National banks in all other cities and towns, known as country banks, were subject to a 15 percent reserve requirement, three-fifths of which could be held as deposits at
reserve city or central
reserve city banks.
The most important enticement allowed national banks in other large cities to count as part of their reserves any deposits they held at national banks in New York City, which created the familiar three-tiered banking structure of country banks in small cities,
reserve city banks in large cities, and central-reserve city banks in New York City.
Major organization : STATE AGENCY STATE RESERVE AND WAR-TIME STOCKS BY TERRITORIAL DIRECTORATE OF STATE
RESERVE CITY.
The National Banks were divided into three subcategories based on size and location: central
reserve city banks, city reserve banks, and country banks Central
reserve city and city reserve banks faced reserve requirements of 25 percent, while country banks had 15 percent.
The National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864, for instance, provided regulatory incentives for national banks located outside "reserve cities" to deposit a portion of their reserves in
reserve city national banks.
Regional banking panics in the early 1930s drained these interbank deposits from central
reserve city banks of Chicago and New York.
First, the Treasury, the Clearing Houses and central
reserve city banks centralised the metallic reserves.
This was because these so-called "country banks" relied for a good portion of their liquidity on "
reserve city" banks, located in larger cities around the country.
The structure of the National Banking system directed, for the most part, where the reservoir of reserve funds for the banking system would be held because country banks were permitted to hold reserves in the form of deposits at
reserve city (or central
reserve city) banks.
During periods of low money demand, too many reserves wound up concentrated in just one city because of "pyramiding of reserves." Banks in the interior of the country were allowed by law to hold a fraction of their reserves in banks located in cities designated as "reserve cities."
Reserve city banks then could ship their excess funds to banks in cities designated as "central reserve cities." Ultimately, a significant percentage of reserves accumulated in New York City, where in 1907 only six banks held 75 percent of interbank deposits.
From June 1917 to August 1936, the requirement for all member banks on time deposits was 3%, while the requirement for net demand deposits was 7%, 10%, and 13% at country,
reserve city, and central
reserve city banks respectively.
vault but also deposits in
Reserve City and Central
