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~jf~~IIRLFE DE RAL RESERVE BANK 0 F SAN FRANCIS C 0
TWELFTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT

WASHINGTON

Interest Rates on New Business Loans,
December 1958-September 1959 • page 154

UTAH

Review of Business Conditions • • • page 159

1\11




ARIZONA

NEVADA

ates on
er 1958
lending to business during the last
four quarters has been carried on under
rapidly changing monetary and economic conditions, which have been reflected in changing
interest rates charged on new business loans.
The monetary and economic setting has ranged
from the relative credit ease of the last quarter of 1958, when the economy was still recovering from the 1957-58 recession, to the
much-remarked "tight money" conditions,
which emerged as the economy moved into a
phase of vigorous expansion as 1959 progressed. Although the steel strike which began
July 15 slowed industrial production in the
third quarter of 1959, business loans of weekly reporting member banks both in the District and in the nation continued to rise;
money market rates and interest rates on business loans also continued their upward trend.
The movement of interest rates charged by
banks on new loans to business concerns is
shown by data obtained from the Quarterly
Interest Rate Survey conducted by the Federal Reserve System. Selected banks report
separately each business loan of $1,000 or
more which was made during the first 15 days
of March, June, September, and December.
In the Twelfth District, interest rate data are
reported by 24 bank offices in five major
cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland,
Seattle, and Salt Lake City. These reporting
bank offices account for more than one-third
of total business loans outstanding at Twelfth
District banks. This article discusses interest
rate data from the last four quarterly reporting periods, December 1-15, 1958, through
September 1-15, 1959. Beginning with the
December reporting period, the inclusion of
data on maturity of loans and the finer classification of line of credit and non-line of credit
loans have permitted a more broadly based
and more detailed analysis of interest rates
charged on new business loans than was preANK

B

154




sLoan
er 1959
viously possible. Variation in seasonal factors
during the four quarters is not considered to
have significantly altered the trends shown by
the data.
During each of the last four quarterly reporting periods, loans maturing within one
year or less (short-term loans) accounted for
more than 97 percent of the total number of
loans reported and accounted for from 91
percent to 97 percent of the total dollar volume of reported loans. (See Chart 1). These
figures may seem in sharp contrast to the findings of the Commercial and Industrial Loan
Survey of October 1957, which showed that of
the total business loans outstanding at Twelfth
District member banks only 54.5 percent of
the total number of loans and 61.1 percent
of the total dollar volume were short-term
loans. One explanation of the apparent conflict is that although long-term loans (those
maturing in over one year) are only a small
percentage of new business loans made, their
cumulative weight resulting from their longer
maturity periods forms a much larger proporCHART 1
BUSINESS LOANS MADE
SEPTEMBER 1-15, 1959, BY 24 BANK OFFICES
IN 5 MAJOR OTIES, TWELFTH DISTRICT

0

UND£11'011£ YUit

•

OVER OM£ YUR

9<1.4
.•.•:.·

DOLLAR

•

•.·..·:

