FIGURES AND FACTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 140, 16 June 1939, Page 6

FIGURES AND FACTS.

It \vn- formerly the custom fur the chairman of the Hunk of New Zealand, in presenting tlic hiiiiuhl ri'port to t-hnroliolilcrs, u> ifvipw the whole pcnnoniic* lielil, to annly.-r the country'* position n> revealed by its national mid tHiding H"jruros, to dip into tlip future, unci to Momethinsr of » homily upon public ami private Unnncc unci its manaprenient. Tho>e days are gone, and the chairman now keeps well clear of economic controversies mid theories, and contents himself with ;m examination of the position jis revealed by the stark figure a of the yenr's trading. Some hard things have been said .iljout the bHnk, but this can be >,iid in its defence, that there is not the slightest suggesition of polities, of party, or of criticism of Government policies or activities in any part of the report or of the chairman's comment upon it. The entirely factual account of the year's operations shows that the Bank of New Zealand has done nil in its: power to make the t;isk of government and the path of the business man as easy as its resources permitted. During the pnst five years the deposits have varied but little, but the ratio of advances to deposits has steadily increased till it is higher by 17 per cent than it was in 1935 and now reaches a total of 84.8 per cent, a margin which indicates a desire on the part of those controlling the bank to give the maximum assistance, consonant with stability, to the mercantile community. In addition to that the bank took up half a million of the £4,500,000 loan. If other banks subscribed proportionately, at least a third of the loan must have eome from that source, so that they have been an important factor in the success which attended the flotation. One of the most interesting fentures of Mr. Donnelly's analysis is contained in the final paragraph, in which he states that there have been discussions between the bank and the Minister of Finance during the term of the present Government, but that these have always been in general terms and have involved no disclosures of the business of any customer, that the Government has kept the high standards of the post, and that the business is conducted on the lines which it has always followed. The capital nnd the moneys of the depositorare ax unfe us they have ever been in the history of the bank. That is a direct and nmV rl ennfinnntion of the view generally '■'■id by the commercial community, and i.-, a satisfactory and comforting assurance.