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 con- 
ducive (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