The drafts held as cash items consist of sight drafts, trusts, and items received as missorts, namely, countries, clearing house checks, and drafts on the bank itself. They are sorted into these five sections by batches. All items received from each teller are proved separately and then sorted. The ones against the bank itself are charged to the check desk department, the countries to the transit department, the clearing house checks to the mail teller.
The rest are sorted into the various routes and listed on sheets alphabetically, showing the name of the drawee and the amount of each draft. They are then delivered to messengers. Sight drafts of large amount, say, above $1,000, are received from the tellers throughout the day, entered on sheets, and handed to messengers for collection.
As the messengers return, the sight draft clerks check against the route sheets the payments or unpaid items returned, making a notation of just what is received in payment of each draft. At some fixed hour in the afternoon a clerk begins to assort the checks and cash received in payment of the items collected during the day; the drafts received against the bank itself are charged to the check desk department, clearing house checks are assorted into the rack and charged to the mail teller, and the cash is charged to the paying teller.
Unpaid drafts are entered in a return book and sent to the correspondent either through the transit department or by mes senger if the correspondent is located in the collection district. The return letter is drawn in duplicate, the original is attached to the item when returned, and the duplicate is charged to the check desk for a debit to the correspondent's account. Unpaid drafts of large amount are wired unpaid. Protestable items are handed to a notary or returned to the correspondent, according to the instructions as to protest or other points given in the letter of transmittal.
At the close of business a proof is taken showing a total of the amounts charged to the sight draft section and the total of every thing received in payment.
Returns The term "returns" connotes items returned by correspon dents unpaid. The clerk handling the returns from correspon dents assists the mail teller with the morning mail, listing them on a sheet, giving the name of the indorser, place where drawn, reason for non-payment, and the amount. The mail teller charges the total to the city collection department. These items are then returned to the depositors, who make reimbursement.
The clerk in charge of returns also receives the protest notices mailed to the bank and taken from the official mail. The clerk enters them in a scratch book under the names of the correspon dents and mails them at once to these correspondents.
After the morning exchanges the check desk department de livers to the returns clerk all items from other banks returned through the clearing house. The New York Clearing House per mits members to return through the exchanges items which are unpaid and returned by reason of irregular indorsement. The returning bank must certify these and is not allowed to send more than $5,000 in amount each morning. These items are handled in a manner similar to the mail returns as described above.
Later in the morning the check desk department delivers the clearances to the returns clerk accompanied by lists. The clear ances are the items on banks for which the bank clears. The re turns clerk delivers the clearances over the window to representa tives of those banks and later in the day receives reimbursement, together with items which have been rejected by those banks. The unpaid items are then handled in much the same way as the items returned through the clearing house.
During the afternoon the check desk department charges the returns clerk with all items rejected by the bank itself and indi cates whether these are to be returned by messenger or through the clearing house.
The up-town banks which make collections for the bank out side its collection district receive reimbursement for their returns by charging the bank with the total and the bank credits their account through the return proof and credit journal.
At the end of the day the returns clerk makes a proof similar to the other sections of the department.
Clearing House Returns—Special Deposits Drafts and checks on clearing house banks which the bank has presented for payment through the clearing house and which have been rejected for some reason are returned by hand to the city collection department, which then issues a redemption check. The redemption checks have a stub at each end, one stub forming the department's permanent record, the other giving the number of the returning bank, the indorsers on the returned drafts, and the amounts. The items are listed on sheets and handled like other return items. As the redemption checks are paid, they are checked off the list.