:-:

~~~~liNT

2.2

'---------=9~7.8:__ _ __ .1/UII~ER .(JF LOA II$
TOTAL · DOLLAR AMOUNT 482 T M I L LI ON . NUMBER OF LOANS 544 3

0

PERCENT

Sou~e:

25

50

75

100

"Quarterly Interest Rate Survey," Twelfth District.

November 1959

MONTHLY REVIEW

tion of outstanding loans. This cumulative
weight of long-term loans can also result in a
sizeable difference between the average interest rate on outstanding loans and that on
new loans.
Chart 1 also illustrates another major characteristic by which new business loans made
by Twelfth District reporting banks may be
distinguished, i.e., loans that are made under
a line of credit extended by the lending bank
to the business borrower, and loans that are
not made under a line of credit. During each
of the last four quarterly reporting periods,
business loans extended under a line of credit
accounted for about five-sixths (from 82 percent to 86 percent) of the total dollar volume
of reported loans, but only accounted for
about one-half of the total number of reported
loans, specifically, from 45 percent to 50 percent. Most big loans reported on the Quarterly Interest Rate Survey by Twelfth District
banks are extended under lines of credit;
about 91 percent of the total dollar volume
of loans of $200,000 or more and 87 percent
of the total number of such loans were line
of credit loans.
The interest rate charged on a bank loan to
a business borrower varies according to whether the loan is short-term or long-term, and is
a composite reflection of such additional factors as size of loan, asset size of borrower,
business of borrower, and type of collateral
offered. Loans reported on the Interest Rate
Survey by Twelfth District banks also show
that, in general, lower interest rates are
charged on business loans extended under a
line of credit than on business loans which
are not made under a line of credit. Since we
have only limited data on the characteristics
of the borrowers, and since these characteristics are probably associated with their having
lines of credit, examination of size composition of loans is a more meaningful classification. Data from reporting banks indicate that
large loans account for a higher percentage of
the total loans extended under a line of credit.



Table 1 below shows the size composition
and average interest rates of line of credit
loans and non-line of credit loans made by
reporting bank offices during September 1-15,
1959.
1

TABLE

SHORT-TER
PORTED BY
TWELFTH DISTRICT BANKS
Septem

- 5
%of
Dollar
Volume

%of
Number of
Loans

Average
Interest
Rate

Under $10
Line of Credit
Non-Line of Credit

0.88
6.72

25.78
57.12

6.09
6.25

$10-99.9
line of Credit
Non-Line of Credit

11.75
28.89

49.54
36.87

5.83
5.85

$100-199.9
Line of Credit
Non-Line of Credit

8.91
11.86

10.05
2.91

5.51
5.69

$200 and over
Line of Credit
Non-Line of Credit

78.46
52.53

14.63
3.10

5.31
5.26

60.92
33.38

6.23
0.91

5.29
5.23

Loan Size
(in thousands of dollars)

$500 and over
Line of Credit
Non-line of Credit

Total Dollar Volume
(in thousonds of dollars!
Line of Credit
$371,841
Non-Line of Credit
83,699
Totol Number of Loans
Line of Credit
Non-line of Credit

5.40
5.54

2,618
2,647

Interest rate survey data show that the difference between the average interest rate
charged on all short-term loans made under a
line of credit and that charged on those not
made under a line of credit narrowed progressively from 0.55 percentage point in the
December 1958 period to 0.14 percentage
point in the September 1959 period, so that
the difference between the two average rates
diminished by 0.41 point over the four reporting periods; four-fifths of this diminution
occurred during the last two reporting periods, i.e., June and September. In the June
1959 and September 1959 reporting periods,
the average interest rates charged on line of

155

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO

credit loans in the "$200 thousand and over"
and the "$500 thousand and over" size categories were higher than those on non-line of
credit loans; whereas in the December 1958
and March 1959 reporting periods, the average interest rates on line of credit loans were
lower than those of non-line of credit loans in
all loan size categories shown in Table 1. In
this connection, it may be mentioned that it is
common practice of leading Twelfth District
bank offices to tie the rate of interest charged
on line of credit loans to the prime rate, which
is the rate charged large business concerns
with the best credit ratings; hence the interest
rate on line of credit loans is significantly influenced by changes in the prime rate. The
prime rate increased in mid-May from 4 percent to 41;2 percent, and increased in early
September to 5 percent. It is therefore not
surprising that interest rates on line of credit
