STILL SAVING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 136, 10 June 1932, Page 5

STILL SAVING.

THRIFTY AUCKLANDERS. SCHOOL BANK SYSTEM. SUCCESS OF MOVEMENT. Despite the depression and reductions in nearly all kinds of income, there are thousands of people in Auckland who are .-till able to save money. It might be expected that there would bo loss money saved now than two or three year- ago. but ligiires supplied by the Auckland Savings Hank reveal that people arc saving as much as ever.

One of ti;o remarkable features of the Auckland Savings Bank is the s-jliool bank,- department. Tcii thousand depositors from 70 All ■kluml and suburban primary and secondary schools kit "i\ the hunk- of the l*;iiik. ;iiii in this department there is a credit balance of £10.800. The aim of the school banks is tii encourage children to put by a definite nu:n regularly, .nid probably the succe.-* of the system can be attributed to_ the fact that money is collected from the children weekly. It is paradoxical that, one of the host saving schools in Auckland is in ;i poor district. Even in the last twelve months there has been an increase in deposits of over £.">OO, which shows that the children arc alive to the necessity of saving money. Thrift Clubs. Facilities for small savings by workers in city establishments were offered by the bank when thrift clubs were started six years ago. During the last two years there has been no decrease in the number of depositors, nor in the amount of money saved. In fact till March 31 last over £350 more than the previous year had been deposited. Thrift clubs have become popular in many city firms, with the result that 5300 accounts have been opened at the bank through this means. The aggregate in this department is £20,000, and this figure, although not increasing, is being steadily maintained. The only branch of the Auckland Savings Bank which has shown a decrease in the amount of money deposited is the penny branch. It was established in 1870"and grew steadily for many years. The peak year was 102!). when £20,930 was fcaved by penny bankers, but since then the deposits have fallen away until this year only £17,447 was handled. Probably the explanation is that the bank has encouraged children to save through the schools.