SERIES CORRELATED WITH EARNING ASSETS 163
TABLE 99

NET PERCENTAGE YEAR-TO-YEAR CHANGES IN DIFFERENT RATIOS
CORRELATED WITH POSITION AND DIRECTION oF CHANGE
IN RATIOS OF LOANS AND DISCOUNTS TO
EARNING ASSETS, 1919-1925

Mer Prr~yTAGE Vrar-Tn-V>1x CHANGES

RATIOS:
Loans and Discounts
to
Earning Assets

Increasing
From positions above
District Average... ..
From positions below
Distnict Average.....
Decreasing
From positions above
District Average... ..
From positions below
District Average

Number
of
District
Years

Rarios:
Gross Earnings
to
Rarnine Accate

~ of

RaT108:
Total Expense
to
Famine Acsets

RaT108:
Net Earnings
o
Earning Assets
+3.58
+1.06

5.22
sg

=
=

have upon the rate of increase in each of the three series when
the district ratios, increasing and decreasing, are classified by
their relative positions above or below the district levels. That
is, the inquiry is of the following order: Knowing that the ratios
in each of these series tend on the whole to increase when loans
and discounts are increasing, and to decrease when they are
decreasing, are these rates accelerated or retarded when at the
same time the increasing and decreasing ratios, respectively, are
classified according to their positions above or below the district
levels? The answer to this question, for each of the three series,
is found in Table gg, from which it is seen that conditions conducive
 (1) to the greatest percentage increase in each of the
series is found when loans and discounts are high and increasing,
and (2) to the greatest percentage decrease in gross earnings and
operating expense when loans and discounts are low and
decreasing.
But further comparisons are of interest for series paired with
loans and discounts. If ratios of loans and discounts to earning
assets for given districts and years are higher than yearly average
levels for the country as a whole, are other ratios for the same
districts and years higher or lower than their respective country
levels? Answer to this question for certain series is found in
the details in Table roo, which indicate that (1) when loans
and discounts are above, gross earnings and operating expenses