MONEY FOR MORTGAGES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 7 September 1926, Page 5

MONEY FOR MORTGAGES.

B.N.Z. BILL BEFORE THE HOUSE. (BY TELEGRAPH PRESS ASSOCIATION.) WELLINGTON, Sept. 6. Thie Minister of Finance moved in the House of Representatives to-night the second reading of the Bank of New Zealand Bill, which, he said, was important because, if 'it passed, it u,I" > lrfc b«) the means of inducing; other- lending institutions to bring forward mortgage business in connection ; with, land. The proposal® in the Bill! wfeua put forward some months ago, 'but the Government did not accept it until the Hurafl Credits Commission brought down its report. As the result of further inquiry, there seemed to -be good reason why the Government should look favourably upon the Bill. There was one point, said the Minister, which did not appear in ihe Bill; that was that on this branch! of i4 s business the bank would bei taxed just as any other joint stock company. That would appear in the Appropriation Apt. Every facility would, Ibe given for other banks to- follow the example given. The Government’s share in the scheme would be £468,750, or onethirdl of the amount. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr H. E. Holland) said his party favoured the Bill because they felt more might come out of the .scheme than out of the Government scheme of rural advances. It meant more money, hut not cheap money. What struck him was that all through the piece the interests of the bank were to 'be paramount over the interests of everyone else. It was shown that when the general manager was before the commlittee he said the whole scheme would go by the board if the 'bank did; not get a concession of £6OOO in taxation. Further, while the country was to get 6 per cent, for its capital, the bank insisted that its shareholders should receive 7£ per cent., which was a fairly high rate, of interest. . ... Air G. W. Fodb-es (Hwrunui) said there was ilittle doubt that the interests of .the bank was the first consideration. However, he welcomed: the Bill, because it would relieve the position considerably so -far as the settlers were conSiir Joseph Ward: said that the trouble in New Zealand was that so many people wanted money and in larger sums than most finandinl institutions could lend. The Bank of New Zealand was now preparing to- do 'banking business on a very different basis to that ever (lone before,-and 1 this experiment would be watched with -the greatest imerest. If the bank was as well managed in future as it had been since 1894 be had every confidence that the scheme would be a success. _ ~ Air .T. A. Lee. (Auckland East) said the scheme would, (result-in th-et divertinjoi of funds .into thin coffers of the bank and awav from the local' bodies. There was nothing se’f-sacrificing about this proposal. , Mr AV. S. Glenn (Rangrtikei) thought this was a piece of as good legislation as was ever passed bv the House. It would -have a real steadying effect on tt*> finances of the Domfinion; The Alinister, i.rt reply, sc-id he thought the Leader of the Opposition was mistaken in what he said l with regard to the bank demanding a concession of £6OOO in taxation. He was- under the impression that the bank said if it could giot o-et the concession it would l-eouire to lend money a,t 61- per cent. The Bill was read a second time.