SAVING THE FRANC

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12455, 25 May 1926, Page 3

SAVING THE FRANC

GOVERNMENT HARD AT WORK CLEARING OFFICE ESTABLISHED CHANNEL FOR ALL DEALS By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. (Reuter’s Telegram.) PARIS, May 21. The financial situation was discussed by the Council of Ministers, M. Peret, the Finance Minister, announced that the Treasury had satisfactorily weathered May 20th, the date upon which several milliards of Treasury bonds were due for repayment. M. Briand and M. Peret subsequently Lad a conference with the Bank of France, after which M. Peret announced that the agreement between the Bank of France and the Government had never been broken, despite insinuations to the contrary. They were considering new methods of restoring the franc, and pourparlers were progressing satisfactorily. The Bank of France had resolved to support the Government until the franc was victorious. M. Peret, in the course of his statement, said the recovery of the franc was made without appealing for foreign aid. He hoped the improvement would become more marked. M. Peret’s promised measures reacted favourably on the franc in London, where the French franc exchange rate closed at 149.75 to the £l, and the Belgian improved in sympathy +o 149.25. FOREIGNERS READY TO ASSIST The Government’s action in support of the franc which resulted in the rise io. the franc in New York was the decision to create a central clearing office to take charge of and forward foreign exchange dealings. The clearing office will take the form of a jointstock company, in which the shareholders will be banks, recognised bankers, official brokers, ana certain industrial groups. The “Echo de Paris" says that prominent American arid British financiers appear willing cordially to cooperate with France, if France can restore confidence at home and among the possessors of French capital abroad in such a way that the latter niav be induced to bring back their wealth to r ranee.