AUCKLAND SAVINGS BANK

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22404, 28 April 1936, Page 10

AUCKLAND SAVINGS BANK

A bank that numbers two out of every three of the community among its depositors can speak with authority of financial trends among the great mass of the people. On the figures before him, the president of the Auckland Savings Bank, Mr. E. A. Brown, is therefore justified in detecting general improvement and a more hopeful outlook. Both deposits and depositors have increased and the renewed activity animating the city is reflected in a record number of depositors' transactions. Mr. Brown anticipates an acceleration of the favourable movement, if "our legislators will be content to give a correct impetus along proven channels." In other words, the Government has no need to set an entirely new course that may shake confidence ; it will be enough to take the economic tide that is making, perhaps assisting it by spreading more sail. Mr. Brown refers particularly to mortgage legislation, favouring a termination of existing protection and deprecating suggestions of further interference. He points out that recent ordinances have all been on the side of the borrower. That is true, the assumption of the Legislature being that the mortgagee is an unconscionable creditor and also that he can suffer losses with less hurt than the mortgagor. How erroneous is this assumption will be realised when the savings bank is recognised as one of a class of institutions lending largely on the security of property. The bank is mortgagee to no less than 4789 mortgagors and in all its dealings is notably fair, and reasonable in its charges. The money it lends belongs to people of small means, to its 169,000 depositors, whose average credit is only £62. When legislation goes against the mortgagee, it hurts these people and their fellows with small sums invested in building societies and life insurance companies. The Government should take heed of the fact before completing its new mortgage proposals.