COMMERCIAL STERLING FUNDS REACH NEW RECORD

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 August 1946, Page 4

COMMERCIAL STERLING FUNDS REACH NEW RECORD

Sterling funds held in London by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand have reached the record total of £NZ86,772,478. This is £900,309 more than the previous peak reached in the week ended March 25, after which the total was 'reduced by £NZ19.870,655 with the repayment in London’of £stg 18,000,000 under the Memorandum of Security Agreement. This was the last overseas war debt of the Dominion arising from the Second World War.

Since January 1 of this year the Government has reduced New Zealand’s total indebtedness in London by just over £5tg41,392.000, or approximately £NZ51,000,000. This amount is made up of a London loan of £5tg12,886,110, or about £NZIS,000,000, redeemed on New Year’s Day a loan of £5tg10,505,989, or slightly more than £NZ13,000,000 redeemed on February 1, and the ’repayment under the Memorandum of Security Agreement on April. 1. Since these heavy calls were met, sterling funds have been steadily building up each week, with the exception of some minor falls. The latest weekly gain is £1,229,603. As a result, the proportion of reserve to notes and other demand liabilities of the bank has risen to the high level of 73.872 per cent. With the London'assets of the six

New Zealand trading banks as at the end of June funds held in London by the Dominion are now in the vicinity of £NZ98,800,000. MININGNEWS Rimu Dredging Company.—The return for the clean-up period from July 23 to August 6 was 271 ounces of gold from 69,025 yards of material in 235| hours. July totals were 382.67 ounces from 92,359 yards in 318 hours. r COMPANY NEWS Commercial Bank. —Net profit of £262,185, compared with £252,423 the’’previous year, is shown in the annual accounts of the Commercial Bank of Australia, Ltd., to be presented to the annual meeting in Melbourne on August 22. To the net profit is added the carry forward from, the previous year, £117,825, making a total of £380,000. After payment of interim dividends requiring £117,347, and writing £25,000 off premises, the balance left is £237,663. The directors propose that this be apportioned as follows: Dividend on preference shares at 4 per cent., £42,347; dividend on ordinary shares at 7 per cent., £75,000. After these appropriations have been made there is left a balance of £120,316 to be carried forward. The dividend on ordinary shares in 1945 was 7 1-12 per cent. The balancesheet shows deposits,' bills payable, and other liabilities at £77,917,980, compared with £68,398,200 the previous years. On the assets side loans,

advances, and bills discounted total : £26,195,336, as against £23,141,186 in 1945. The directors state that the results of the year’s operations have not been materially affected by items of an abnormal character. KOKATAHI DAIRY SALE The National Mortgage and Agency : Coy. Ltd., report on the sale of dairy i cattle on account of Messrs Thomas Ritchie and A. Dimmick, held yesterday, as follows: There was a large at- ' tendance of buyers present from sur- ’ rounding districts and practically the whole of the yarding was disposed of ' at good prices. The following is a list of the principal sales: —Account of , Thomas Ritchie, 12 cows from £ll to £l4/10/- (average £l2/8/9), 14 rising 3-year heifers from £9 to ; £l3/10/- (average £ll/16/9). Account of A. Dimmick, 10 cows from i £9 to £l2/10/- (average £lO/18/-), 6 rising 2-year heifers from £lO to £ll/15/- (average £lO/19/-). One rising 3-year pedigree milking shorthorn bull at 16£ guineas.