THE BANK RETURNS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 241, 11 October 1929, Page 6

THE BANK RETURNS.

The chief interest of the bank returns lies in their bearing on the industrial and financial position of the country, and in these respects the figures for the September quarter ar# to some extent encouraging. There is a substantial increase in deposits, particularly fixed deposits, in comparison with the similar figures in the corresponding quarter of last year, but a still greater increase in the advances total. As a matter of fact, fixed deposits have, increased by £1,350,000, and total deposits by over £3,100,000, while advances have risen by £4,500,000. But discounts and advances together fall short of the sum total of free and fixed deposits by more than £5,000,000. It is true that the banks have been able to let out a greater proportion of their surplus funds than a year ago, but the amount of money lying virtually idle is still disproportionately large. It is suggested by way of consolation, on the authority of that eminent expert Professor Cassel, that money lying in a bank on deposit is not "idle," because the bank is employing it all the time "to increase its own assets, whether in the form of loans or securities." . But the banks here are certainly not using their deposits to finance industrial and commercial undertakings on any appreciable scale, and therefore this money is "lying idle" so far as the economic development of the Dominion is concerned, to our financial and industrial loss.