LIBERTY LOAN

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 May 1942, Page 4

LIBERTY LOAN

SMALL SUBSCRIBERS WANTED. WELLINGTON, May 21. Mr. W. L. Ward, Acting-Governor ot the Reserve Bank, in a statement regarding the Liberty Loan, said that up to Wednesday night £7,600,000 had been received. That was very good, but the number of subscribers was only 3900. That meant an average subscription of about £2OOO an applicant. There remained £7,500,000 to be taken up, and it was to the many thousands of small subscribers that he looked to provide the bulk of this amount.

It might seem a pretty tall order, he added, but he wanted from the people of New Zealand 20,000 to 30,000 subscribers to this Liberty Loan. This should not be impossible because, looking at the financial returns, he found that lying in the trading banks on open current account there was some £61,000,000, and this, he added, was growing and would continue to grow, as the bulk of the loan would be spent in New Zealand and would ultimately circulate through all channels of trade. In the Post Office Savings Bank the depositors held £69,000,000, while the trustees of the savings banks had between them about £15,000,000 to £ 16,000,000. Thus there was about £146,000,000 lying in the hands of the people in the various banks. Of that sum £ 15,000,000 was not a very large percentage. In addition to the £146,000,000 there was in the pockets of the people—and in some pockets burning holes—the sum of £20,000,000 in notes, a portion of which surely should be available towards the Libertj' Loan. Mr. Ward explained that In order to assist people with limited means, arrangements had been made with the trading banks whereby those banks would advance to any applicants 90 per cent, of the amount they wished to subscribe directly to the Liberty Loan. If a person wished to subscribe £lOO, he was required to pay £lO down and the trading bank would find the balance. He would be charged interest, calculated on a day-to-day basis at the low rate of 31 per cent, per annum. He v/ould also have the right to repay the money on any day. but in order that advances might be repaid within a reasonable period the banks would require repayment at the rate of 15 per cent, of the loan subscription each month, thus giving a maximum period of six months for repayment. At the end of that period the advance would be fully repaid, and the bond of inscribed stock would be handed to the person concerned by the bank. TOTAL NOW £ 7,804,000.

WELLINGTON, May 22. 'The Reserve Bank reports that Liberty’ Loan subscriptions total £7,804,000. This amount includes 2L per cent, stock £2.927,230. and 3 per cent stock £4,877.250. Recent applications include £lO.OOO from H. and A. G. and C. B. and C. Smith, Ltd., and £lO,OOO from Aulsebrnok and Co.