BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXV, Issue LXV, 24 April 1913, Page 8

BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

Mil ISEAUCHAMFS VIEWS. »«■ TSLiGRAPH—PttJSriS AXBOGIATIOK* 'WELLINGTON, April 24. Mr ILnrold Beauchamp, chairman of the Bank of New Zealand, with reference to the statement attributed to Mr Watson at Auckland that he and his colleagues were opposed to the suggestion that the first issue of new capital should be at a premium, says: "I think it mv duty to say at once that no such opinion has been expressed by Mr Watson's colleagues. It is pretty generally known that he. and Mr Martin Kennedy, representatives of the shareholders, maintain that new shares created by the Bank should be issued to shareholders at par, but, to prevent undue inflation in the value of existing shares, it would be well for buyers to plainly understand that this vie^v is not shared by other members of the Board, including myself. Having regard to the earning power of the Bank, its large reserve and undivided profits, together with the value of its goodwill, I cannot conceive why Messrs Kennedy and Watson should expect to carry such an inequitable and unbusinesslike proposition. If, as the result of their advocacy, shares were issued at par—the height of improbabilityit would be tantamount to presenting existing shareholders with a bonus ol approximately £6 13s 4d per share— that is assuming the new shares were called up to £3 6s 8d —and there is no justification for that. In any scheme presented to Parliament for ratification the interests of the Bank and the State should unquestionably be paramount."