an
even greater reduction of about 10 percentage points
in 1967. The proportion going into the business
sector declined during the first half of the 1960’s but
began increasing in 1965. In 1965, the Federal G ov­
ernment had a very low percentage, 2.4 per cent, of
total credit funds raised. Its share rose to 5.1 per
cent in 1966, and to 15.7 per cent in 1967. The rise
in the Government’s share was at the expense of
both the business and household sectors. When
monetary policy eased in 1968, the household’s share
increased, while the shares of business and Govern­
ment dropped by 6 percentage points and 2 per­
centage points, respectively. In 1969, the Federal
Government was a net redeemer of debt, while busi­
nesses and households increased their share of credit
flows. Considering the long-term trends, it appears
that the business sector has been increasing its share
of credit relative to the other sectors for the last
five years.
Financing the Government Deficit2 Chart II
shows that the Government did little borrowing in
1965 and 1966 relative to the rest of the economy,
but greatly increased its credit demands in 1967.
Though its share fell back in 1968 from 1967, the
Federal Government still maintained a large per­
centage share compared to the other sectors.
Using national income accounts, it is possible to
determine Federal nonfinancial receipts and ex­
penditures and the resulting surplus or deficit. Such
receipts and expenditures can also be determined for
the remaining sectors of the system.
Table I
presents the picture for 1964 and 1965-1967. During
the 1965-1967 period, the Government had a total
deficit of $12.8 billion. The other economic units,
which include households, businesses, state and local
governments, banking, and the rest of the world, had
a nonfinancial surplus of $12.8 billion. Hence, the

I9 60
Source:

1961

1962

1963

1964

Federal Reserve Bulletin.


10


1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

2This portion o f this paper is an updating o f Morris A . Copeland’s
analysis, “ Some Illustrative Analytical Uses o f Flow -of-Punds D ata,”
in N .B .E .R ., The Flow o f Funds Approach to Social A ccounting
(P rinceton: Princeton University Press, 1962 ), pp. 195-238.

deficit of the Government was financed by the sur­
plus of the other sectors, or by the lending of these
sectors. This balance of deficit and surplus is the
information which the national income accounts
provide.
The flow-of-funds accounts, on the other hand,
show who purchased the Government bonds issued to
finance the deficit and to what extent it was financed
by the banking and monetary sector. Table II
shows funds raised by the Government, and column 1
of Table III shows fund flows to the Government
sector. The rest of Table III summarizes the other
uses and sources of funds. From column 1 of
Table III, it can be seen that the banking sector fi­
nanced $11.6 billion of the $12.8 billion deficit.
The two tables reveal the intersectoral balance of
the accounts. The Government deficit was made
up by net borrowing (lines 2 and 3 minus lines
9 and 10). The other economic units had a nonfinancial surplus of $12.8 billion, and the funds they
advanced, net of borrowing among themselves,
equaled the net amount borrowed by the Government.
This balance is analogous to that brought forth in
the national income accounts, and adds meaning

_______ i______i______i--------- 1--------- 1--------- 1--------- 1--------- 1---------1--------I960

Source:

1961

1962

1963

1964

Federal Reserve Bulletin.




1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

through the financial detail.
National incomeproduct accounts indicate that income equals con­
sumption plus investment, saving equals income
minus consumption, and, therefore, saving equals in­
vestment. This equality of saving and investment
is the balance brought out in the national income ac­
counts. The additional financial detail illustrates
clearly how the product and financial markets adjust
to each other through different market mechanisms.
In the product market, aggregate demand equals ag­
gregate supply, while in the financial market, there
is an adjustment in the demand for and supply of
loanable funds.

Table

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Many possibilities lie in the flow-of-funds data,
detailed analysis of which can add greater insight into
economic interactions and assist materially in policy­
making. The accounts are used regularly in the Fed­
eral Reserve System and the information they supply
is used by other policymaking groups as well. Con­
tinuing efforts are under way in the System to im­
prove the quality of information they provide. The
accounts also have more general usefulness, and it is
remarkable that they are not regularly employed
by economic analysts in the private sector of the
economy.
Sumiye Oknbo

Ml

OTHER SECTORS, SOURCES AND USE OF FUNDS
1965-67 TOTALS
($ billions)
SO U RCES
Sector

1
Increase in Federal
Obligation Held

2
N ature of Item
in Colum n 3

3
Sources a s in
Colum n 2

4
Increase in
Liabilities

6.5

Net Disposable
Source— Nonfin.

1,775.5

77.5

1,846.5

6.0
11.6

Current Surplus
Current Surplus

227.0
7.4

126.4
97.4

359.4
93.2

4.0

162.9

158.2

2,005.9

464.2

2,457.3

9
Increase in
O ther Financial
Assets

10
Total

1.

Households

2.
3.

Businesses
Banking

4.

O ther

0.7

Total

12.8

-

-

6

7

8

G N P Expenditures

N onfinancial
Uses, n. e. c.

Increase in
C ash on Hand

Households
Businesses
Banking
O ther

1,430.3
274.7
2.1
1.5

278.2
0.0
0.0
0.0

Total

1,708.6

278.2

USES

5.
6.
7.
8.

Total N onfin.
Sources of Funds

Source:

Federal Reserve Bulletin.


12


-

5
Total
3 + 4 -

6 + 7 + 8

98.4
2.0
4.0
1.1

54.5
64.1
82.3
141.7

1,861.4
336.8
88.4
144.3

101.5

342.6

2,430.9