1924年新墨西哥州的银行业恐慌和美联储的回应

Federal Reserve Board, Washington, D.C.ISSN 1936-2854 (Print)ISSN 2767-3898 (Online) The Banking Panic in New Mexico in 1924 and the Response ofthe Federal Reserve Mark Carlson 2025-064 NOTE: Staff working papers in the Finance and Economics Discussion Series (FEDS) are preliminarymaterials circulated to stimulate discussion and critical comment.The analysis and conclusions set forthare those of the authors and do not indicate concurrence by other members of the research staff or theBoard of Governors. References in publications to the Finance and Economics Discussion Series (other thanacknowledgement) should be cleared with the author(s) to protect the tentative character of these papers. The Banking Panic in New Mexico in 1924 and the Response of the Federal Reserve Mark Carlson∗,† August 11, 2025 Abstract There was a banking panic in New Mexico in early 1924 when about one-fourth of the banks inthe state closed temporarily or permanently amid widespread runs.The Federal Reserve usedboth high profile and behind the scenes operations to calm the panic.This paper provides ahistory of this episode and explores how conspicuous and inconspicuous aspects of the FederalReserve’s response interacted to bolster confidence in the banking system. 1Introduction Between October 1923 and February 1924 about twenty-five percent of the banks in New Mexico closedtheir doors.Entire counties lost access to banking facilities.While the condition of the banking sectorwas challenged by poor economic fundamentals, this was also a situation in which observers described anaccelerating loss of confidence in the banks, numerous bank runs, and widespread deposit withdrawals. Inshort, a panic. The Federal Reserve responded to provide support to the banking system and contributedto the restoration of financial stability. This article describes the regional panic and the Federal Reserve response which are not well known. Thenarrative itself is useful and adds to our understanding of economic conditions and the financial instabilityof the early 1920s. This article also details the Federal Reserve’s action to stop the panic. There are usefullessons from the Federal Reserve’s response in that it had both conspicuous and inconspicuous aspects. Themost high profile part of this response was a dramatic airlift of a large amount of cash to a panic-stricken areaat the peak of the episode. That action was followed by a series of statements by public officials to the mediapointing to ongoing support by the Federal Reserve. Demonstrating that liquidity support was ongoing waskey to boosting confidence. There were also low-profile actions by the Federal Reserve to promote stability.These actions took the form of a number of sizable discount window loans made without publicity to supportbanks; these banks were not under observable pressure so the inconspicuous provision of support was key tonot undermining confidence in them and to giving them time to resolve their problems. Keeping additionalbanks from closing in the challenging environment was also likely important for stabilizing the situation.Hence this episode sheds light on how the role of publicity in responding to a banking panic. This paper is organized as follows.Section 2 provides some background on the economic and bankingenvironment in New Mexico. A short description of the onset of the panic is in Section 3. Section 4 discussesthe response of the Federal Reserve including both its public actions and behind-the-scenes actions. Section5 concludes. 2Background Conditions in New Mexico generally evolved similarly to conditions elsewhere in the agricultural regionsof the United States. The troubles in the early 1920s were part of the collapse of an agricultural and banking boom that had accompanied the wartime activity around World War I. A drought in New Mexico made thedeterioration in agricultural activity particularly severe. 2.1Conditions in New Mexico One of the main agricultural commodities in New Mexico at this time was cattle. Around the time ofWorld War I, prices of cattle had surged (along with the prices of many other agricultural commodities).In response, ranchers expanded their operations and often borrowed to do so. However, agricultural pricesdropped back after the war ended. The price of cattle fell from a peak of over$16 per hundred pounds in1919 to$7 dollars in 1922; prices recovered slightly in the next couple years but remained well below theirwartime peaks. Consequently, ranchers that had borrowed with the expectation that the high prices wouldcontinue for years faced significant challenges in repaying their borrowings. In addition to the fall in cattle prices, there was a low-grade but persistent drought for much of the stateduring the early 1920s.In 1923, a Federal Reserve official visited the area and described the depressingsituation as follows: “The ranges have dried up, and in many places the cattle are literally starving to death.The only pre