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760 A meeting of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve SYstem was held in Washington on Thursday, May 10, 1945, at 10:30 a..me PRESENT: Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Eccles, Chairman Ransom, Vice Chairman Szymczak McKee Draper Mr. Morrill, Secretary Mr. Carpenter, Assistant Secretary Mr. Hammond, Assistant Secretary Mr. Leonard, Director of the Division of Personnel Administration Mr. Thomas, Director of the Division of Research and Statistics Mr. Vest, General Attorney Mr. Szymczak stated that the Board had received from the St4te Department a copy of Ambassador Messersmith's report of his coniter'sation with the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President of Mexico regarding the ownership by the central bank of Mexico Of stock of the Pan American Trust Company of New York, that a copy of the l'ePort would be circulated among the members of the Board for their illf"7414t1°n, and that, as the matter now stood, we were awaiting the IletM°ve of the Mexicans. Mr. Szymczak also said that a copy of the l'el3c31't had been sent to Mr. Sproul, President of the Federal Reserve ile4*°1* New York, with the statement that he would be kept advised of 41Y further developments. At mr. Szymczak's request, Mr. Hammond then read a draft of an Illt°rMaa M emorandum of the conference which was held in Washington on 45 for the purpose of discussing the foreign interests of the 761 5/10/45 -2- Federal Reserve System, at which there were in attendance Messrs. Eccles and SzYmczak; Mr. Sproul, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Messrs. Morrill, Thomas, Gardner, and Hammond of the Board's tart; and Messrs. Williams and Knoke, Vice Presidents of the Federal Reser "Bank of New. York. Mr. Hammond also read a draft of a letter tom, , • oproul setting forth the understanding reached during the con- Mr. Szymczak stated that it was now proposed to submit the inf°1'Inal memorandum and the draft of letter to Mr. Sproul for any suggesti°fls that he might wish to make, after which the documents would be put 41 final form and submitted to the Board for approval. At the suggestion of Chairman Eccles the draft of letter was changed to provide that the proposed consultative group for the discusSion and exchange of views on policies shall consist only of himself, 14r. czak, and Mr. Sproul. M. McKee said that the arrangement contemplated in the draft or illerti°randum and proposed letter to Mr. Sproul was agreeable to him, 44d that unless there were objection on the part of the other members "the Board he would suggest that Messrs. Eccles and Szymczak be auto approve the arrangement on behalf of the Board with such 17Iallgae In form as were agreed upon by them with Mr. Sproul. Mr. McKee's suggestion was approved unanimously. At this point Mr. Thomas left the meeting. 762 5/10/45 Mr. McKee referred to a letter dated May 5, 1945, received bY the Board from Wendell Berge, Assistant Attorney General of the DePartment of Justice, stating that in connection with the Department's irl7estigation of the Transamerica Corporation it would appreciate a Copy of the Board's last report dealing with the examination of the COrpOration. At the suggestion of Mr. McKee, It was voted unanimously to grant the request with the understanding that a copy of the report of examination would be transmitted with a letter reading as follows: "In accordance with the request in your letter of Ma7 5, 1945, addressed to Chairman Eccles, the Board of ?overnors has authorized me to loan to you a copy of the ,Report of Examination of Transamerica Corporation, San rr ncisco, as of the close of business July 311 1943', whlch is transmitted herewith. "It is understood that you intend to use the report as a lead to obtain evidence from other sources, rather than as evidence itself, and that it will be eated as strictly confidential. For your information . j:? this connection, no copy of this report has been furLashed to Transamerica Corporation." At this point Messrs. Leonard and Vest withdrew from the meet- The action stated with respect to each of the matters hereinaft.- referred to was taken by the Board: The minutes of the meeting of the Board of Governors of the ?sclera 1 Reserve System held on May 9, 1945, were approved unanimously. Letter to Mr. Ralph Young, Director, Financial Research Program, 763 5/10/45 —4— National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc., New York, New York, reading as follows: . "The Board of Governors has considered the sugges— tion in your letter of April 25 that it might be mutually advantageous to both the Federal Reserve System and the National Bureau to arrange for cooperation in the prosecu— tion of some of the phases of the research projects on urban real estate finance and agricultural finance which You are about to undertake. The Board agrees that such ?ooperation would be desirable and is willing to have itS staff cooperate on these projects, the extent and nature of such cooperative work to be determined later when you are ready to proceed upon specific phases of the.projects. Each specific project will be subject to revlew and approval by the Board at the time. "So far as the Federal Reserve Banks are concerned, we are forwarding your suggestion to the appropriate per— ?ns. As soon as we have received the necessary informa— Flan, we shall inform you as to the willingness of the ederal Reserve Banks to cooperate in these studies." Z Approved unanimously, together with the following letter to Mr. Williams, Pres— ident of the Federal Reserve Bank of Phila— delphia: "Enclosed is a copy of a letter, together with ac— ; (311P8nying material, from the National Bureau of Economic i;eesarch, asking whether the Federal Reserve System would e interested in cooperating with the National Bureau in research projects on urban real estate finance and agri— hlialt"al finance which the Bureau is undertaking. We have informed the Bureau that the Board is willing to Bulre its staff cooperate with the staff of the National toreau in this work and that re are presenting the matter the Federal Reserve Banks to ascertain their wishes. are referring this request to you as Chairman of the she () Research Committee of the Presidents' Conference and 170 , 11-14 aPpreciate your suggestions as to what procedure be the Fed most appropriate for clearing this matter with eral Reserve Banks." Thereupon the meeting adjourned. )y) Secretary.
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