A. They pay an average of 4 per cent., which may be considered as an almost permanent rate. The money they get is in most cases money for a long period. They have to compete with the savings banks.
Q. Are the small societies at all in competition with the Reichsbank, where they have a branch?
A. No. There is no competition. They do a business which the Reichsbank would not do. They give credit to people who would not suit the Reichsbank, because they could not give the guarantee.
The Reichsbank
INTERVIEWS WITH HERR DR. VON GLASENAPP, VICE-PRESIDENT, AND HERR DR. VON LUMM, DIRECTOR, OF THE REICHSBANK[191]
Q. By whom are the shares of the Reichsbank owned?
A. It is all private ownership. The shares are held mostly in Germany and Holland, and distributed in small lots.
Q. Would the bank discount a bill drawn by one merchant and accepted by another?
A. Yes. The Reichsbank is not only a bank for banks, but for the commercial and industrial enterprises of the Empire.
Q. If a railroad finds it necessary to make improvements and wants to borrow money could they get money at the Reichsbank?