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A meeting of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 8Ystem was held in Y;ashington on Thursday, December 16, 1943, at 11:30 PRESENT: Mr. Mr. Mr. Ir. Mr. Mr. Eccles, Chairman Ransom, Vice Chairman Szymczak McKee Draper Evans Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Morrill, Secretary Bethea, Assistant Secretary Carpenter, Assistant Secretary Clayton, Assistant to the Chairman The action stated with respect to each of the matters hereinafter referred to was taken by the Board: The minutes of the meeting of the Board of Governors of the Fecieral Reserve System held on December 15, 1943, were approved unani11184. Memorandum dated December 13, 1943, from Kr. Paulger, Chief (11* the D ivision of Examinations, submitting the resignation of J. English as an Assistant Federal Reserve Examiner, to become efve as of the close of business on December 31, 1943, and recomkerwIng that the resignation be accepted as of that date. The resignation was accepted. Memorandum dated December 14, 1943, from Mr. Morrill, submit4110, ° the resignation of Miss Dorothy M. tLcGough as a stenographer in the s ecretarY's Office, to become effective as of the close of business 1920 12/16/43 -2On December 20, 1943/ and recommending that the resignation be accepted as of that date. The resignation was accepted. Memorandum dated December 11, 1943, from Mr. Morrill, submit6 , Tile resignation of Mrs. Clara Mock as a charwoman in the Secretary's Oftic e) to become effective as of the close of business on December 24, 1943, and recommending, for the reasons stated in the memorandum, that the . 8.1gnation be accepted as of that date without deduction for over(11°411 sick leave of 13 days, 3 hours, and 20 minutes. The resignation was accepted as recommended. Memorandum dated December 13, 1943, addressed to the Personnel eormaitte -e b7 Mr. Leonard, Director of the Division of Personnel Administratj - recommending that during the present influenza epidemic, and g a revision of the leave regulations, the heads of divisions 44d ices of the Board's staff be authorized, in their discretion, to vo. 'lye the requirement that an application for sick leave for a Period i -n excess of three days shall be supported by a certificate Of a registered practicing physician or other practitioner and to ap1)1.'" 'e sick leave for more than three days without a doctor's certificate when, in the opinion of the head of the division or office, such 121*()//a1 is justified. Approved unanimously. 1921 12/16/43 -3Telegram to the Presidents of all the Federal Reserve Banks, reading as follows: "Representatives of National War Labor Board have advised that proposal to increase authorization to pay supplemental compensation from 10 per cent to 15 per cent would be inconsistent with their Board's policies and could not be approved. "During discussions it was pointed out that not all Reserve Banks are paying supplemental compensation at a3cimilm rates permitted in Board's letter, :!'arch 3, 1942. Thepresentatives of War Labor Board advise that any Reserve 'ank which is not making payments at such maximum rates do so without certification to, or approval by, National War Labor Board. Representatives of Office of mmissioner of Internal Revenue also agree as to salaries e°m1 , -ng within jurisdiction of that office. This repreio a reversal of the former position of the War Labor ; r "Accordingly, any Reserve Bank not paying supplemental comoensation at maximum rates permitted by Board's Letter of March 3, 1942 may make current and future sayWithin those limits without further approval." Approved unanimously. Barlit of Letter to Mr. Gidney, Vice President of the Federal Reserve New York, reading as follows: lett "1n accordance with the request contained in your el' of December 2, 1943, the Board approves the apP,:intment of H. Jordan Overturf as an examiner for the r deral Reserve Bank of New York. to t has been noted that Mr. Overturf is indebted , he Warren National Bank, Vvarren, Pennsylvania, in /1";le. le amount or s"4,856 and to the First National Bank, 1,rren, Pennsylvania, in the amount of :4 1,295, both ans being secured by listed securities and cash surB, nder value of life insurance. As you know, it is the feeling, as expressed in its letter X-7638 (LooseLeaf #9180), that members of the examining staffs Service oraf the Federal Reserve banks should not be indebted to 4 1922 12 / 1 6/43 "banki g, institutions and particularly to member banks. :in this particular case, however, it is understood that the applicant is being employed on a temporary basis and it has also been noted that the creditor banks are located utside the New York Federal Reserve District. Therefore, the appointment has been approved without requiring liquida41°n of the indebtedness or financing through sources other ul.lan banks, but it will be expected that regular reductions 111 be made during the temporary employment