ENGLISH BANKS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 31, 6 February 1941, Page 8

ENGLISH BANKS

LOANS TO STATE

WARTIME EXPANSION

(British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, February 4. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Kingsley Wood, replying to a question in the House of Commons, said that the published accounts of the five, leading bank's increased by £437,000,000 state precisely the amounts lent by them direct to the Government since the beginning of the war, but the following figures would give some indication of the sums involved. In the period August, 1939, to December, 1940, the deposits of the five leading banks increased by £473,000,000 which, together with decreases in advances of £59,000,000, increased their liquid assets by £532,000,000. Cash balances, money at call, and the like and cheques in course of circulation increased by. £130,000,000, and the balance of £402,000,000 was accounted for by an increase of £262,000,000 in bills discounted, consisting almost exclusively of Treasury bills and Treasury deposits, and a large increase of investments, almost exclusively in Government securities. The Exchequer returns shov: that the year's revenue reached £1,000,000,000 last week. A further £336,000,000 must be found before March 31.