BANK OF NEW ZEALAND

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue 9480, 6 December 1907, Page 7

BANK OF NEW ZEALAND

HALF-YEARLY MEETING

IFRKSS ASSOCIATION.!

WELLINGTON, December 6. At the half-yearly meeting . of the Bank of New Zealand the Chairman refeired to the recent fall in wool, hemp, mutton, tallow and pelts, hut did not consider the values obtaining left much cause for complaint. The fall was probably in sympathy with the disturbed state of the money market Ihe rates would improve with it. Adyertintr to the financial crisis, he predicted that if the 7 per cent. Bank of England rate was maintained for long the money market must harden in New Zealand; also the crisis in America was attributed to the New York bankG?3 trading on a narrow margin of gold and the encouragement of vast credit. He issued a note of warning in connection with the system in New Zealand of several large trading concerns competing for deposits and allowing interest on current bank balances. He had recently examined the published balance sheets of seven companies, and foxmd their indebtedness in this respect was £535,516. If by statute brnks are compelled to keep securities to the value of 6s 8d in the £ on their liabilities, payable on demand, it was only right that a similar obligation should he cast on these companies. It was gratifying to say the business and profits of the bank, so far, were well maintained and the prospects were encouraging. Mr Martin Kennedy, who had just returned from Home, nad made himself thoroughly acquainted ■with their business in London, and they would he pleased to hear they had psssed practically unscathed through tha recent trying times. 'During the recent year realisations of properties taken over from the Assets Board were ©fftcted to the extent of £332,646, and tha total left now stood at £585,565. Th-*. Board proposed to pay an interim dividend of 5 per cent, on both classes of shares. ■ 1

Mr Martin Kennedy, being unopposed, was declared to he re-elected to the Board.

Mr Martin Kennedy quoted particular of capital and reserves of other banking institutions doing business in tho colony with a view to showing that a snm of £150,000 ' was added to the reserve fund. The time had arrived for an increase of the dividend.

Ip reply to this the Chairman of Directors quoted paid-up capital and reserves of the other banking institutions as a set-off to Mr Kennedy. He declared it was inadvisable to attempt to increase the dividend until such a time as the reserves of the Bank of New Zealand fairly .approached those of other institutions with which it competed.

Mr Kennedy said while the reserves of other institutions exceeded those «M! the Bank of New Zealand, it had tc be remembered that their business consisted of operations which largely exthended throughout Australia, where there was always the possibility of bia; lcises through drought. It was in Australia the Bank of New Zealand had lost largely in the past, and while it still carried on business there it now dealt in a gilt-edged class of business.

The meeting passed a vote of thanks to the staff