CASHIER. An officer of a moneyed insti tution, or of a private person or firm, who is entitled by his office to take care of the cash or money of such institution, person, or firm.
The cashier of a bank is usually intrusted with all the funds of the bank, its notes, bills, and other choses in action, to be used from time to time for the ordinary and ex traordinary exigencies oX the bank. He usually receives, directly, or through subor dinate officers, all moneys and notes of the bank; delivers up all discounted notes and other securities; signs drafts on correspond ing banks, and, with the president, the notes payable on demand Issued by the bank ; and, as an executive officer of the bank, transacts much of its general business. He is the chief executive officer of the bank; Morse, Bank. § 152; Minor v. Bank, 1 Pet. (U. S.) 46, 7 L. Ed. 47; Bissell v. Bank, 69 Pa. 415. He is the custodian of its money, securities, books, and valuable papers; Mason v. Moore, 73 Ohio St. 275, 76 N. E. 932, 4 L. It. A. (N. S.) 597, 4 Ann. Cas. 240. He may borrow money for the use of the bank and pledge notes owned by it as security for the loan; Citizens' Bank v. Bank, 126 Ky. 169, 103 S. W. 249, 11 L. R. A. (N. S.) 598, 128 Am. St. Rep. 282. He may certify checks; Mer chants' Nat. Bank v. Bank, 10 Wall. (U. S.) 604, 19 L. Ed. 1008. He will bind the bank by his contract to pay commissions for the disposal of its land through a broker, but which, through a mistake in identity, the bank does not own; Arnold v. Bank, 126 Wis. 362, 105 N. W. 828, 3 L. R. A. (N. S.) 580.
He need not be a stockholder; indeed, some bank charters prohibit him from own ing stock in the bank. He usually gives se curity for the faithful discharge of his trusts. It is his duty to make reports to the proper state officer (in banks incorporated under the national bank act to the comp troller of the currency ; U. S. R. S. § 5210) of the condition of the bank, as provided by law, In general, the bank is bound by the acts of the cashier within the scope of his au thority, express or implied; Minor v. Bank, 1 Pet. (U. S.) 46, 70, 7 L. Ed. 47; Fleckner v. Bank, 8 Wheat. (U. S.) 361, 5 L. Ed. 631; Merchants' Nat. Bank v. Bank, 10 Wall. (U. S.) 604, 19 L. Ed. 1008; Wild v. Bank, 3 Mas. 505, Fed. Cas. No. 17,646; Matthews v. Nat. Bank, 1 Holmes 396, Fed. Cas. No. 9,286; Pendleton v. Bank, 1 T. B. Monr. (Ky.) 179; Davenport v. Stone, 104 Mich. 521, 62 N. W. 722, 53 Am. St. Rep. 467. It is bound by his act in drawing checks in its name, though with the intent to apply the proceeds to his own use; Phillips v. Bank, 67 Hun (N. Y.) 378, 22 N. Y. Supp. 254; Lowndes v. Bank, 82 Conn. 8, 72 Atl. 150, 22 L. R. A. (N. S.) 408. He may endorse to himself and sue on a note payable to the. bank ; Young v. Hudson, 99 Mo. 102, 12 S. W. 632. But the bank is not bound by a dec laration of the cashier not within the scope of his authority ; as if, when a note is about to be discounted by the bank, he tells a per son that he will incur no responsibility by becoming an indorser on such note; Bank of U. S. v. Dunn, 6 Pet. (U. S.) 51,•8 L. Ed. 316; see West St. Louis Say. Bank v. Bank, 95 U. S. 557, 24 L. Ed. 490; President, etc., of Salem Bank y. Bank, 17 Mass. 1, 9 Am. Dec. 111; State Bank at Elizabeth v. Chet wood, 8 N. J. L. 1; Bank of Kentucky v. Bank, 1 Pars. Eq. Cas. (Pa.) 240. He has no authority to accept certificates of the capital stock of an insurance company in payment of a debt due the bank; Bank of Commerce v. Hart, 37 Neb. 197, 55 N. W. 631, 20 L. R.
A. 780, 40 Am. St. Rep. 479. He may not accept a new note, so as to discharge a sure ty on the first note; Gray v. Bank, 81 Md. 631, 32 Atl. 518. He may not give away, surrender, or release the bank's securities; 1 Dan. Neg. Inst. § 395; Morse, Banks & Bankg. § 169.
Where a cashier does acts on behalf of a bank which are not against public policy or criminal, when once executed in whole or part, they are binding on the bank, as it cannot enjoy the benefits and escape the lia bilities; Owens v. Stapp, 32 Ill. App. 653; a cashier of a bank has authority to have the paper of the bank rediscounted, in the usual course of business; Davenport v. Stone, 104 Mich. 521, 62 N. W. 722, 53 Am. St. Rep. 467. Merely by virtue of Ms office, he has no implied power to receive money for interest in advance on a note owned by the bank, and to agree to extend the time of payment, thus discharging an indorser from liability ; Bank of Ravenswood v. Wet zel, 58 W. Va. 1, 50 8. E. 886, 70 L. R. A. 305, 6 Ann. Cas. 48; Vanderford v. Bank, 105 Md. 164, 66 Atl. 47, 10 L. R. A. (N. S.) 129 (a case under the negotiable instrument law). When the cashier of a bank instituted an action in the name of the bank commenc ed by capias issued on his affidavit, alleging his connection with the bank, it will, be pre sumed that he has authority to do so; Wach muth v. Bank, 96 Mich, 426, 56 N. W. 9, 21 L. R. A. 278. A banking corporation, whose charter does not otherwise provide, may be represented by its cashier in trans actions outside of his ordinary duties, with out his authority to do so being in writing, or appearing in the records of the proceed ings of the directors, and where the cashier, has so acted for a series of years without objection, the bank is estopped to deny his authority ; Martin v. Webb, 110 U. b. 7, 3 Sup. Ct. 428, 28 L. Ed. 49.
The mere notification by the cashier to his individual creditor that he has placed the amount of the debt to the latter's credit on the books of the bank, followed by the honoring of his check for a portion of the amount, does not charge the bank with re sponsibility for the credit ; Langlois v. Grag non, 123 La. 453, 49 South. 18, 22 L. R. A. (N. S.) 414.
He has no authority to bind the bank by a pledge of its credit to secure a discount of his own notes for the benefit of a corpora tion in which he was a stockholder ; State Nat. Bank v. Bank, 66 Fed. 691, 14 C. C. A. 61; nor has he authority to sell property belonging to the bank; Greenawalt v. Wil son, 52 Kan. 109, 34 Pae. 403; nor has he power to bind the bank to pay the draft of a third person on one of its customers, to be drawn at a future day, when it expects to have a deposit from him sufficient to cov er it; Flannagan v. Bank, 56 Fed. 959, 23 L. R. A. 836; nor to assign collaterals be longing to himself, which were given to se cure a loan to another person for the cash ier's benefit; Merchants' Nat. Bank v. Demere, 92 Ga. 735, 19 S. E. 38.
The power of a bank cashier to transfer notes and securities held by the bank can be questioned only by the bank or its repre sentative; Haugan v. Sunwall, 60 Minn. 367, 62 N. W. 398.
See NATIONAL BANK ; DIRECTORS ; AGENT. In Military Law. To deprive a military officer of his office. See Art. of War, art 14.