THRIFT OF THE PEOPLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19550, 1 February 1927, Page 14

THRIFT OF THE PEOPLE.

POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK. diamond jubilee to-day. RECORD OF GREAT PROGRESS. HALF POPULATION CLIENTS. 1 ""77" ; - - t * » To-day the New Zealand Post, Office Savings Batik will celebrate, its diamond jubilee. It was opened lev business on February 1, 1867. m The bank is not the oldest,institution of its kind in New Zealand. That, honour belongs to the .Auckland Savings Bank, which was founded in 1847. 7.he Post Office bank, indeed, if. younger than any of the five private savings banks now in operation. That at New Plymouth was founded in 1850, tho:;o at Dunedin and Invercargill in 1854, and the Hokitika Savings Bank in 1866. The first savings bank legislation in New Zealand was an ordinance enacted by the Governor, Sir Ceorge Grey, with the consent of the Legislative Council, in September, 1847. . Thif; provided for the creation of'savings banks in different towns, the Governor to be president of each such bank, which would appoint its vice-president and trustees.; The rules of every bank were to bo deposited with the registrar of the Supreme Court. Deposits of not less than Is or, more than £IOO were to be receivable, and interest at 5 per cent, was to. be paid on every complete pound. . lhe Governor was empowered .to guarantee loans • not exceeding £IOOO to meet sudden demands for the return of deposits. . Savings Bank Movement. This ordinance, under which the Auckland Savings Bank was founded, is a very long and detailed enactment, and doubtless was a direct copy of some English Act. The savings bank movement in England dated back to the early eighteenth century, and the first Act to regulate it was passed in 1817. By 1831 j there were 429,000 depositors in trustee ; banks, with £14,700,000 to' thuir credit. The English Post Office Savings Bank was established by Mr. Gladstone in 1861 by "an Act to grant additional facilities for depositing small savings at interest with the security of Government for the due, repayment thereof." The Act was extended to Scotland and Ireland in 1862, and by, the end of that year 367,000 new accounts bad been opened, and there was £4.700,000 to the credit of depositors. In New Zealand the early ordinance •vas superseded" in- 1858 by, the Savings Banks Act, responsible government having been granted in .1854. This, after a series or amendments, was replaced by a new Art in 1908. • In October. 1865, almost simultaneously with the defeat of, the Weld administration by that of Mr. E. W. Stafford, the Post, Office Savings Banks Act was passed. The full title was the same as that of Gladstone's Act, upon which was doubtless founded. Trustees at Outset. Deposits were to be paid over to a board of trustees appointed by the Governov-in-,Council. Should the trustees be unable to meet their obligations in the event of large withdrawals, they were to notify the, Colonial Treasurer, who was to issue a warrant for the payment of the amount needed out of the ordinary revenues of the colony. The trustees, however, functioned for less than a year, for an amending .measure was passed directing that deposits should be paid into the public trust fund. It was not until, later that the bank was placed under the direct control of the Postm aster-General. For some reason the bank was not actually.-established xmtil more than a year after tfte 'passage of the Act. It opened on February 1, 1867. At the end of that year 4fj offices wero opened, 2520 accounts had been opened, and the amount standing to the credit of depositors was £71,197.- .Deposits had ■ amounted to £96,3712 and withdrawals to £26,415. By the end of .-1868 the year's deposits were £194,535;^and--, the withdrawals £107,09-1. The open accounts numbered 4252, and £163,318 stood to the credit of depositors. Fast and Steady Growth, The later history of the bank has been one. of uninterrupt/id progress. Its • advance has been most rapid since 1887. Between that year and 1926 the sum to the credit of depositors increased more than 26-fold. In many years withdrawals have exceeded deposits, but, thanks to. the addition of interest, the steady upward trend has never been checked. From 1887 to 1921 the average sum to the credit of each depositor showed a fairly regular increase, but there has since been a slight fall. The 1887 figure was approximately £22, and in 1921 it was £66. The following returns show the progress the Mnk had made by March 31, 1926: Number of depositors; 758,155, or 53.7 per cent.- of the population. Sum to credit of depositors, £47,911,322. Average: sum to credit of each depositor, £63 3s lid. Numbervof offices open, 870. Investments: In New Zealand Government, securities. £47.199,586; in local bodies' (Securities, £519,400: in other securities, £545,452,; total, £48,264,438. The following business was done in the year* 1925-26:—r '■ ! Deposits, £31,833,621. Withdrawals, £32,602,505. Excess of withdrawals. £768,384. Cost of management. £95.000 . Number of transactions. - 2.644,515. Interest, paid, £1,731.577. Rates of interest paid by the bank have been regularly increased in the past 20 years, as the following table shows: — January 1, 1907, 3i t per cent, on first £100: 3 per cent., .£IOO to £6OO. May 1, 1913, 3? per cent, on first £3OO ; 3 per cent., £3OO to £IOOO. April 1, 1920, 4 per cent, on first £300; 3a per cent., £3OO to £IOOO. January 1, 1921, 4 per cent, on first £500,; 3} per cent., £SOO to £SOOO. Services to Depositors. The elafises of accounts open at March 3'i last were as. follow :—£2o and under, 525.064 ; £2O to £SO. 70.894: £SO to £IOO, 49.645: £IOO to £2OO, 44,760; £2OO to £SOO. 22,744; £3OO to £4OO. 13.697; £4OO to £SOO, 9596; £SOO to £6OO, 6759; £6OO to £7OO, 4128: £7OO to £BOO. 2672; £BOO to £9OO, 1894; £9OO to £IOOO, 1410; over £IOOO, 4892. Besides offering more liberal terms to depositors, the bank is continually providing them with better facilities". It maintains a system of stamp sheets and money boxes by which children are encouraged to save pennies. Deposits may be made on behalf of infants, and by trustee:,. _Accounts may be transferred wholly, or in part '!o and from tho post, office savings banks of Great Britain and Australia. Depositors, rr.av nominate persons to receive up to' £2OO from their accounts in the event of deith, without the need for a will >or letters of administration. ! By a systenyof ravings bank money orders depositors: travelling may operate on their accounts at a few days' notice. Circular letters of credit up to £SO in value are issued, and n<ay be converted wholly or partly into,/ cash at ar.y office in" the Dominion. The bank also accepts documents for safe keeping. More ledger offices -are opened year by year, and the operations of the bank now extend to th« Cook Islandr. and Western Samoa. It is, worthy of note that the five private savings banks in New Zealand had £6.364.383 "to : the of 135,074 depositors on 'March 31, The largest, tho Auckland Savines Bank, bad 103.421 depositors, wi tb £4.453,291 to their credit The Dimcdin Savings Batik hr-d 13,943 depositors, with £1,221,501. Altogether, New Zealand may well be • proud of the thrift of her people, as indicated by the savings bank credits, which average £3B 10s » bead of population, compared with £3l for the Australian Commonwealth.