BANK OF AUSTRALASIA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21782, 23 April 1934, Page 5

BANK OF AUSTRALASIA

IQOTH ANNUAL MEETING

FEATURES IN DOMINION

ENCOURAGING SIGNS NOTED [from our own corrkspondent] LONDON. March 23 On the occasion of t the hundredth annual meeting of the Bank of Australasia tho attendance of shareholders was much larger than is usual at ordinary annual meetings. Mr. Arthur Whitworth presided. He explained that as the bank would not have completed its hundred years of business activity until next year, the board had decided to leave it to his successor to give a full account of the history of the bank since its inception.

The liquidity of its position was that for every £1 of the current accounts it had 13s 9d in specie, Government notes and cash, and for every £1 of total deposits (£37,833,000) 9s 2d was held in the form of specie, cash and securities of the highest class easily realisable.

"Gross profit," continued the chairman, "is down by £48,000, but, with a reduction in charges of something over £37,000, mainly in taxation, our net profits are up. This alone would not have justified us in increasing the dividend for the year by I per cent had we not found it unnecessary to provide so much against doubtful debts as we have had to do in recent years. At the same time as the dividend is raised we are increasing the carry-for-ward to £175,165. The strength of the bank in its inner reserves is being fully maintained."

Referring to the establishment of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the acute controversy between the Government and the note-issuing banks in respect to the price to be paid for the batiks' gold, Mr. Whitwortk said: "The business of this bank will not bo hampered by the loss of its note issue, nor do I think that the attitude of the Government of New Zealand toward this controversial question can be explained as indicating a general desire to attack private property. Even at this lata hour, I believe the trading banks would be satisfied if some recognition, however moderate, was made in satisfaction to them that the claims they have put forward were not altogether selfish and without substance." He added that there was a material improvement in the outlook for Australia and New Zealand, and the financial and commercial structure was ready and capable of taking advantage of every change for the better in world conditions. Those, however, to-day were based so much on political factors as to make prophecy in regard to them difficult. "I foresee," he said, "that the Commonwealth Bank and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will play an important part in controlling exchanges, and that in future rates will become niore stable, so that the margins between buying and selling, which at times were wide and profitable to the banks in the past, will be much narrower. The banks must look to increasing trade from an increased popu<lation if their earnings are to come back to what we were accustomed to in pre-war days."

Details of the bank's balance-sheet were published in the Hebald on April 16.

GOLD AND SILVER QUOTATIONS IN LONDON (Received April 22. 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, April 21 Fine gold is quoted to-day at £6 15s Sd an ounce, compared with £6 los 2Ad yesterday, and £6 15s 3d on Thursday. Silver "was quoted yesterday at 19£ d an ounce spot, and 20d forward, compared with 19£ d and 19 15-16 d on Thursday.

BRITISH WAR LOAN British Wireless RUGBY, April 20 War loan, 3i per cent, is quoted today at £lO4 13s 9d, compared with £l*o4 los yesterday.