TRADING BANK RETURNS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 107, 2 November 1942, Page 3

TRADING BANK RETURNS

Returns of the six trading banks coing business in New Zealand as at the close of business on September 28. 1042, compared with returns for August 31, 1942. as furnished to the Reserve Bank of Xew Zealand, are as follows: —' LIABILITIES. Aug. .U. Sept. 2S. £'NZ. £NZ. Demand liabilities in ,„-,, New Zealand 63,347,543 ou,.'i>o,yl4 < Time liabilities iv New, j Zealand :..,...-.. 25,638,306 28.785.490 demand liabilities elsewhere in respect N.Z* business .... 650,092 583,377 Time liabilities elsewhere in respect N.Z. business .... 173,414 1,9,440 N.z. business excess of assets ' over liabilities .; 19,560,951 20,836,940 Total £112,870,338 £116,168,761 \ASSETS. Reserve balances held Reserve Bank 20,930,910 -21,410,208 Overseas assets in respect N\Z. business: London 12,088,045 11,966,266 Elsewhere .... 2,557,875 2,614,913 Subsidiary coin N.Z. 628,486 648,055 Advance^ in N.Z. .. 41,979,156 42,267,169 Discounts 170,245 135,693 Reserve Bank notes 3,823,777 4,216,422 Securities held N.Z.: Government .. 27,851,587 30,048,538 Other ■ 905,078 919,965 Land, buildings, furniture in N.Z 1,935,179 1,941,031 Totat ...... £112,870,338 £116,168,761 Principal figures in ihe above return are Compared with those for September 29, 1941, shown in parentheses :—Overseas assets In respect to New Zealand business held by the banks as for September, 1942 (N.Z. currency) were as follows: London, £11,9T0,26G (£9,867,662) and elsewhere, * £2,614,913 (£2,712,275) : total, £14,581,179 (£12,570,937). For August. 31, 1942, the total amounted to £34.643,920. Deposits, fixed and free, combined, totalled £94.569,004 (£78,935,538). For August 1942,\they amounted to £92,485.851. Advances and discounts totalled £42,402,862 (£47,810.364). - For August, 1942, they wore £42,149,401. The excess of deposits over advances for September, 1942, amounted to (£52,166,142 I £31,125,174). For August, 1942, this, surplus was £50.336,450. Government securities held by tho banks in New Zealand, September. lj>42, was £30.048,538: September, 1941, £23,255,405; September, 1940, £17,074,270. ' 7

LONDON SHARE INDICES. (By Telegraph—; Press Association—Copyright.) LONDON, October 31. "Financial Times" indices (1926 equals 100*:— ■-■ Govt. Home Indus- Gold sees, rails, trials, mines. October 1 .. 114.1 61.0 109.5 119.(5 October 2S .. 111.0 62.9 113.6 151.3 October 30 .. 113.9 62.9 114.0 151.9 DOW JONES SHARE AVERAGES NEW YORK, October 31. Dow Jones (1926 equals 100) :— . .20 30 Shares Ralls. Indus. sold. October 1 28.25 109.65 556,000 October 28 25.6.1 113.11 -196,000 October 30 28.64 113.50 517,000 October 31 25.85 114.07 350,000 PIGS AND POULTRY. Dominion Auctioneering Company, Ltd., Palmerston Korth, reports receiving a small yarding of pigs at its sale on Thursday, und prices for all classes of pigs as high. Poultry was again in demand. It quotes as follows: — Pigs: Wfeancrs, 33s to 39s each, slips 36s to £2, stores td £2 Bs, porkers to 413 2s 6d, baconers to £4. Poultry: Heavy hens 5s ld to fls 3d each, advanced ducklings to 8s 3d, ducks 4s 6d to ss, roosters 4s to 5s 3d, young Cockerels from Js ,4d to 2s 6d, hens and Chicks from 7s 6'd to 275. BUSINESS IN BRIEF. Alluding to the problem of providing additional capital to finance defence works, Mr. \V. A. Inch, chairman of K. T, Brown, steel furniture manufacturers, Melbourne, said workihg capital had been depleted by expansion of turnover, and tlie board had been forced to the conclusion that the onl.v method of financing increased Wartime turnover was by retaining profits in the business. Dividend .on ordinary shares was reduced from 10 to 5 per cent. Although those profits would be retained In the business for the express purpose Of financing defence demands, undistributed profits tax of 2s In the pound would become payable thereon. Myer Emporium, Melbourne, directors report sales as tlie highest recorded In the company's history. Gross profit percentage showed a reduction because sales generally were made below usual rate of gross profit. Expensfii percentage showed a reduction on last year. Subsidiaries showed satisfactory results, Net profit of parent company was £167.137 after providing fi 226,389 for taxation. Mr. F. H. Skuse, chairman, H. M. Leggo and Company, Ltd., packers and preservers, alelbourne, Informed shareholders that shortage of labour and absenteeism hi}d been very serious problems for the past twelve months, and the position was still bad. It was difficult to account for' the high percentage of absenteeism—particularly amongst female em-ployees-~rauglng from 25 per cent, to over 40 per cent, on many days, and which thoroughly disorganised production. Excessive taxation of business in Australia was referred to by Sir. Sidney Snow, chairman of Snows Men's Wear, Ltd. He remarked that because shareholders had joined together and formed a company, tbelr profits were flrst taxed 9s 4d in the pound, and the balance remaining was then taxed at.ordinary personal rates. The earner of a similar., income from other sources in many cases escaped .taxation altogether. Display of prices of various, commodities on retail sale in Australia is officially regarded as impractical, as prices vary according to many circumstances and are subject to frequent changes. Advocates for display of prices to the public hold that it would deprive the buyer of an excuse that ho did not know the price he paid was above the legal maximum. It would also prevent an unscrupulous trader cheating au unsuspecting buyer. Referring to the quota system of clothing sales, Iho chairman of Cox Bros. (Australasia), Ltd., Mr. A. V. WAlker. at the annual meet-! ing, held In 'Melbourne, remarked that the period in whicli the quota system operated was a time when clothing sales were at midwinter peak. Trade in normal years in tho^c weeks \s-tf much ahead of the weekly average for the year. The net result was that reduction in turnover for that period had been 45 per cent, to 30 per cent, instead of 2j per cent.

The Stock Exchange is advised by cable today that Broken - HUI -South .has declared a dividend of ls per Shitre, payable in Melbourne, December 23. .