RESERVES SECRET

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21900, 19 December 1945, Page 5

RESERVES SECRET

BANK OF_ENGLAND INFORMATION REFUSED

NATIONALISATION DEBATE (10 a.m.) LONDON, Dec. 18. All efforts to discover the amount of the Bank of England’s reserves were blandly parried or firmly resisted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Dr. Hugh Dalton, in the debate in the House of Commons during the committee stage of the Bank of England Bill. The Chancellor based his refusal on the advice given to him by the governor of the bank, who said: “I would consider the disclosure of these inner reserves greatly against the national interest.”

The bill passed the committee stage.

The Government firmly resisted amendments designed to ensure, first, the redemption of Government bank stock on April 5, 1966, and not later; secondly, a discussion on Government nominees before they were appointed.

When nationalisation takes effect, the directorate of the bank will be reduced from 24 to 16. The retiring age will he 66, says the Daily Mail. Four directors will retire each year and will be eligible for re-appointment. The members of the House of Commons who pressed for complete privacy for private accounts at the bank had the satisfaction of gaining an amendment making this legal.