This is the first story and I feel like it's an important story. It features a gentleman with integrity who was president of a local bank in Wauwatosa Wisconsin during the Great Depression. How did he do this? How did Mr. Olson's father manage to keep his local bank going with only a pre-approved RFC (Reconstruction Finance Corporation), but never had to actually take funds?
He was very careful about issuing loans. He wasn't an economic hitman in modern terms. Mr. Olson guided clients toward a loan rather than issuing it. Consequences be damned. After FDR closed all banks for three days, Mr. Olson didn't take money out of his own account. I know, crazy right? Anyway, depositors weren't allowed to get their money out so why should a bank president be any different? They shouldn't. Today, however, that would be unheard of. Think about the bank in Silicon Valley which closed a week after all the executives got a bonus. Yeah! Mr. Olson wouldn't have allowed that to happen.
Hope you enjoyed this story of the financial responsibility of a bank president during the Great Depression.
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