MONEY PLENTIFUL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3052, 13 April 1917, Page 6

MONEY PLENTIFUL

The banking returns for the first quarter of the current year are available, and the figures are interesting from the fact that while savings are being made there is an increasing tendency to borrow from the banks. Thus while the fixed and free deposits together show in the aggregate an increase of £3,082,487, as compared with the corresponding quarter of 1916, the increase in the advances an'ct discounts amounts to £3,961,03'8. The increase in the amount borrowed from the banks exceeded ,the increased amount deposited by the sum of £878,551. This movement is rather favourable than otherwise, for it proves that credit can be profitably employed just now. The position with respect to deposits is disclosed in the table appended: — lbMar.,1916. Mai., 1917. crease. Govt, deposits 4,855,939 7,357,119 2,501,160 Free deposits- 19,091,949 20,970,702 1,878,753 Fixed deposits 12,182,104 13,385,838 1,203,734

36,129,992 41,713,659 5,583,667 The expansion in the Government deposits is a feature of the above table:—For the March quarter of 1915 the amount stood at £3,256,715, so that the total has more than doubled in two years. A large part of this would probably represent trust.funds, the New Zealand Government now handling large amounts on behalf of the Imperial authorities purchasing procjuce in the Dominion. The increase in the free deposits is_ moderate, but all the "banks shared in the increase, the Bank of New Zealand showing an expansion of £944,768, the Union Bank £248,619, Bank of New South "Wales £183,540, Bank of Australasia £292,029, National Bank £167,213, and Commercial Bank £42,584. " The fixed deposits'show a relatively large increase, and the figures of each bank are appended: liiMar.,1916. Mar., 1917. crease. Bank. £ £ ■ £ Now Zealand/... 6,120,355 * 6,711,191 590,836 Union 1,553,656 1,588,728 35,072 New South Wales 1,864.252 2,192,422 328,170 Australasia, ... 774,847 926,481 151,634 National 1,836,711 1,917,467 80,756 Commercial ... 33,283 49,549 16,266 ■ 12,182,104 13,385,838 1,203,734 'The Commercial Bank shows an increase of nearly 50. per cent., and the Bank of New' South Wales also shows to advantage. Taking the fixed and free deposits for a series of years we get the following table: Free Fixed Total March !• v deposits, "deposits, deposits, £ £ '£ 1913 13,460,530 10,426,726 ' 23,887,256 1914 13,475,771 10,554,479 24,030,250 1915 ...... 15,958,732 10,870,507 26,829,239 1916 19,091,949 12-,182,1,04 31,274,053 1917 20,970,702 13,385,838 34,356,540 The growth in the free deposits is smaller than in 1916 a-nd 1915. Coming now to the advances, as already stated, there is tin increase compared' with a year ago of £3,895,830, and all the banks except the Union Bank shared in the expansion : . Mar., 1916. Mar.; 1917. Bank. ' £ £ £ N. Zealand 9,009,293 11,711,691 2,702,398 inc. TJnion 4,244,825 4,160,071 84,754 dec. N.S. Wales... 2,760,810 3,166,162 405,352 inc. •Australasia, 2,834,755 2,915,278 . 80,523 inc. National ... 3,274,617 3,962,278 687,661, inc. Commercial 121.937 226,587 104,650 inc.

> 22,246,237 26,142,067 3,895,830 inc. The discounts show the moderate increase, of £65,208, for which four of the institutions are responsible, tho Union Bank And Bank of Australasia exhibit decreases, the amount for the former being £17,679, arid for the latter £10,437. Taking the 'discounts and -advances for five years an interesting comparison is obtained:

March Discounts. Advances. Totals, quarter. \ £ £ £ 1913 1,967,351 21,025,105 ' 22,992,456 1914 2,017,107 21,649,643 23,666,750' 1915 1,634,418 . 22,106,144 23,740,662 1916 ...... 1;487,655 22,246,237 23,733,892 1917 ,1,552,863 . 26,142,067 27,694,930 : The increase under both heads in the 1917 quarter over that of the previous year totals £3,961,038. Comparing the aggregate of the .fixed and free deposits with the advances and discounts, the excess of the former over'the latter is shown in the table following: Excess of March Deposits. Advances, deposits. Quarter. £ £ £ 1913 23,887,256 22,992,456 - 894,800 ■ 1914 24,050,250 23,666,750 363,500 1915. 26,829,239 23,740,562 3,088,677 1916 ...... 31,274,053 23,733,892 7,540,161 1917 34,356,540 27,694,930 ' 6,661,610 The excess' is not so large on this ocoasion as it was last year, but it is still rather big. There is an increase in tho note circulation as compared with last year of £1)465,898, equal to over 45 per cent., while coin and bullion show an increase of £*742,781. The figures for the March quarters compare as under: ' Note ■ March circulation. Coin and bullion. Quarter. £ £ 1913 1,703,318 5,032,155 1914 1,666,939 5,317,861 1915 2,639,585 6,420,559 1916 • 3,171,553 7,120,854 1917 4,637,451 7,863,635 Taking the figures as a whole, it is obvious that there is an abundance of capital in the Dominion, and as the State will soon be making a call on the community for a substantial war loan, it is as well that the financial situation as disclosed by the banking returns is so satisfactory.