EIGHTH OF ALL

THE BANK BRANCH OFFICE

In every neighborhood the large banks have their branch offices. If you have the money, you can commission the purchase of stocks there; and if you have an account, you can withdraw cash. You can cash checks there, too, as long as they’re not “for deposit only.” Sometimes salesclerks and assistants come by to change a ten-mark bill into hundreds of smaller coins so their cashier will have something to make change with. And if someone wants to convert dollars or Swiss francs or liras into German money, they can do that here, too. Even at night, sometimes, people come to the bank. Even though there’s no one there to help them. So they help themselves instead.