and that prior : 1 3 employing the applicant on a permanent basis, if that Zie_ done, the matter will be brought into conformity with ' 41e Board's policies in this connection." Z Z Approved unanimously. Letters to "The Citizens Bank", Attica, New York, and "The 1C4/Nrood Bank", Kirkwood, Missouri, reading as follows: ,, "The Board is glad to learn that you have completed ;la arrangements for the admission of your bank to the , 1 ederal Reserve System and takes pleasure in transmitting "erewith a formal certificate of your membership. It will be appreciated if you will acknowledge receipt of this certificate." Approved unanimously. Letter prepared for the signature of Chairman Eccles to Mr. A4 ' (311 L, Ford) General Counsel of the Special Committee to Investigate 11+4 Agencies, House of Representatives, reading as follows: Dee.. :This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of e" , er 7, 1943, on the question of whether or not there atr7j 8 on the part of this Board a policy discriminatory hostile to branch banking in general, and Transamerica .411tereets in particular. reply, permit me to say that any allegation of the pZe ex' xistence in this Board of an anti-branch banking co leY is entirely false. In respect to Transamerica Porat10n and its interests this Board follows no policy eh is not or would not be followed with respect to any 4 1923 12/14/43 -5- "Other institutions under similar circumstances. "In the absence of more definite information as to Particular action of the Board concerning which complaint .188 been made, it is very difficult to advise the Committee as to the statutory authority under which Board policy 'With respect to any such action has been formulated. How; e eerriLci, Ienclose a copy of the Federal Reserve Act, as which, in addition, contains certain other banklag statutes. The statutes which probably will be of zost interest to the Committee are those dealing with 1!1!mbership of State banks in the System (pp. 19-31); those dealing with branches, State and national (pp. 20, 1d4); and those dealing with affiliate and holding cornPa affiliate relationships (pp. 28-31, 130-132, 155, 156, 158, 178-183). , "Trusting this is the information which the Committee desires." Approved unanimously. Letter prepared in Spanish for the signature of Chairman Eccles to the Idanco Central.de Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador, reading as follows: "The representatives of this Board, Messrs. Bray lt i Tlond and Robert Triffin, who recently visited your i24 in the course of an extensive trip made by them to 049lortant centers in South America, have just returned on. They confirm and emphasize in their verbal 1reports the account they had already given us more briefly of the abundant and gracious hospitality which _11 accorded them. We wish to assure you that these Cv urtesies to our representatives are deeply appreciated, "We are also pleased to know that our project for ..!,;e Preparation and publication of a series of studies t,'.1ercentral banking in the Latin American countries inElbl ests You and that we may look forward to your invaluto'! collaboration in completing it. A similar reception th:the project elsewhere indicates that the prospect of ne7se studies is welcomed, that there is general willingth:Lt° cooperate in their preparation, and that they will the -fore be of practical usefulness. Le have completed the nu4Y °f central banking in Colombia and have had -neat of corrections and improvements made by mem' of the staff of the Banco de la Republica, Bogota. 7 1_924 12/16/43 —6— !We hope to publish this study in the Federal Reserve 18,14.1.etin in the near future. Progress on our program vial be delayed by the war, but we look forward to communicating with you later regarding that portion of the Program in which you will be most interested. ,L. "One of the chief benefits that we anticipate from ' 21sprogram will be the closer contacts it will bring U8 with our sister institutions in Latin America. The "Portunity to exchange views from time to time on the central banking problems of our respective countries is certain to be of great mutual advantage. To that end, and also in order that we may show our genuine apprecia1°n of your thoughtfulness, courtesy, and generous kind, ',tess to our representatives, we look forward to having ?ma time to time in the future the pleasure of visits 'ora your directors, officers, and other members of your staff. "Please accept this renewed assurance of our cordial esteem." Approved unanimously, together with similar letters for Chairman Eccles' signature to the Banco Central de Reserva del Peru, Lima, Peru, the Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Banco Central de Chile, Santiago, Chile, and the Banco Central de la Republic Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Thereupon the meeting adjourned. 6g,ca.t. 4PProv Chairman. alibLV Secrettry.
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