HIGHER BANK ADVANCES

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23362, 23 June 1941, Page 4

HIGHER BANK ADVANCES

Dominion Business Conditions

Comparisons of the indexes of the various phases of economic activity for April, with corresponding figures for April of last year, are affected to some extent because of the Easter vacation period falling this year in April, whereas in 1940 it fell in March, states the Abstract of Statistics. The shortened working month is reflected particularly in the volume of bank debits (cheque transactions), the average for the month being 12 per cent, below that of April of last year. Other factors similarly affected were railway goods traffic (in which the net ton-miles run showed a decline of 11.5 per cent.), mortgage registrations, and land transfer transactions. Bank advances, which recorded a phenomenal advance in March, have risen still further, the average for April being £.861,060 above the March figure. The active bank note circulation also recorded >. further sharp advance during April, the average for the mpnth being £684,900 above that of the previous month.

Banking

The average weekly value of bank debits to individual customers’ accounts during April was £19,197,449, a decrease of £7.122,701 below the abnormally high average for March, and also a decrease of £2,614,400 as compared with April, 1940. No doubt this comparatively low level of bank debits is accounted for in some measure by the fact that the Easter vacation period fell in April of this year, whereas the month of March marked the occasion of that period in 1940. ’ , . The average'of total bank deposits for April was £82,358,973, as compared with £82,250,113 in March, the increase of - £337,008 in the average of deposits on current account being largely offset by a fall of £287,314 in the amount of fixed deposits. Compared with April, 1940, deposits on current account show an increase of £6,610,108, and fixed deposits a decrease of £2,034,741, while the ratio of free to fixed deposits has risen from 135 per cent, to 165.5 per cent, over the year. The phenomenal increase In bank advances which was recorded in March has been followed by a further rise in April, the average for the latter month being £52,647,537, as compared with £51,786,477 in the former. The corresponding figure for April, - 1940, was £49,246,078. In spite of the increase in the average of advances for April, 1940, the amount of unexercised overdraft authorities as at the twenty- * eighth of the month totalled £29,956,194, as compared with £29,894,140 on March 31. ( There has been a further sharp increase in the active bank note circulation, the average for April being £17,349,274, as compared with £16,664,374 in March. The average for April, .1940, was £ 13,606,522. , ' . The net amount of overseas funds (on account of New Zealand business) of banks .operating in New Zealand was, at April 28, £ (N.Z.)32,188,454, ■> as compared with £(N.Z.)29,768,415 at March 31, and £ (N.Z.)24,607,069 at April 29, 1940. The April, 1041, figure is the highest recorded since August, 1937 Deposits with the Post Office and trustee savings banks during April totalled £3,003,000, and withdrawals £2,509,847, leaving, an excess of deposits of £553,791. Comparative' figures for April, 1940, were: deposits, £3,434,030, withdrawals, £2,724,011; excess oft deposits, £710,019. These figures do not include deposits in national savings accounts, which from their inception in October, 1939, to .April 30, 1940, amounted to £855,597. In addition, receipts from the sale of national savings bonds during the same period totalled £650,540. . External Trade

The declared value of merchandise exports during April Was £6,561,166, as. compared with £6,407,628 in March, and*. £8,422,171 m April, 1940. The last-mentioned figure, however, was particularly high for an April month, the totals for that month of the preceding two years being £4,933,095 and £4,547,168 for 1939 and 1938 imports in April were valued at £3.859,278, a decrease of £74,493 below the March;.figure, and e decrease,of £504,969 as compared with April, 1940'. For the first four months of the current calendar year exports amounted to £24,609,796, a decrease of £5,422,708 below the total for the corresponding period of 1940. Compared with the preceding two years, however, there is little difference in the figures. yaluM for the four months of 1939 and 1938 being £24,998,806 and £26,121,873 respectively. Commodity imports in the Hast four months of 1941 amounted to £ 12,838,092, compared with £14,422,606 in that period of 1940, and £ 17,651,296 in a similar period of 1939. In each of the periods referred to an excess of exports over imports resulted, the amount of the ex* cess ip each case being: 1941, £11,881,704; 1940, £15,699,998; 1939, £7,347,510. \ Building Activity * The aggregate value represented by building permits issued in the larger centres during April was £526,852. -This figure, which incidentally is the lowest recorded since March 1937, represents a decrease of £06,454 (15.3 per cent.) below the total for March, 1941, and a decrease of; £324,959 (38.1 per cent.) as compared Witii April, 1940. The statistics for April include 393 permits for the, erection'of new buildings, the value being £413j225. This represents a decrease of 22 in number and £8455 in value as compared with March, and a decrease of 208 in number and £203,895 in value-below the totals for April, 1940. Included in the dwelling figures for April, 1941, were 192 houses the erection of which’ was commenced by the Housing Construction Branch of the State Advances Corporation, which, during the month, also commenced operations on 27 new dwellings in other districts. Comparative figures for April, 1940, were 359 and 41 respectively. In March, 1941, the Housing Construction Branch commenced the construction of 173 new dwellings in the larger centres and 25 in other districts.