347
year to year, and regression pattern are concerned. The analysis
of the interrelation of the series, both among and within dis-
tricts, has resulted in a number of conclusions respecting the
nature and the degree of association. It is unnecessary to repeat
them in detail. Suffice it, for present purposes, to illustrate for
certain series the types of association found to obtain.
A few of the relationships discovered and measured for member
banks when district ratios are the units of measurement are given
on page 348. When ratios for groups of banks within districts are
correlated, it is found that, for those for which data are available,
similar relationships obtain. But summaries of the types just
presented, while suggesting the nature, do not indicate the de-
gree of association discovered between the several variables.
Those who are interested not only in the fact that series are
positively or negatively correlated but also in the extent to which
district differences, year-to-year changes, and so on, in paired
series correspond are asked to consult the tables and charts and
the interpretative material in the text, where the methods used
and the results secured are stated in detail.
In review, then, two types of conclusions have been reached.
The first is that for series of data relating to member bank opera-
tion by districts and within districts, there are marked tendencies
of similarity of behavior, measurements being made with respect
to district deviations, year-to-year changes, regressions to type,
and consistency of position relative to the yearly levels for the
combined membership in the System. The second type is that
within the banking system as such, the several types of trans-
actions or services rendered by banks are interrelated, the pattern
of such interrelation repeating itself with substantial uniformity
year after year, not only in one part but throughout the whole
Federal Reserve system. Explanation of these facts, it is believed,
must be found in the essential unity and competitive character
of our banking system and in its relation to business and economic
conditions the country over.
GENERAL SUMMARY
