GERMANY: Dedi

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"Hapag" the Germans gaily call that steamship line more sedately known as Hamburg-Amerikanische-Paketfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft.

Last week they brooded over the startling name of Deutsche Bank and Disconto Gesellschaft and, with Teuton unanimity, decided to call it Dedi.

Startling was the name, for it signified the merger of two of the famed four "D" banks. Dedi becomes the only billion dollar bank† outside of the U. S. and Great Britain, controlling, some say, over one-third of the deposits of the seven biggest banks in Germany.

To many a U. S. investor this was vital news because in 1927 Dillon, Read & Co. painted out that the Deutsche Bank is closely connected with most of the leading German industrial and commercial enterprises. Not only did Dillon, Read sell $25,000,000 Deutsche Bank notes to U. S. investors, but some of the stock of this and of the Disconto has been bought with U. S. money.

Investors' enthusiasm for Dedi was not shared by German bank clerks. The great Deutsche Bank operates branch offices in 174 cities, has 14,000 employes on its payroll. There are some 50 branches of the Disconto Gesellschaft, a personnel of 7,000. With the announcement of the new merger came news that nearly half of these branch offices would be closed, in the interest of economy, some 2,000 employes of the two banks discharged. Dedibank was more thoughtful of its bank directors. The complete boards of both of the merging banks will sit at the meetings of Dedi, a "Parliament of Directors" with 109 members will direct the efforts of Dedi.