The clerk who handles the cable charges determines the proper amounts, apportions them, and enters them on debit and credit tickets furnished by the cable clerk of the foreign tellers' depart ment. The clerk who handles the executed copies of the cables makes an entry of the charges to the different accounts in the customers cable ledger from the duplicates received from the cable companies.
Foreign Customers' Securities Department The correspondence between the bank and its foreign cus tomers regarding their securities is handled by the foreign cus tomers' securities department, a division of the customers' securities department of the domestic division, to which depart ment is entrusted the actual custody of the securities and the execution of purchases, sales, transfers, collection of coupons, dividends, and due bonds, etc. This line of cleavage is dictated by convenience and efficiency, as the segregation of special duties in a special department provides the best means of hand ling the work without a duplication of departments.
The departmental correspondence relates to: 1. The receipt and collection of coupons for foreign customers.
2. The receipt and credit of dividend checks on stocks owned by them.
3. The execution of purchases and sales for foreign customers in American markets.
4. The purchase and sale of securities abroad for clients.
5. Income tax requirements, the regulations of the Commis sioner of Internal Revenue requiring this department to prepare and file a statement of all dividends and interest received for foreign accounts from securities held by the bank for safe-keeping.
The incoming mail may be divided into four classes: 1. Bond orders and inquiries.
2. Instructions to receive or deliver securities, orders for the purchase or sale of stocks, and instructions as to subscriptions to new issues.
3. Acknowledgments.
4. Confirmations of cablegrams.
The letters of the first two groups are entered in a blotter, are verified as to signatures, are initialed by an officer, and are then turned over to the bond department or the domestic customers' securities department. Later in the day these departments send back to the foreign customers' securities department written advices of the work done, the advices are checked against the blotter, counter bookkeeping entries, if any, are made, and letters are written to the foreign clients. The blotter has columns for
the following data: the date when the order is received, the date of instructions, the amount of bonds or number of bond orders sold, the name of the security sold, the limit, the duration limit, the time limit, and remarks.
Some of the bank's foreign clients give the department divi dend orders on the various companies in its favor. These orders are entered in a book kept for the purpose, showing the name of the stockholder, the account to be credited when the dividend is received, the date of the letter transmitting the power to re ceive dividends, and the date of the power. When by reason of these powers dividend checks are received, they are passed to the credit of the foreign client.
From time to time the department receives from foreign customers stocks of various companies for transfer to other names. Such stock is turned over to the domestic customers' securities department against receipt. When the instructions have been executed, the new certfficates are handed to the foreign regis tered mail department, which makes a record of the shipment, takes out any insurance necessary, and mails the package. All such shipments are checked against the advice of the domestic customers' securities department and against the letter sent to the foreign client, a copy of which accompanies the securities. The original letter is despatched by regular mail.
A fee, fixed by agreement with each client and based either on the market or par value of the securities on hand or received, is charged for handling the securities, and a bill is rendered, say, semiannually. During the month preceding the assessment, the department makes up the balances and lists the securities received or delivered for each customer. If the client has bought bonds from the bank's bond department, the bank would not be likely- to make a charge for their purchase as the charge is in cluded in the commission or the price of the bonds. The securi ties department keeps a card file, with a card for each foreign client whose securities are in the bank's safe-keeping, shovving the name of the client, any special instructions regarding the pur chase, sale, or shipment of securities, etc., and the security balance at the end of the semiannual period.