Page:Imperialism (Lenin).djvu/39

Rh us add that, of the 2,800 million increase, 2,750 million was divided amongst 57 banks with a capital of more than 10 million marks. The distribution of the deposits between big and small banks was as follows:—

The small banks are being eliminated by the big banks, of which nine concentrate in their own hands almost half the total deposits. And we do not consider here many important details, for instance, the transformation of numerous small banks into dependents on the big ones. Of this we shall speak later on.

At the end of 1913, Schulze-Gaevernitz valued the deposits in the nine big Berlin banks at 5,100 million marks, out of a sum total of 10,000 million marks. Taking into consideration not only the deposits, but also the capital of these banks, the same author wrote: "At the end of 1909, nine big Berlin banks, together with the establishments linked up with them, handled 11,300 million marks, that is, about 83 per cent. of the total banking capital of Germany. The Deutsche Bank, which, together with the banks under its control, handles nearly three milliards of marks, constituted with the Prussian State Railways the biggest and also the most decentralised accumulation of capital in the Old World."