loans were sharply higher in June and September reporting periods, and that average interest rates charged on the largest loans were
higher for line of credit loans than for nonline of credit loans in these two periods.
The ratio of line of credit loans to total
loans reported, from the standpoint of dollar
volume and number of loans, remained relatively steady during the first three quarters
considered, but showed some change during
the September 1959 reporting period, when
the proportion of line of credit loans fell by
dollar volume, but rose by number.

TABLE2

AVERAO
RATES,
ALL LOAN SIZES
Maturity Period•

Reportlnl Period
Oec. 1-15, Mar. 1-15, June 1-15, Sept.1·15,
1958
1959
1959
1959

Demand

1 month
3 months
6 months
Over 6 months
to 1 year

156




5.06
4.78
4.61
4.92

5.17
5.03
4.93
5.29

5.47
5.57
5.36
5.33

4.76

5.44

5.31

5.52

4.78

4.82

5.00

5.52

5.08

5.22

5.10

5.28

All loans, 1 year
or less

All loans over
1 year

• Estimate based on a cut-ofl date of the 25th of the month.

term interest rates from the December 1958
reporting period to the September 1959 reporting period; during this time, the average
interest rate on short-term loans rose 0.7 4
percentage point, while the average interest
rate on long-term loans rose 0.20 percentage
point.
The rising cost of business borrowing during the four quarters considered is reflected in
rising interest rates by size of loan as well as
by maturity category. The following table
shows the change in interest rates from December 1958 to September 1959.
If business concerns borrowing $200 thousand or more per loan are considered to be

The rise in interest rates
The upward trend in interest rates during
the four quarters is also shown by the following table of average interest rates by major
maturity categories.
It is interesting to note that in the September 1-15 reporting period the average interest
rate on short-term loans (one year or under)
was higher than that on long-term loans, thus
reversing the usual pattern. The pressure of
demand on the short-term money market is
reflected in the relatively sharp rise in short-

4.92
4.71
4.64
4.94

TABLE

3
-TERM LOANS

INTEREST RA
Loan Size

Average Interest Rates

(in thousands

of do llars)

Dec. 1·15, Mar.1·15, June 1·15, Sept.1-15,
1958
1959
1959
1959
Under $10

$10-99.9
$100-199.9
$200 and over
$500 and over
All sizes

5.77
5.34
4.92
4.68
4.64
4.80

5.88
5.39
5.06
4.64
4.60
4.83

5.96
5.57
5.25
4.91
4.87
5.05

6.19
5.84
5.55
5.31
5.27
5.42

November 1959

MONTHLY REVIEW

"large" borrowers, the above data show that
interest rates charged on business loans to
large borrowers during the March reporting
period fell below December levels while interest rates on loans to small and medium-sized
borrowers rose slightly. However, most of the
interest rate increase during the four quarters
was concentrated in the interval between the
March 1-15 and September 1-15 reporting
periods; during the March-September interval, the rise in average interest rates was
greater for business loans to large borrowers
than to small and medium-sized borrowers,
in terms of absolute increase in percentage
points as well as relative increase.
How well small and medium-sized borrowers fared relative to big borrowers depends
not only upon the interest rates charged, but
also upon whether they were granted needed
bank credit. The table below shows the percentages of total dollar volume and of total
number of loans extended to given loan size
categories.
From the table below, it is clear that as demand became greater relative to available
funds, there occurred some shift of lending
into large loans (those of $200 thousand or
more) from the standpoint of both percentage of total dollar volume and of total number of loans. However, since both the dollar
volume and number of loans extended increased, small and medium-sized borrowers
were not receiving a smaller dollar amount of

credit. For example, while the percentage of
total dollar volume extended in loans of under
$10 thousand fell from 2. 33 percent in March
to 1.87 percent in September, the actual dollar amount of these loans rose from $8,671
thousand in March to $9,007 thousand in
September; similarly, the total dollar percentage of loans of $10-99.9 thousand fell from
16.71 percent to 14.40 percent, while the actual dollar amount loaned rose from $62,322
thousand in March to $69,534 thousand in
September. The actual number of loans extended in the under $10 thousand category
fell very slightly from March to September,
while the number of loans extended in the
$10-99.9 thousand loan size category was
higher in the September period than in the
March period.
The mounting demand for available bank
funds, as reflected in higher interest rates on
business loans, can be clearly seen in Table 5.
Table 5 shows that one-half of the dollar
volume of all short-term business loans reported in March carried interest rates of less
