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Because of these startling changes in a once remote profession, a new type of banker has grown up across the country. Mills B. Lane Jr., 47, the energetic president of Atlanta's Citizens & Southern National Bank, wears loafers and loud sport coats, built a $100,000 traveling model town to show how banking affects the community. Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Co. has been transformed from a carriage-trade bank into a thriving (25 offices), consumer-oriented operation by President Howard C. Petersen, 49, a Main "Liner whose jacket is usually open, his tie askew. In conservative Boston, President Roger C. Damon, 53, of the First National Bank, devised the widely copied "line of credit" system, which allows a borrower to cash checks indefinitely against a specified loan, so long as he continues paying back. The heads of the big banks have simply made them bigger. In California, President S. Clark Beise, 61, of the Bank of America, has cashed in handsomely on the postwar boom by hiking the bank's branches to 658, offering more than 50 special services, from credit cards to coupon counting. Harold H. Helm, 58, chairman of the newly merged Chemical Bank New York Trust Co., has chalked up outstanding gains in recent months by aggressively seeking the little man's business.
52 Million Accounts. The efforts of such men have done wondrous work. More than 52 million Americans now have checking accounts, and 90% of their bills are paid by check. During the last five years, more than 20 million new bank accounts have been opened. Commercial bank loans to consumers have gone from $10.9 billion to about $17.8 billion in five years.
Big banker Henry Alexander watches all of this carefully from the upper levels, believes that most of it is to the good. The more prosperous the consumer becomes, the more prosperous will be the corporate clients he serves, and the bigger he will grow. He thinks that consumer credit may be riding a little high, but he notes, on the other hand, that consumers have become "like corporations"; they keep their savings in the bank, take out loans to buy what they need. Morgan Guaranty makes its own contribution to consumer credit by lending to such important consumer-finance organizations as G.M.A.C., Household Finance and C.I.T.
While consumer banking expands, Morgan continues to grow at its level. It is already too big for its offices. The famed Morgan corner at Wall and Broad Streets has become practically a branch bank; Henry Alexander has moved to the more spacious Guaranty quarters, and most of his officers have gone with him. Since neither bank is big enough to hold the combined staff, plans are being considered to expand the old Morgan building or tear it down, perhaps to build a modern office building on the site. The bank is also considering plans to open two new offices in burgeoning midtown Manhattan, another office in London.
As population grows, as living standards rise, as production, commerce, distribution and consumption increase, Morgan Guaranty confidently expects a commensurate growth in the big accounts that are its big business. With his bird dogs always at the scent, Big Banker Alexander will always be looking for opportunities to help pull customers up to Morgan size. Says he: "One of our first functions is to make the little ones big."