BANKING AFFAIRS.

Press, Volume L, Issue 8484, 16 May 1893, Page 5

BANKING AFFAIRS.

THREE MORE SUSPENSIONS.

tree* aaaoeteUoo—fileetrie Xeleereph— Cvpyti&A. Brisbane, May 15. The Queensland National Bank has suspended payment. Its liabilities are £10,622,970, including £8,526,962 of deposit*. Tbeasaets iuclude£B,l33 t 3B7 worth of advances and other due debt*, also £106,395 worth of coin and bullion. The cause of suspension is attributed to the continuous withdrawal of money in the London office. A. scheme of reconstruction is now under consideration.

The iJank of North Queensland has also suspended pendiug re-construc-tion. Its liabilities are £651,303, iucludiug £350,776 deposits. The aseeta include i>109.114 in coin aud bullion, and £494,402 in advances.

The Government are guaranteeing the notes of the National Bank.

The Permanent Building and Benefit Society has suspended payment owing to its banking wich Che Queensland National Bank.

The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney has suspended payment, pending re-construction. The decision was arrived at at a meeting of the Directors this afternoon. The liabilities are over £14,000,000, including £11,444,000 of deposits. The assets include coin and bullion, £1,702,000; advances, <fee, £11,016,000. The suspension has caused considerable surprise, as it was hoped that general confidence was restored. The withdrawal of deposits has been steadily kept up, and over a million pounds was taken out of the Bank in. the last few days. A scheme for reconstructing the institution is under consideration.

The Government and the leading Bankers had a conference to-day on the advisability of bringing the Bank Issue Bill into operation. No decision, however, was arrived at.

The Government propose to amalgamate the Government Savings Bank and Post Office Savings Bank.

Melbourne, May 15.

The manager of the English, Scottish and Australian Chartered Bank states that the cable message from London announcing the proposed amalgamation of the Bank with the London Chartered Bauk is incorrect.

The creditors of the Metropolitan Bank have adopted a reconstruction aeheme.

The depositors in the Bank of Victoria are not satisfied with the Directors , scheme, and have carried a motion that the scheme is unsatisfactory. The depositors, as well as shareholders, have appointed a Committee to draft a new scheme.

QUEENSLAND NATIONAL BANK.

The Queensland National Bank, Limited, Brisbane, was registered at Brisbaue in 1872. The London office is at 29 Lombard street, E.G. The subscribed ' capital is £1,600,000, in shares of £10, of tvhich £800,000, or £5 per chare, is paid up. The Bank paid 10 per cent, and sometimes even as much as 12 and 15 per cent, dividend. At the forty-first annual half-yearly meeting, held in Brisbane on 25th June last, a dividend at the rate of 10 per cent, was declared, and £161,810. 15s 6d was carried forward; In his speech the Chairman (Mr F. H. JSaii., M.itil/.) «aid the business of the Bank remained steady, and expressed a hope that an improvement had set in in the affairs of the colony. The following was the balance-sheet for the half-year ending 31st December, 1892 (London branch accounts being included to 30th September, 1892) ;—

Dr. £ s. d. Capital paid-up .. 800,000 0 0 Reserve fund ... .- 485,000 0 0 Notes in circulation .- 284,644 10 0 Bills in circulation .. 467,737 10 3 Deposits and other liabilities ... „. 8,526,962 3 7 Profit and loss ... — 58,626 4 8 Total ~ £10,622,970 8 6 Cr. £ s. d. Coin and bullion .«- 1,063,395 14 9 Cash balance ... .„ 671,129 5 6 Money in London at call and on short notice ... 199,000 0 0 Government securities and debentures ... ... 42,814 18 7 Bills remitted and in transitu . ... ... 210,531 8 6 Bills receivable, and all other debts due to Bank 8,133,387 1 8 Bank premises, furniture, and stationery ... 302,711 19 6 Total ... ...10,622,970 8 6 BANK OF NORTH QUEENSLAND. The Bank of North Queensland, Limited, Townsville, was established early in 1889. It has a London Board of Advice and a firm in Glasgow act as Deposit agents for. Scotland. The authorised capital is £1,000,000, in shares of £10, of which £500,000 has been issued and £175,000 or £5 15s per share paid up. At the ninth half-yearly report, held in Townsville, on June 27th last» a dividend at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum was declared, and £1438 18s 2d was carried forward. The following was the Balaxce-Sheet fob the Half-Year Ended 31st Djbcembeb, 1892. Dβ. £ s. d. Deposits... ' - ... .~ 350,776 12 10 Notes in circulation ... 25,659 10 0 Bills payable and other liabilities 14,729 1 0 Balances dne to other Banks .. ... 115 13 0 Capitalsubscribed, £600,000. Paid up ."- ... — 249,335 10 0 Reserve fund ... .. .- 3,000-0 0 Profit and loss ... ... 7,687 511 £651,303 12 9 • Cβ. ■ ~ - ■--:■' ■ - ■ /•■ • / Coin and cash balances ... 101,211 6 1 BulWon ... ... .- 7,903; 5 3 Remittances in transit to branches and agents ... 25,569 1 1 Balances due from other 4,953 13 6 BiHs discounted and all other debts due to the Bank ... 484,407 2 6 Bank premises, furniture, stationery and stamp accounts ... ... 17,259 4 4

£651,303 12 9

The Chairman {Mr E. F. Saudeman), in the course of his speech, referred to the low prices at which shares in the Bank had been sold recently, and added—"Many causes have, no tlonbt, operated to bring about this state... of . affairs, but amongst these causes I am convinced that there is not one whicH has any well-founded reference to the .business or position of the Bank, In. these times of financial pressure, unless the shares are entirely held by very strong men, it is not to be expected that they ehould retain the selling -value ol times when money was plentiful. It is within my knowledge, and doubtless also within yonrs, that latterly many weak holders have been compelled" to place their shares upon the market for unreserved sale because their shares were the only property they possessed for which at the moment there were any buyers, -.and not because they wished to part with their shares. I , know of parcels amounting in all to over 1000 shares which have been forced upon the market from these causes within the last week or two, and .the result upon_such a limited market as ours in these times is inevitably to depress the stock far below its intrinsic value. All that I can say, gentlemen, upon this subject is thatafterreoentinveatiga-

CABLE NEWS.

tionof the whole of onr accounts, and a very rigid scrutiny of our general position, I have just made considerable purchase* of shares both for myself and my friends. I can give you no better proof than this of my own belief in the intrinsic value of our shares, and I regard them as affording a most desirable present and prospective investment. I hope, gentlemen, that these remarks may in some degree reassure any shareholders who have felt any uneasiness at the present low market price of the shares, and I can assure you that, speaking with every knowledge on the subject, I have an undiminished faith in the future prosperity of the Bank."