than 5 percent, compared with a negligible
proportion in September; in September the
great bulk of loans was made at rates of 5
percent or over, but less than 6 percent, while
a full quarter of the dollar amount was loaned
at rates of 6 percent and over.
The rise in interest rates on bank loans to
business borrowers was not a singular mone-

TABLE4

DISTRIBUTION OF DOLLAR VOL
loan Size
(In thousands
of dollars)

Under $10
$10-99.9
$100-199.9
$200 and over
$500 and over




% of total dollar volume

Mar. 1·15,
1959
2.33

Sept. 1-15,
1959
1.87

MBER OF LOANS., 8Y LOAN SIZE
% of total number of loans
Total dollar volume
(in thousands of dollars)

Mar. 1·15,
1959

Sept. 1-15,
1959

45.31

41.36

March 1-15, 1959
September 1-1 5, 1959

$309,953
394,942

16.71

14.40

42.43

43.04

8.65

9.15

5.16

6.43

72.32

74.58

7.10

9.17

March 1-15,1959

2,285

57.61

56.92

3.21

3.80

September 1-15, 1959

2,737

Total number of loans

157

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO
TABLE 5
D
N
OF SHORT-TERM BUSINESS LOANS
BY INTEREST RATE CATEGORY
(In Pereent of Dollar Volume)

Interest Rate Category

Reporting Period

Less than 4% %
4% % or over, but less
than 5%
5% or over, but less
than 6%
6% or over
Total

March 1-15,
1959
34.1

Sept. 1-15,
1959
0.5

16.1

3.9

40.4
9.4
100.0

70.2
25.4
100.0

tary phenomenon, but occurred in conjunction with a general rise in money market rates,
accompanied by an increase in the discount
rate, as shown in the table below.
It is interesting to note that during this period, other money rates increased appreciably
more than did the average interest rate
charged on short-term business loans made by
Twelfth District banks. The average interest
rate on bank loans to business increased by
0.59 percentage point, while, at the same time,
the discount rate and the prime rate each rose
by a full percentage point, the rate on new
Treasury bills rose 1.19 percentage points,
TABLE 6

CHANGES I
L
RATES, MARCH 1959-S
Ma rch
1959
Average Interest rate on
short-term business loans
by Twelfth Distrid banks,
all loan sizes•
Discount rate
Prime rate
Rate on new 91-day
Treasury bills
Rate on prime 4-6 month
commercial paper
a New
b

158

14.83
3 .00b
4.00

September
1959

T

5.42
4.ooc
s .ood

2.85

4.04

3.35

4.63

l?ans reported during fi rst 1S days of the month.
Effecf.! ve March 12, Twelfth D istrict; raised from 2 J4 percent.
September 11, Twelfth District.
September 1, New York City banks.

~ Effec~ ve
d E ffective




and the rate which large corporations had to
pay to place their commercial paper rose 1.28
percentage points.
The national picture, in keeping with the
District pattern, was one of rising demand for
funds, as the economy hit its stride in a vigorous expansion. The gross national product,
which stood at a seasonally adjusted annual
rate of $457 billion in the fourth quarter of
1958, rose to a rate of $485 billion in the second quarter of 1959, but dropped to $479
billion in the third quarter under the adverse
effects of the steel strike. The index of industrial production climbed from 144 in December 1958 to a high of 155 in June 1959, although it fell in the third quarter due to the
steel strike, and was at 149 in September.
Consumer credit outstanding increased $4.9
billion during the period December 19 58
through September 1959. Loans at weekly
reporting member banks rose $11.7 billion
during the December 1958-September 1959
period. Swelling the ranks of borrowers in the
money and capital markets were large security issues by state and local governments to
cover the cost of new schools and other facilities needed for expanding communities and
major Treasury issues to replace maturing issues outstanding and to cover the $12.4 billion deficit of fiscal 1959. Another factor
which appears to have reinforced the upward
trend in interest rates was the apparent difficulty in further increasing the transactions
velocity of the active money supply, as measured by turnover of demand deposits. The
transactions velocity, after rising almost steadily since World War II, thus enabling the
available money supply to do mo re work,
leveled off from April through September, a
period of rapidly rising interest rates. In view
of the rising credit demands of consumers and
corporations, state and local governments,
and the Federal Government, the rising trend
in interest rates during the December 1958September 1959 period seems the natural outcome.

November 1959

MONTHLY REVIEW

Review of Business Conditions
HE effects of the steel strike had become
increasingly more widespread over the
economy before the moratorium established
by the Supreme Court decision in early November. This was reflected in the losses recorded in the September and October data
on production, employment, and personal income. The substantial cutback in automobile
output in the latter part of October, along with
