The Dominion. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1912. THE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1615, 5 December 1912, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1912. THE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

Several interesting matters were touched on at , the half-yearly meeting of the Bank of New Zealand yesterday. It is not customary at this meeting to place any figures before shareholders and the fact that the usual interim dividend was forthcoming no doubt fully met the needs of the occasion in this respect. The, Chairman's speech, however, embodied- information of . moment to "those interested in the, Bank, particularly in the matter of the proposal to increase the capital of tho institution. There can be no doubt that the existing capital- of the Bank is comparatively small and it is equally true that tho Bank at the present time could profitably employ a great deal more capital. The- circumstances of the moment in a measure account for this latter state of things. Money is scarce, and as the Chairman put it, "the scope for the employment of money at the present time is wide." But apart from the exceptional state of the money market it has been felt for some time past that an addition to the share capital of the Bank would be advantageous. Mr. Watson, in his review of tho position of the Bank, explained, very, clea-rly the history of the share capital; the writings-ofj of a large proportion of the original capital, and the assistance rendered by ,the State'which led to the State acquiring an interest in the institution. Me. Watson, as a representative of the shareholders on the Board of Directors, as distinct from the directors nominated by the Government, naturally laid stress on the early losses of shareholders, and generally speaking appeared, to view the position almost entirely from the point of view of those ho directly represents. This, of 'course, was excusable enough, but in any rearrangement of the share capital of the Bank the interests of the State will have to be equally closely watched. It is quite true that the State has lost nothing by coming to the assistance of the Bank, but that is no reason at all why, having taken the risk and helped the Bank out of its past difficulties, it should now sacrifice any of the advantages which have resulted from its action. We do not suggest that any attempt is being made, or is likely to be know 1 ingly made, to prejudice the interests of the State, but when the legislation necessary to. enable additional share' capital to be raised. is before Parliament, 'Care should bo taken to see that the interests of both the existing shareholders and the State are fully preserved For ourselves, if the Bank were in a position to buy out the interests,of the State at their current value, we should be very pleased to see it do so. Wβ do not like the Government of the country sharing in a banking enterprise very much more than we like the idea of a State Bank, despite the fact that the Government to-day _is making a handsome profit on ita investment in the Bank of New Zealand. At the present moment, howevei'j that is a question which need not be discussed. The Government will no doubt continue_ to hold its shares and nominate its directors and participate in the profits of the Bank. The Chairman at yesterday's meeting, while somewhat pessimistic concerning tho financial stringency which is making money dear and difficult to obtain, spoke in cheerful terms respecting the state of the Dominion's trade and ■ industries. There is particularly good ground for satisfaction in the condition of the wool market and with a little less- tension on the money market the outlook generally would be a bright one.