Q. Is the business conducted at your branches of the same class as at your main office in London?
A. Yes.
Q. Do your branches have business relations with merchants, farmers, and all classes of people in their respective localities?
A. There are no restrictions of any kind as to the class of people with whom the bank has business relations.
Q. Is the Bank of England a member of the London Clearing House?
A. Yes; but "on one side only," as it is termed. The Bank of England presents, through the clearing house, all drafts drawn on clearing bankers paid in to it by its customers; but the clearing bankers do not present, through the clearing house, drafts on the Bank of England paid in to them by their customers. Such drafts are paid direct to the credit of their accounts at the Bank of England.
Q. Do you at any time allow interest on special deposits?
A. It is not the practice of the bank to allow interest on any deposit.
Q. Can you state approximately the average length of time and the average size of bills discounted by you?
A. Time, forty to fifty days; size, probably about £1,000.