LONDON BANKS

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 October 1939, Page 9

LONDON BANKS

MIGRATION TO COUNTRY. LONDON, August 28. More than a thousand banking officials from the clearing departments of the great British banks left London head offices in two special trains on Saturday night to establish a new centre in the Midlands. In the trains were 6,000 metal cases, containing vital records, files and tabulating machines. The staff are equipped and prepared for an indefinite stay. County mansions situated in isolated places away from the considered danger zone have been chosen in some cases for the new “head offices.” All holiday leave has been cancelled, and senior members on holiday have been recalled by the big banks. Thoroughness in preparation for any eventuality has been the keynote 1 in the banks, insurance and shipping) companies during the week-end. j Throughout Saturday and until the, early hours of yesterday there was the l greatest activity in the City—very un-| usual during the week-end. Char;:-: bancs and lorries loaded with documents and files left for places in the country. Staffs worked unceasingly for many hours tabulating and packing documents and records so that) there would be a minimum of congusion in re-filing at destination. | Special staffs of the banks have fori several months been engaged in per-) fecting a triplicating system of records and daily statistics. The measures taken by the banks have been so thorough that photographs have been made of vital documents. The signatures of customers have been reproduced on strips of film and placed in the strong rooms ofi other branches, thus ensuring that in the event of a branch in any area being demolished in war-time, records will be complete and another branch will be able to furnish details of customers’ transactions. The big banks- are co-operating by arrangement with the British Bankers’ Association to concentrate various departments in chosen areas in order

'to minimise delay in dealing with), clearance of cheques which are nor i : mally sent from branches to the banks! 1 clearing department in London and which undei’ the emergency scheme ] will be dealt with in a newly estab- 1 lished county centre. i