288 THE WORK OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE
securities. Like orders to buy or sell, offers to lend or borrow
money may be “limited” at some fixed figure—say 4%, or may
like a “market order” be without such limitation. The clerk
at the money desk neither lends nor borrows money himself,
nor settles details concerning the nature or amount of the secu-
rity collateral. He simply puts borrowers and lenders in touch
with each other, and then withdraws from the operation en-
tirely, leaving such details for them to settle. As compared
with the old system of bidding for money at the “money post,”
the operation of the money desk system has undoubtedly served
to stabilize the call loan market.
Loan Agreements.—As has been seen, specific agreements
are sometimes entered into between borrower and lender as to
the terms of time loans. Call loans change too rapidly to
permit such a practice in their case, and thus general or “blan-
ket” agreements between borrowers and lenders are usually
employed. When a new Stock Exchange house is organized,
usually it files such an agreement with the chief lending insti-
tutions in Wall Street, concerning call loans which in the
future may be made between them. The call loan market in
New York is, however, so old and so thoroughly organized,
‘hat its operations can be and are carried on by common cus-
tom; for this reason, these loan agreements (see Figure 21)
are for the most part a formality and a precaution rather than
a practical factor in the market.
Thus in practice the Exchange member who has loaned
funds for a bank at the desk, simply informs the lender as to
whom the loan was made, and then steps out of the trans-
action completely. Similarly, the Exchange member on the
floor who has borrowed funds for it, informs his firm. It
then remains for the borrowing office to deliver the security
collateral involved to the lender, and to obtain the lender’s
funds.
Settlement of Loan Contracts.— Thus far only the con-
tracts for lending call money on the Exchange have been de-
