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60910/59 Minutes for To: April 15, 1960. Members of the Board From: Office of the Secretary Attached is a copy of the minutes of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on the above date. It is not proposed to include a statement With respect to any of the entries in this set of minutes in the record of policy actions required to be maintained pursuant to section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act. Should you have any question with regard to the minutes, it will be appreciated if you will advise the Secretary's Office. Otherwise, please initial below. If you were present at the meeting, your initials will indicate approval of the minutes. If you were not present, Your initials will indicate only that you have seen the minutes. Chm. Martin Gov. Szymczak Gov. Mills Gov. Robertson Gov. Balderston Gov. Shepardson Gov. King %-* Minutes of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on Friday, April 15, 1960. The Board met in the Board Room at 10:00 a.m. PRESENT: Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Martin, Chairman Balderston, Vice Chairman Szymczak Mills Robertson Shepardson Sherman, Secretary Molony, Assistant to the Board Fauver, Assistant to the Board Noyes, Director, Division of Research and Statistics Mr. Farrell, Director, Division of Bank Operations Mr. Garfield, Adviser, Division of Research and Statistics Mr. Koch, Adviser, Division of Research and Statistics Mr. Robinson, Adviser, Division of Research and Statistics Mr. Landry, Assistant to the Secretary Mr. Knipe, Consultant to the Chairman Mr. Schwartz, Chief Analyst, Division of Research and Statistics Mr. Langham, Chief, Call Report Section, Division of Bank Operations Mr. Wilson, Chief, Automatic Data Processing and Telegraph Services, Division of Administrative Services Mr. de Leeuw, Economist, Division of Research and Statistics Mrs. Stansbury, Research Assistant, Division of Research and Statistics Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Discussion of computer operations. Messrs. Garfield, Schwartz, Lallgham, Wilson, and de Leeuw, and Mrs. Stansbury described the steps lelading toward the acquisition, the installation, the uses and possible filture developments of the Board's computer. During a discussion at the Q°4clus10n of this presentation, Chairman Martin stated it would be 1339 4/15/60 -2- desirable for the Board to have similar reports on the computer from time to time. All members of the staff then 'withdrew with the exception of Messrs. Sherman, Molony, and Landry; and Messrs. Hackley, General Counsel, W Connell, Assistant General Counsel, Nelson and Goodman, Assistant Directors, Division of Examinations, and Miss Hart, Assistant Counsel, entered the room. Discount rates. The establishment without change by the Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. 141118, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco on April 14, 1960, of the rates on discounts and advances in their existing schedules VW approved tinwIlmously, with the understanding that appropriate advice would be sent to those Banks. Items circulated to the Board. The following items, which had been circulated to the Board and copies of which are attached to these niintites under the respective item numbers indicated, were approved linanimously: Item No. Letter to The Bank of New York, New York City, ;PEg 1 rt:Isle establishment of a branch at 360 Avenue Letter to Bank of America, New York City, it permission to purchase stock of the Faring rnt trial Finance Corporation of Thailand, Bangkok, t4 1 -J-Land. 2 I3 4/15/6o -3Item No. Letter to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston expressing the view that section 32 of the Banking Act of 1933 would not prevent an employee of the Ilew Haven office of Fahnestock & Company from rerving as a member of the Advisory Board of the L;heshire Branch of the Home National Bank and Trust C°111PanY of Meriden, Meriden, Connecticut. 3 Amended Order on request for a hearing by BancOhio Corporation (Item No. 4). There had been distributed under date of April 14, 1960, 4 memorandum from the Legal Division relative to a written request from BalicOhio Corporation concerning the hearing on its application re The 1111liard Bank ordered by the Board to be held at the Federal Reserve Bank Of Cleveland on May 31, 1960. Mr. O'Connell noted that the applicant ha'l submitted a written request under date of April 12, 1960, that the hearing be held in Columbus, Ohio, the reason being given that "counsel for the applicant has ascertained that all the witnesses to be called in this hearing to testify on behalf of the applicant are in Columbus or in the nearby Village of Hilliards. It will be more convenient for these Igitnesses, particularly those in the Hilliards area, to come to Columbus for the hearing." Applicant had further stated that a suitable room for the hearing was available in its offices in Columbus. In view of the lieas°a given by the applicant for its request, the Legal Division recomIliellaed that the Board order the hearing held in Columbus; and considering the non-adversary nature of the hearing there appeared to be no objection to its being conducted at the applicant's offices. 