additional production shutdowns in other
areas, suggests that the situation became more
serious during the early part of November.
Even with the return of labor to the mills after
November 7, there is still a time lag between
the start of operation and the time at which
the final steel products can be shipped in volume to customers. During this time, the critical status of steel stocks may bring further
shutdowns among steel users. Recovery to prestrike levels of output and job holding might
take until after the first of next year. Of course,
the direction of activity beyond that depends
upon the outcome of the current negotiations
during the 80-day "cooling off" period and
the underlying strength of demand.
There is some evidence that the steel strike,
while it may have affected the current levels
of economic activity, has not altered significantly the basic confidence that businessmen
and consumers have in the current economic
situation. For example, new orders in manufacturing, particularly for new machinery, increased during September, as did unfilled orders. Consumer demand also reveals elements
of strength in spite of income losses due to
the steel strike. Both retail and department
store sales are well above last year's levels.
The response to new automobile model introductions has been encouraging. October
sales of 527,000 United States produced cars,
the highest in history for this month, helped
push total retail sales in October up to the
peak reached in July. It is possible that some

T




of this buying might have been in response
to the expectation of an extended steel strike
during which new cars would no longer be
available, but this level of purchases is consistent with the spending pattern exhibited
throughout most of the year.
The capital and money markets appear to
have been fairly well insulated from the effects of the steel strike as the overall demand
for credit has remained strong. This was reflected in interest rates, which, although fluctuating, remained near levels attained earlier.
District employment dips in September

Nonfarm employment (seasonally adjusted) in the Twelfth District declined by 0.2
percent during the month of September. In
contrast with the two previous months, the
employment losses which occurred were not
fully offset by gains elsewhere. To a large degree, the losses resulted from the District labor disputes in copper mining, ship building,
and meat packing; to a lesser degree from
a reduction in employment in canning and
other food processing industries; and to the
TABLE

1

TWELn1t
NONFARM
EMPLOYMENT" BY TYPE OF INDUSTRY,
Au
1959
(Seasonally Adjusted)

Thousands of Workers

Manufacturing
Mining
Construction
Transportation
Trade
Finance
Service
Government
Total

Percentage
Change

August
1,776.4
68.9
434.9
525.5
1,494.4
308.6
891.2
1,281.1

ISeptember
1,764.5
58.1
432.6
530.0
1,496.3
307.8
891.8
1,284.1

Change
-11.9
-10.8
-2.3
4.5
1.9
-0.8
0.6
3.0

+
+
+
+

-0.7
-15.7
-0.5
0.9
0.1
-0.3
0.1
0.2

6,781.0

6,765.2

-15.8

-0.2

+
+
+
+

Source: State Employment A~ency, seasonally adjusted by Federa! Reserve Bank of San rancisco.

159

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANC I SC O

indirect effects of a continuation of the national steel strike. This is reflected, in part,
in the figures on the net change in employment by industry. The data indicate the largest net declines were in manufacturing and
mining, with 12,000 and 11,000 respectively.
Geographically, most of it occurred in Arizona and Utah, with California and Idaho
registering slight declines.
Employment gains, on the other hand,
were relatively modest during the month. Distributive and service industries, including
government, recorded slight employment
gains during the month, but on the average
the increases were less than in July or August.
Defense-related manufacturing industries increased employment only by a net of 1,500
workers in September, compared with the estimated additions of 10,000 and 5,000 respecTABLE

2

TWELFTH
NONFARM
EMPLOYMENT, BY STATE,
Aug
1959
(Seasonally AdJusted)
Percentage
Change

Thousands of Workers
August

Arizona
300.8
California 4,697.0
156.5
Idaho
Nevada
93.5
491.2
Oregon
Utah
250.4
Washington 788.4

September
296 .0
4,693.9
154.6
93 .9
495.1
242.5
789.2

Change

-4.8
-3.1
-1.9
+0.4
+3.9

-7.9
+ 0 .8

-1.6
0.0
-1.3
+0.4
+0.8
-3.3
+ 0. 1

Source: State Employment Agencies, seasonally adjusted by Fed·
era! Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

160

tively in July and August. Employment at
auto assembly plants rose by 4,500 after seasonal adjustment as the model changeover occurred somewhat earlier than in previous
years. There were also scattered gains in other
manufacturing industries, but, all in all, the
sum total of these increases was not sufficient
to offset the losses incurred.
