European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 1, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes tired of rules and paper work 2 More uninsured Banks close today s crossword by Lisa Belkin new York times san Antonio two More Banks closed in Texas saturday but they were different from the 113 others that closed in the state in 1988. These two Banks were solvent. They were embroiled in no scan dals. They closed voluntarily be cause their owners were tired of the bureaucracy and paper work needed to run a Bank these Days. Their customers say they will miss them. The a a Oppenheimer Bank in san Antonio and the Farmers and merchants Bank in Priddy were different in another Way. They were among the last three uninsured Banks in the country relics from the Days before government regulation reminders of the time when banking was More than waiting in line computers and computer errors. They represented a time when you could count on your banker said Tom Frost the president of the Frost National Bank in san Antonio. The Oppenheimer were his personal Bankers. Today he said financial institutions Are looked on As a Box you put your Money in and think it s of the government will take care of it that s Why Banks Are in such trouble. No one holds the banker accountable. I could hold Dan Oppenheimer accountable. That s what i  before the civil War just about All Banks were operated like those two. There was no Federal insurance no Board of directors just the Bank owner his vault and his word that your Money was Safe. His word was backed by his personal wealth. In 1904, Texas established a department to regulate banking and in 1921 the department Al Lowed solvent Banks to create a charter in Exchange for submitting to regulation. Most did so because it gave them a measure of credibility but a few chose to remain unchartered and unregulated. They were Al Lowed to remain in business but no new unchartered Banks were allowed. Gradually the unregulated Banks went out of business. Thirty years ago there were one or two each in new York Pennsylvania Iowa and Indiana and five in Texas. In 1987, Texas banking officials investigated rumours that Large numbers of californians were putting their Money into the tiny Chilton and Leroy Banks both in Central Texas. The legislature authorized the banking department to examine the books of other unchartered Banks. There were Only three such Banks left when the legislation passed and now two of those have closed. The Only remaining unchartered Bank in Texas is the . Price Bank in Galveston. Until 1983 that Bank held Only the personal assets of the Kempner family which lives on and owns much of Galveston Island. When Lawrence Price and his family bought the. Bank they accepted a few new accounts but mostly they process credit card purchases for local businesses. Though both the Oppenheimer Bank and the Farmers and Mer chants Bank passed inspection in 1988, and though the reputation of neither Bank had been called into question the new legislation indirectly led to their closings. She said a Small business like hers just could t Cope with All the paper work said Carolyn tie Mann herself a businesswoman in Priddy and a customer of Eleanor Jeske Gromatzky the owner of the Farmers and merchants Bank. She had to buy a lot of new equipment to keep records the Way the rules said and she could t do it All  there was a lot of added paper work said Robert p. Walsh operations officer for the Oppenheimer Bank. The gentility As  gentility had been a hallmark of the Oppenheimer Bank almost since Dan and Anton Oppenheimer began lending Money in 1858 to the Farmers and ranchers who shopped at their grocery store. In 1915 Dan Oppenheimer s son Jesse became senior partner of the Bank and in 1965 Jesse s Nephew Dan took that Job. By that time the Bank had moved from a store in downtown san Antonio to a suite of three rooms on the 11th floor of the Alamo Bank building. The Origi Nal vault door was installed As a decoration along the front Wall and the original windowpane was framed and Hung in a Corner. But from founder to son to Nephew the customers were much the same businessmen who were willing to forgo insurance and other amenities because they trusted the Oppenheimer name. Loans were made on strength of character More often than on depth of collateral. New accounts were opened by invitation Only and no one was invited without the recommendation of two other Oppenheimer customers. Last summer when the Bank announced that it would close about 1,000 depositors had to be notified that they would have to take their accounts else where. Oppenheimer had Long told friends that the Bank would die with him. He had a fatal heart attack on a vacation in Switzer land in october 1987. His Cousin Herbert who had been his Deputy for Many years ran the business for a while but his age 79 and the new de mands from state authorities led him to decide to close. Herbert Oppenheimer s Nephew Jesse had said he would not take charge because i Don t want to ride a  in Priddy the closing of the Farmers and merchants Bank is less a loss of prestige than a loss of convenience. Bloom county the far Side 5tarkp Flim. Mho. Ub6rawn  front we. 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