208
BANKING STANDARDS
positions” and decreasing as “normal” positions are approached.
But this is not all. Not only are the ratios of total expense
in constant flux, yet changing according to a pattern, when the
entire membership in the Boston district is considered, but
similar conditions obtain for groups of banks within this dis-
trict. ‘This fact is evident from the details in Table 171, which
are derived in the same manner as are those in Table 170, the
only difference being that the ratios for banks in the different
city groups are classified in frequency form in the first of each
pair of years, and averages computed for the first and second of
each pair of years and for the combined pair of years.
TABLE 171
AveEraGE NET CuANGE IN Ratios oF TorAL EXPENSE TO EARNING
ASSETS IN SUCCESSIVE PaAIRs OF YEARS, 1922-1925, CLASSIFIED
MEeMBER BANKS, BosToN FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT
——
RaT10s: Total
Expense to
Earning Assets
(First Year of
Each Pair of
Years)
Total
t and under 2
2 and under 3
3 and under 4
¢ and under 5
5 and under 6
6 and over
Size oF CITY IN WaICH BANKS ARE LOCATED (in o00’s)
-
Under 10 10 to 20
—
120 and over
! Second
years
less
First
years
Num-
ber
Second
years
less
-irst
vears
Num:
per
Seconc
years
less
rst
ars
Num-
ber
Second
years
less
Tirst
vears
Num-
ber
Secon
years
less
First
vears
- -~
gp
#*=0.0
Yo.3
+o.1
=0.0
—0.2
-_Y. &
So much for the norms and trends of total expense ratios
for the member banks in the Boston district for the individual
and combined pairs of years, 1922 to 1925. Do these agree with
or differ from those for member banks in other districts? For-
tunately, data are available for answering this question for a
sample of member banks in District 2, New York, for the years
1023 to 1925, inclusive.
(2) A Sample of the Member Banks in District 2—New York
In discussing the norms and trends in total expense ratios
of the sample member banks in the New York district, the order
of presentation follows that already used for the Boston member