4/15/60 There being no objection, a Notice of Order changing the place Of hearing with respect to the application of BancOhio Corporation, C°1uMbus, Ohio, filed pursuant to section 3(a) of the Bank Holding Company Act °f 1956 for prior approval of the acquisition of voting shares of The Hilliard Bank, Hilliards, Ohio, was unanimously approved. A copy of this Notice is attached as Item No. 4. Dissolution of computer committee. Referring to the discussion Or computer operations earlier in the meeting, which indicated that this 1)r°gram was well established and on a continuing basis, Governor Shepardson sliggested that the committee consisting of Governors Balderston, Mills, 414 himself that had been appointed on May 20, 1955, be discharged. The Sole outstanding item of the committee's work was the suit against the All'iac Corporation for failure to fulfill its contract with the Board, and that suit was in the hands of the Justice Department. There being no objection, Governor Shepardson's suggestion for cli8continuance of the committee assignment regarding matters connected Ilith acquisition and installation of the computer was approved. In reply to a question from Governor Balderston, Governor Shepardson 84ta that he would confer with staff regarding the possible need for a aeccnd charting machine in as much as scheduling the use of the Board's 814gla charting machine was made difficult by breakdowns that could not e4silY be remedied due to the experimental nature of this equipment. The meeting then adjourned. 4/15/60 -5Secretary's Note: Governor Shepardson today approved on behalf of the Board the following items: Memorandum from Mr. Koch, Adviser, Division of Research and Statistics, recommending an increase in the basic annual salary of David R. Hull, Jr., Economist in that Division, from $5,430 to $5,985, effective April 17, 1960. Letter to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (at ched Item No. 5) aPProving the designation of 20 persons as special assistant examiners. BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM WASHINGTON 25. D. C. Item No. 1 V15/60 ADDRESS OfFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE TO THE BOARD April 15, 1960 Board of Directors, The Bank of New York, New York, New York. Gentlemen: Pursuant to your request submitted through the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Board of Governors approves the establishment of a branch at 360 Park Avenue, New York, New York, by The Bank of New York, New York, New York. This approval is given provided the branch is established within .one year from the date of this letter. Very truly yours, (Signed) Kenneth A. Kenyon Kenneth A. Kenyon, Assistant Secretary, ‘1: 1 BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE Item No. 2 4/15/60 FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM WASHINGTON 25, D. C. ADDRESS OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE. TO THE BOARD April 15, 1960 Tom B. Coughran, Executive Vice President, Bank of America, 41 Broad Street, New York 15, New York. Dear Ir, Coughran: In accordance with the request contained in your letter March 9, 1960, transmitted through the Federal Reserve Bank of York, and on tho basis of the information furnished, the i)oard of Governors grants consent for Bank of America to purchase ri.hold 300 ordinary shares, par value Baht 1,000 each, of the T iTital stock of Industrial Finance Corporation of Thailand, Bangkok, 4 ailand, at a cost of approximately 1JS$14,285, provided such stock 4-5 acquired within one year from the date of this letter. °r The Board's consent is granted upon condition that Bank of A m co'4erioa shall dispose of its holdings of stock in the Thai iT1rPoration, as promptly as practicable, in the event that the 141,, corporation should at any time (1) engage in issuing, under(2 1-11C, selling or distributing securities in the United States; engai;e in the general business of buying or selling goods, : n e3, merchandise, or commodities in the United States or transact iTt:J business in the United States except such as is incidental to ino international or foreign business; or (3) conduct its operations 4 manner inconsistent with Section 25(a) of the Federal Reserve or regulations thereunder. Very truly yours, (Signed) Kenneth A. Kenyon Kenneth A. Kerlyon, Assistant Secretary. BOARD OF GOVERNORS ocort*4.4 OF THE e OW COP 4 FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM WASHINGTON 25, D. C. Item No. 3 4/15/60 ADDRESS OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE TO THE BOARD °t:1:;41 ti4 : 44*** April 15, 1960 , 11r. Benjamin F. Groot, Vice President, rederal Reserve Bank of Boston, Boston 6, Massachusetts0 bear Mr. Groot: This refers to your letter of March 24, 1960, in respect to the question whether section 32 of the Banking Act of 1933 forbids ' lme Ir. ni.,Guy R. Hogarth, an employee of Fahnestock & Company, which is a Adt'er of the New York Stock Exchange, to serve as a member of the Board w of the Cheshire branch of the Home National Bank and Ti4Jst e°1C14 of Meriden, Meriden, Connecticut. with Your According to information obtained from the bank and submitted letter, it appears that members of the Advisory Board are tIT, ) °inted by the directors of the bank, that the duties and responsi— n,tities of the Advisory Board are on a consulting and advisory basis, zid a real estate committee and a credit and loan committee of the °rY Board are now functioning, and that members of the Advisory .