Need For Increase In Small Savings Seen

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30561, 2 October 1964, Page 21

Need For Increase In Small Savings Seen

Over the last 10 years there had been very violent fluctuations in savings, accompanied by extreme instability in the economy, said Mr C. A. McFarlane, chairman of the New Zealand Savings Committee, when he visited Christchurch yesterday. National Savings Week will be held from October 5 to October 10 this year. Mr McFarlane made the comment when he was asked about the need for savings weeks. He said there was a record amount of savings in July, and so far this year savings were higher than at the same period last year. “But they are nothing to be complacent about. We are out to get the savings up to a satisfactory level and keep them there,” he said. Over the last decade the trend had been to have two good years of savings followed by a bad. “We have had our two good years, and it will be interesting to see whether th© pattern of the last 10

years can be broken by having another good year this year,” Mr McFarlane said. Quoting figures of small savings for each year ended on March 31, Mr McFarlane said the amount in 1961 was £3lm, in 1962 £l7m, in 1963 £2Bm, and in 1964 £43m. These amounts were the excess of deposits over withdrawals. So far this year things had gone quite well. For the period April-July last year the savings were film. They were £lsm for the same period this year. In August, 1963, the increase in savings was £4m. The increase in August, 1964, was just under £2m, so that might be a danger signal, said Mr McFarlane. Although savings had increased, so had expenditure on consumer goods and services, Mr McFarlane said. This meant that the expenditure on capital goods, though improving, had not reached the targets set “The demand for invest-

ment capital is perhaps greater than ever, so we must not let up on our efforts to increase the general level of savings,” Mr McFarlane said.