About one third of these banks are on the mutual plan, having no capital stock (most of them in the East) and these contain about four fifths of all the deposits.
The stock savings banks have individual deposits of over a billion dollars, and have outstanding capital stock to the amount of about $90,000,000 (about 9 per cent of their deposits).

These stock savings banks to a much greater extent than do the mutual banks transact also a commercial business.
The banks on the mutual plan are therefore the most important, the typical savings banks.

The average rate of interest they paid to depositors in 1914 was 3.86 per cent.

About one half of their resources are invested in loans, mostly to small borrowers on the security of real estate, and most of the remainder consists of bonds and other securities of the safer kinds.
Savings banks are subject to the supervision and inspection of the banking departments in the several states, a fact that exerts a salutary effect though not insuring absolutely against either mistaken judgment or dishonesty on the part of the bank officials.[8] Savings banks seek to keep invested as large a part as possible of their assets, keeping only in ready cash enough to meet a possible temporary excess of withdrawals over deposits.

In contrast with the policy of commercial banks with their demand deposits, the sound policy for savings banks is to reserve the right to require notice of intention to withdraw.