Shortages of materials appear to have had
only a minor influence on September's em-




ployment level, although it is reported that
the beginning of some new construction projects may have been delayed. Even during
October, material shortages were probably
less serious in the District than nationally. For
example, the widespread shutdowns of General Motors plants in the rest of the nation
occurred a week or two in advance of those
in the District. However, as in the nation,
the shortage in stocks of steel was becoming
a more serious problem towards the first part
of November.

Consumer spending continues
as a positive factor
While running ahead of last year, the District department store sales index declined 5
percent during September and indications are
that it will also decline slightly in October.
However, this may be more a reflection of
consumer restraint stemming fro m the economic effects of the labor disputes of recent
months rather than any fundamental change
in consumer outlook. For example, District
department store sales for the four-week period ending October 31 were still 4 percent
higher than in the corresponding 1958 period.
The cumulative weekly sales for the year to
this date also continued to run 10 percent
ahead of the corresponding period of last
year. This compares with an increase of 7
percent for the nation.
National data indicate a strong buyer response to new model cars, and although the
available District data are less complete, they
suggest a similar response. Reports of very
low levels of automobile dealer inventories
for both 1959 and 1960 models in many of
the large metropolitan areas in the District
during October attest to a high level of sales
but may at the same time have played some
part in stimulating sales.

Construction activity declines
as lumber prices weaken
Construction activity in the District has
been at record high levels during the year

MONTHLY REVIEW

November 1959

primarily as a result of the housing boom.
However, the boom may be over, as indicated
by the recent declines in District residential
construction contracts and building permits.
Reduced availability of mortgage funds is reported as an increasingly important reason
for the expectation of a future decline. This
scarcity has been reflected both in the interest
rate on conventional mortgages and in the
price of Government-insured mortgages. The
Federal Housing Administration recently reported that the average interest rate on conventional first mortgages in the West has
risen from 6.20 percent on April 1 to 6.50
percent on October 1. In spite of the recent
increase in the interest rate on FHA-insured
mortgages, they are still selling substantially
below par in the District. In early November,
local financial sources reported that the FHA
5% percent, 30-year maturity, minimum
down payment mortgages were quoted at 94
and 95 for future and immediate delivery respectively. The price on similar 5Y4 percent
mortgages was 91 and 92. The impact of this
"tightness" is beginning to be reflected in the
decline in District FHA applications for proposed new dwelling units. In September, these
applications were 7 percent below the total
for August, which in turn was less than that
for July.
TABLE

Not all of these difficulties can be attributed
to mortgage market conditions, however.
There is some evidence that housing demand
in the District may have weakened. Department of Commerce estimates of vacancies in
the we~ tern region show increases in the second ar.d third quarters of this year for both
rental and owner-occupied units.
The lumber industry continues to reflect
uncertainties. Sawmill prodaction has been at
relatively high rates recently, with September
output 5 percent above that of August and 4
percent higher than the same period a year
ago. Moreover, seasonally adjusted employment has been expanding since midsummer.
This has occurred in spite of moderately falling prices. However, mill inventories are beginning to increase while jobber replacement
CHART 1
MILL PRICES OF WESTERN PRODUCED
LUMBER FOR FIRST 10 MONTHS OF 1959
DOLLARS PER THOUSAND BOARD FEET

100

90

80

70

3

NSTRUCTION
CONTRACTS FOR FIRST NINE MONTHS

9

60
FIll.

(Millions of dollars)

M

J

J

A'

0

1959

*Wtstern Pine Associatwn.
Source: Crow's Lumber Digest.
First Nine
First Nine Percentage
Months 1958 months 1959 Change

Residential Construction

4,911
2,267

5,485
2,976

+12.2
+31.3

Nonresidential
Construction

1,527

1,462

-4.4

Public Works and Utilities
Construction
11115

1,048

-6.0

Total Construction

Source: F. W. Dodge Corporation, Construction Contracts,
Dodge Re~~;ion VIII.



ordering is reported as slow. A part of the
problem is said to be the uncertainty with
respect to the demand for new housing.

Heavy crop marketings and
relatively low prices
Cash receipts of District farmers increased
seasonally between July and August as re-

