TRUST COMPANIES. 



703 



panies previously chartered by special acts of the Legis- 

 lature. The affairs of these corporations are managed 

 by trustees or directors elected annually by their stock- 

 holders. Most charters prohibit trustees from borrow 

 ing the moneys or securities of the corporation, and 

 require their capital, which varies from one hundred 

 thousand to two millions of dollars, to be invested in 

 bonds and mortgages or designated public securities. 

 While such charters are not uniform, the main powers 

 conferred are common to all. They are authorized to 

 receive money on deposit and pay interest thereon and 

 may receive securities and other personal property 

 from individuals or corporations, and loan money on 

 real estate and collateral or personal securities; or act 

 as the fiscal agent of States, municipalities, or corpora- 

 tions, and in such capacity receive and disburse money, 

 and transfer, register, and countersign certificates of 

 stock, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness ; they 

 also act as trustees under mortgages given by corpora- 

 tions, and accept and execute any other municipal or 

 corporate trusts not inconsistent with law. They accept 

 trusts from married women, and execute trusts for I hem 

 in respect to their separate property and act as agent in 

 the management thereof; they also take and accept by 

 grant, assignment, devise, or bequest, and hold real or 

 personal estate on trusts created in accordance with law. 

 They are authorized to act, under the order or appoint- 

 ment of courts of record, as guardian, receiver, or 

 trustee of the estates of minors, and as depositories 

 of moneys paid into court for the benefit of minors; 

 and may accept and execute such legal trusts, duties, 

 and powers in respect to the holding, management, and 

 disposition of estates and property, real or personal. 

 and the rents and profits thereof, or the sale thereof, 

 as may be granted or confided to them by courts, indi- 

 viduals, corporations, municipalities, or other authority. 

 And they are accountable to. parties in interest for the 

 faithful discharge of all trusts, duties, or powers con- 

 fided to and accepted by them. 



The services rendered by trust companies are of great 

 value to persons associating together as corporations 

 for the purpose of starting new industries or enter- 

 prises, where the issue of stock or bonds becomes 

 necessary, as they are authorized to act as transfer 

 agent of stocks, and trustee under mortgages upon 

 real and personal property or franchises of corpora- 

 tions, pledged as security for bonds issued. The pay- 

 ment of dividends on stocks and interest on bonds are 

 also made through them. Married women having 

 separate estates, and maidens possessed of fortunes, 

 who are desirous of retaining control of their property 

 after marriage, find the services of these corporations 

 particularly desirable, owing to the strictly confidential 

 character of all of their business transactions. Persons 

 wishing to provide beyond contingencies for the sup- 

 port, maintenance, and education of minor children, or 

 for the support of offspring mentally incompetent, or 

 those addicted to dissolute habits that unfit them for 

 the management or control of property, can do so by 

 ilepositing money or securities, or conveying real estate 

 in trust to these corporations, tin; income from which 

 is applied as directed. Those desiring to provide for 

 tin; support, of relatives or dependents, with reversion 

 of the fund, after death of beneficiary, to designated 

 individuals or charities, find them peculiarly adapted 

 to the acceptance of trusteeships under such circum- 

 stances. They are also useful where deposits of -money 

 or securities are required to be made, to abide the result 

 of litigations, the fulfilment of contracts, or the issue 

 ol transactions in the future. 



Trust companies fire exempted from giving bonds or 

 other collateral security when appointed guardian, re- 

 e< ivi r, or depository of moneys paid into court; all 

 moneys received by them in either of such characters 

 \H at the sole risk of the corporation, and for any loss 

 thereof, their capital stock, property, and effects are 

 absolutely liable, and in case of dissolution liy the legis- 

 lature, the supreme court, or otherwise, debts due from 



them as guardian, receiver, or depository of moneys 

 paid into court usually have preference. 



Several of the earlier charters (1822 and 1330) 

 granted by the State of New York, in addition to 

 the numerous other powers conferred, authorized the 

 insurin;; against losses by fire; the insuring of lives ; 

 the granting and purchasing of annuities and the 

 making of any other contracts contingent on the dura- 

 tion of life. Such extraordinary powers were exercised 

 by but one company and for a brief period only. At 

 present the principal business of these corporations is 

 the receiving of deposits and the acceptance of trusts ; 

 those engaged in the receiving of deposits in the State 

 of New York, whether domestic or foreign, are required 

 to transfer securities to the amount of ten per cent, of 

 their capital to the superintendent of the banking de- 

 partment in trust as security for their depositors and 

 creditors. These corporations make semi-annual re- 

 ports of their condition to that officer, and are subject 

 to annual examinations by him. 



Trust companies possess the general powers of cor- 

 porations. On the latitude of their investments there 

 is little restriction other than the discretion of their 

 trustees; they loan on all classes of stocks or bonds 

 having a home or stock exchange market value, and 

 buy almost any good mercantile paper, not being con- 

 fined to particular branches of business in the purchase 

 of notes. With but few exceptions these corporations 

 are located at the large money centres. Jan. 1, 1888, 

 the capital of the trust companies of New York city 

 alone exceeded $14,500.000. 



In the following table, compiled from both official 

 and unofficial sources, is given the aggregate of the 

 several items of resources and liabilities reported by 

 the loan and trust companies throughout the United 

 States for the years 1880 and J887 : 



1886-87. 

 Rrtourcra. 58 companies. 



Loans on real estate $16,269,993 



Loans on personal nnd collateral security 36,544,018 



Other loans and discounts 143,282,819 



Overdrafts.. 



U. 8. bonds 



State, county, and municipal bonds 



R. It. bonds and stocks 



Bank stocks 



Other stocks, bonds and mortgages 



Due from other hanks and bankers 



Real estate, furniture, and fixtures 



Current expenses and taxes paid 



Gold coins and certificates 



Silver coins and certificates 



Legal tenders and national bank notes.... 



Checks and other cash items 



Other resources 



12,810 

 28,787,717 

 178,148 

 7,400,348 

 132,651 

 36,428,878 

 18,795,503 

 11,087,272 

 433,509 



16,822,224 

 2,949,7(57 



Total $31P,12'i,fM7 



Liabilitirt. 



Capital stock paid in $36,355,769 



Surplus fund 15,841, 7l>3 



Other undivided profits 11,351,62(5 



Dividends unpaid 581,255 



Individual deposits 240,190,711 



State, county, and municipal deposits 38,084' 



Due to other banks and bankers 6,606,897 



Other liabilities 9,159,622 



Total $319,125,657 



(E. A. w.) 



In the State of New York trust, loan, mortgage, 

 security, guarantee or indemnity companies or associa- 

 tions and corporations or associations having the power 

 of receiving money on deposit, incorporated under 

 any law of the State, or corporations or associations 

 not incorporated under the laws of the State which 

 receive de|x>sits'of money or assume obligations in that 

 State, other than banks, savings-banks and insurance 

 companies, arc on an equality in respect to the super- 

 vision the State exercises over them through its bank- 

 ing department. 



(E. A. W.) 



