Q. Do its branches receive deposits?
A. Yes; they receive deposits, without allowing any interest. In times when money is cheap the rate of discount of the Bank of France is rarely below 3 per cent., and in the Crédit Lyonnais and other banks the rate may be sensibly below that of the Bank of France.
Q. Can you state the number of employés in the Crédit Lyonnais?
A. About 14,000. It varies according to the time of year.
Q. Are all of the important banks in the City of Paris members of the clearing house?
A. Yes; about 13 of the most important.
Q. How frequently are the clearings made?
A. Three times a day. As a matter of fact, our clearing house is not so important as yours in America.
Q. The clearing houses in the cities of France are in no sense a factor; they are merely the machinery through which the cheques are cleared, are they not?
A. To our knowledge there is but one clearing house; it is in Paris and is merely a mechanism for settling balances.