Harnett County Trust Company, Lillington’s youngest financial institution, closed its doors at the noon hour today. State Bank Examiner Clarence Latham arrived shortly after noon and took charge of the bank. He will decide in his discretion whether the closing will be permanent, and if permanent, as to how the bank’s affairs will be liquidated. Cashier Walter L. Sutton as well as President B.P. Gentry and all other officials of the bank state that they feel assured that the assets of the institution will pay depositors 100 cents on the dollar, if the institution is liquidated at this time.
Closing of the doors of the bank came as a result, state its officials, of unsuccessful attempts to obtain ready cash with which to carry on its affairs. Steady decline of deposits, coupled with slow collection of outstanding paper is given as the cause for lack of ready cash at this time.
Efforts by the officials of the bank to obtain money on its collateral have proven unavailing, they state, the reason being that all banks, including some of the larger ones, being heavily drawn upon in the last few months, especially by farmers who are paying cash for fertilizers.
The failure of the Commercial National Bank in Wilmington some few months ago occasioned a small loss to the Trust Company, but it was thought by its officials that the institution could be tided over till fall collections came in.
Officials of the bank state that collateral for loans is ample and with strict collections all depositors can be paid in fall.
The embarrassment of the Trust Company does not in any way affect Lillington’s other financial institution, Bank of Lillington, this being one of the oldest and strongest institutions in this section with deposits of over a quarter of a million dollars.
From the front page of The Harnett County News, Lillington, N.C., April 26, 1923
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