161

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO

turns from marketings rose 6.6 percent, largely as a result of heavier crop marketings. Returns from the sale of District farm products
in August were 5 percent higher than a year
ago but were practically unchanged for the
J anuary-August period as a whole. Prices of
important District farm commodities during
the three-week period ending October 23 did
not change significantly but were generally
somewhat below year-ago levels. Cotton
prices ranged between 8-9 percent under
prices received last year.

162

District followed the national pattern of a
seasonal rise in loans to food, liquor, and tobacco processors, to commodity dealers, and
to wholesale and retail trade. Loans to metals
and metal product producers did fall, the only
real indication of a strike-induced movement.
Of particular interest is the reduction in
loans to domestic commercial banks, the largest decline in any category of loans. This
movement shows, as do other related data,
the end of a period of about 10 weeks in
which District banks were net sellers of Federal funds. From about early July until midBank loans up, investments down
October, District banks sold heavily in the
District banking activity fo r the four-week
Federal funds market relative to their purperiod ending October 28 ..""eveals few of the
chases and thereby served as a source of reconsequences of the recent wave of labor disserves
to the rest of the nation. The fact that
putes. Total loans (adjusted) were up $70
they have ceased being net sellers of these
million from the previous month. This adfunds may indicate a further tightening in the
vance was dominated by an increase in comreserve positions of the banks.
mercial and industrial loans. In general, the
Holdings of United
TABLE4
States Government securities by weekly reporting
CHANGES IN SELE
D
LANCIE SHEET ITEMS
member banks fell by $23
OF' WEEKLY REPORTING MEMBER BANKS,
TWELFTH D
STATES
million during October,
(In millions of dollars)
although the banks added
$60 million of Treasury
United States
Twelfth District
bills to their portfolios.
Change
Change
The lower total holdings
From
Outstanding
Outstanding
From
9/30/ 59
9/30/ 59
10/ 28/ 59
10/28/ 59
resulted from a liquidation
of certificates and "over 5
65,244
102
14,204
Loans Adjusted
+ 70
year" bonds. The overall
6 7,547
14,531
+ 113
Loans Gross
+ 26
net decline was, however,
Commercial and Industrial
29,5 16
4 ,82 7
Loans
+ 37
+ 89
only one-tenth of the de936
8
Agricultural Loans
585
- 17
crease in September and
Loans to other Non- bank
one-seventh of that in July
279
5,271
Financial Institutions
677
+ 30
Loans to Domestic Commercia l
and August.
94 5
44
107
+ 117
Banks
The prices of outstand12,527
5,261
Real Estate Loans
+ 74
+ 16
ing California municipal
14,2 15
-24
2 ,7 57
Other Loans
+ 28
bonds increased during
28 ,194
5,67 5
23
U. S. Government Securities
+ 76
157
9 ,950
2,063
-33
Other Securities
October. In part, this may
61,239
Demand Deposits Ad justed
11 ,213
+1,069
+ 108
be a reflection of the relaTi me De posits
10,65 4
32,030
33
272
tively light offerings durN.A.
N.A.
9,338
Savings Acco unts
+ 47
ing the month. The volume of municipal bonds
Source : Federal Reserve Board of Govemors, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.




November 1959

MONTHLY REVIEW

of over $5 million issued in the Twelfth District during October was only $34 million, the
smallest for any month this year, and well
below the $63 million issued during the same
month a year ago. So far, only $33 million
appears to be scheduled for November, and




no large issues have as yet been announced
for any month in the fourth quarter. This represents a sharp decline from the activity of
the first three quarters of the year, which,
however, was substantially above the corresponding period of a year ago.

163

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SA N FRANC IS C O

BUSINESS INDEXES AND BANKING AND CREDIT STATISTICS-TWELFTH DISTRICT'
(Indexes: 1947-1949 = 100. Dollar amounts in mllliollll of doll an)
Year
and
month

1929
1933
1939
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1958

September
October
November
December

1959

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
AuguBt
September

Lumber

95
40

Industrlal production (physical volume}'
Pelroleoml
SteeP
Ci!pper'
Refined Cement
Crude

55
27
56
100
112
128
124
131
133
145
156
149
158

.. .

Total
nonagrlcultural
employment

Electric
PQWer

...

71

108r

98
106
107
109
106
106
105
101
94

78
50
63
103
103
112
116
122
119
122
129
132
124

93
93
93
93

130
130
127
125

179
186
159
165

149
152
169
164

119
132
139
129

228
238
238
236

139
139
140
140

92
92
92
92
92
93
92
92

125
126
128
130
128
128
136
136
132

161
142
171
178
188
186
192
191
176

168
187
192
213
216
205
75e
. ..

136
138
140
144
148
138