‘7rd a aid a month for attending any regular or special meetings, tind mem1rDeerps rtaa,„ of the real estate committee are paid $5 each for appraisals caiv in connection with mortgage loan requests, but payments are made Lli4 if the loan is consummated. The function of the real estate com1411 r is to inspect property and make recommendations to the branch, sue ! are in turn presented to the board of directors of the bank "for co “ action as it may deem proper and desirable." The credit and loan biTlil'ttee "works closely with the bank's lending officers" but responsi— for granting loans apparently remains with the officers, or with the lenduoard of directors of the bank if the amount exceeds the officers' illg limits. While the board of directors of the bank may delegate to j ka ,i e Advisor— y Board such responsibilities, duties and authorities as opJer°e determined to be desirable and appropriate in relation to the ation of the branch, no such broad delegation has, in fact, been Z EZ,18 a() Mr. Benjamin F. Groot -2- made. Mr. Hogarth does not attend meetings of the board of directors of the bank, and neither the bank nor the branch provide him with office space, secretarial services, or other facilities. In view of the circumstances outlined above, the Board of agrees with your conclusion that the statute does not forbid Ps Hogarth to serve as a member of the Advisory Board of the Cheshire Itlinch of the bank. It should be understood, of course, that if any sa'erial change took place in these circumstances, it might be necesarY to give the question further consideration. Governors t Very truly yours, (Signed) Merritt Sherman Merritt Sherman, Secretary. BOARD OF GOVERNORS Item No. 4 OF THE 4/15/60 FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM Notice of Order Changing Place of Hearing On April 1, 1960, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System issued a Notice of Order on Request for Hearing ordering that a public hearing be conducted with respect to the application qBancOhio Corporation, Columbus, Ohio, filed pursuant to section 3(a) the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, for prior approval of the acnu• . lsition of a minimum of 80 per cent of the 1,000 voting shares of The Billiard Bank, Hilliards, Ohio. The hearing was ordered to be held commencing May 31, 1960, at 10 a.m, at the offices of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio. Subsequent to the publication of this Order, Applicant Isequested that the place of hearing be changed to Columbus, Ohio. It 41310earito the Board of Governors that, if this request is granted, c the °nvenience of the Applicant and others would be served and the Nata. . iu Interest would not be adversely affected, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, That the hearing on this application be , "e-id at the offices of the Applicant, 51 North High Street, Columbus 53 °hi°, commencing at 10 a.m. on May 31, 1960. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That, in all other respects, the Boardts Order or April 1, 1960, be, and the same hereby is, affirmed. (8414), 4ted April 15/ 1960 (signed) Merritt Sherman Merritt Sherman, Secretary. BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE Item No. 5 FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 4/15/60 WASHINGTON 25, D. C ADDRESS OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE TO THE BOARD April 15, 1960 Mr. Benjamin F. Groot, Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Boston 6, Massachusetts. bear Mr. Groot: In accordance with the request contained in your letter Z*1 April 8, 1960, the Board approves the designation of the followg named employees of your Bank as special assistant examiners for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston for the purpose of participating the examinations of Rhode Island Hospital Trust Company, Zovldence, Rhode Island; Depositors Trust Company, Augusta, Maine; !'__1 !Merrill Trust Company, Bangor, Maine; and The Connecticut Bank ' 14c1 Trust Company, Hartford, Connecticut: Francis A. Baker Mary E. Cnllinan Mary A. Chillemi A. Frances Croy Geraldine DeBenedictis George A. DiNapoli Roderick W. Downie E. Lloyd Evans Josephine C. Freddura Mary M. Grant the Robert W. Lacey Josephine L. Lento Duncan A. MacQueen, Jr. Helen Marchocki N. Grant Nicholson Arlene M. Rafferty Jennie M. Rizzo Margaret T. Sullivan Douglass H. Titus Concetta E. Zodiaco Appropriate notations have been made in our records of naMes to be deleted from the list of special assistant examiners. Very truly yours, (Signed) Kenneth A. Kenyon Kenneth A. Kenyon, Assistant Secretary.