118

240
242
250
250
254
269
267

141
141
142
142
143r
143
144
144
144

100
114
113
115
116
115
122
120
106
]l()r

113r
114r
119r
12lr
118r
114r

l14r
119r
1llr
119r
lllr
113

99

92

24
97
125
146
139
158
128
154
163
172
142

103
17
80
93
115
116
115
113
103
120
131
130
116

29
26
40
108
119
136
144
161
172
192
210
224
229

103
112
118
121
120
127
134
138
137

76r

35

...

. ..
60

Waterborne Foreign Trade lndax
Year
and
Month

Exports

1929
1933
1939
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1958

October
November
December

1959
JanUArY
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October

Imports

91
186
171
140
132
104
199
229
174

107
87
80
194
200
137
139
176
258
306
210

243
81
108
175
129
145
123
149
117
123
123

118
141
136
137
157
163
183
197
213
213

57
199
88
660
1,836
4,224
2,803
3,594
7,029
10,008
8,986

174
178
170

207
201
218

127
145
101

712
545
762

221
235
231

13,516
8,633
14,589

237
153

243
181

228
144
217
139r
133r
139r

504
694
652

263
210
378
273

85

209

168
161r
167r
160

...
...
...

204

190
180r
188r
205
. ..
. ..

...

96

.. .
. ..
. ..

128

...
97

. ..

58lr
808r
596

302
270

6,799
13,375
7,810
9,101
8,516r
13,99()r
9,101

...

...

...

600

. ..
...

155
156
158

140
141
149
147

123
123
124
123

4.80

IGOr

94
81
91
97

161
162
163
164
163
164
165
163
162

98
03
97
94
101
95
88
105
87

150
155
155
153
154
161
161
162
154

124
123
123
123
123
123
123
123
123

... .
....

2,239

124
72
95
121
137
157
199
308
260
308
449
575
537

.. .

104
104
96
89

7

247

Dry Car110

277r
. ..
...

. ..
. ..

...

31
98
107
112
120
122
122
132
141
140
142

Tanker

150

...

•••

Bank rates
on short-term
busi ness loanst

64
42
47
100
100
113
115
113
113
112
114
118
123

Loans
and
discounts

Total

190
110
163

Dry Cargo

Retail
food
price.

30
18

77

94

98
100
100
100
96

Condition Items of all member banks•

Tankar

Total

Dep't
store
salea
(value)'

102
52

57
97
105
121
130
137
134
143
152
157
154

99

...
. ..

Carloadings
(number) 1

. ..
.. .

87
52
67

.. .

Tollll
mfg
employment

1,486

1,967

.. ....
......

u.s.

Gov't
eecuriUes

Demand
dBPQsits
adjusted'

Total
time
deposits

495
720
1,450

1,234
951
1,983
. ....

1,790
1,609
2,267

. . ....
. ....

~

6,463
6,619
6,639
7,942
7,239
6,452
6,619
8,003

. 9',937

13,419
13,591
13,812
13,897
14,022
14,176
14,768
15,000
15,328
15,617
15,924
15,978
16,010

7,866
8,839
9,220
9,418
11,124
12,613
13,178
13,812

~

......

......

.

....
....

....
....

3.66
3.95
4.14
4.09
4.10
4.50
4.97
4.88

....
.. ..

4.95

4.97

....

... .
....
....

5.21
5.54

Bank deblb
Index
31 cl tiesJJ
(1947-49=
100)1

42
18
30
. ..

...

10,520
10,515
11,196
11,864
12,169
11,870
12,729

6,777
7,502
7,997
8,699
9,120
9,424
10,679
12,077

132
140
150
15-!
172
189
203
209

7,846
8,026
8,003

12,176
12,395
12,729

11,836
11,725
12,077

217
213
224

8,099
7,735
7,436
7,739
7,511
7,329
7,096
6,932
6,717
6,702

12,508
12,210
12,228
12,874
12,520
12,589
12,945
12,797
12,850
12,963

12,037
12,018
12,003
12,301
12,399
12,517
12,390
12.378
12,365
12,316

218
235
244
241
231
235
242
241
238
232

1 Adjusted for seaaonal variation, except where indicated. Except for department store statistics, all indexes are baaed upon data from outside sources, aa
follows: lumber, California Redwood Association and U.S. Bureau of the Census; petroleum, cement, and copper, U.S. Bureau of Mines; steel, U.S.
Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute; electric power, Federal Power Commission· nonagricultural and manufacturing
employment, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics a.nd cooperating state agencies; retail food prices, U.S. Bureau of L;:bor Statistics; carloadings, various
railroads a.nd railroad associations; and foreign trade, U.S. Bureau of the Census.
t Daily average.
• Not adjusted for sea.sonal variation.
1 Commercial cargo only, in physical volume, for Los Angeles, San Francisco, San
• Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle indexee combined.
Diego, Oregon, and Wa.shington customs districts; starting with July 1950, "special category" exports are excluded because of security reaaons.
'Annual figures are aa of end of year, monthly figures as of last Wednesday in month.
7 Demand deposits, excluding interbank and U.S. Gov't
deposits, less cash items in process of collection. Monthly data partly estimated.
I Average rates on loans made in five major cities.
• Changes
from end of previous month or year.
1° Minus sign indicates flow of funds out of the District in the case of commercial operations, and excess
u End of year and end of month figures.
u D ebits to total deposits except
of receipts over disbursements in the case of Treaaury operations.
interba.nk prior to 1942. Debits to demand deposits except U.S. Government and interbank deposits from 1942.
e-Estima.ted.
r-Revised.

164