COMMERCIAL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10580, 29 January 1896, Page 2

COMMERCIAL

Daily Times Office, Tuesday evening. The amount of customs revenue received to-day en goods cleared for consumption was j£339419a 4d. The Gazette just issued contains notice of a call of £3 6s 8d per share on shares in the Bank of New Zealand ; alao that interest on the deposits in the Dunedin Savings Bank will be reduced from May 1 next from 4 per cent, to 3i per cent. ' (i . , . - Mr F. E. Brittain, of Wellington, has been npppjmted district secretary for Otago of the Mutual Life Association of Australia. The banks doing business in Victoria adopted the following excuauge rates on London, which caroe into operation on the 22nd inst.:—On demand ! BayeY, paf; Selling, 25a per cent: pieimum. Thirty days' sight: Buyer, 2s 6d par cent, discount; selling, 20s per cent, premium. Sixty days' sight: Buyer, 5s per cent, discount; selling, las per cent, premium. The rates at 60 days' sight were previously 7s 6d per oent. discount for buying, and 12s Gi per cent, premium for selling. .

BANKING RETURNS,

Following ate the bank retnrDß for the December quartet :1895 compared with those for the two preceding qusrters :—

The deposits at interest still »how a. decline, the reduction for the quarter being £230,000; but deposits at call show an increase of -£148,000, and Government deposits a rather temarkable' increase of £272,000, probably owing to payments of land tax . during the quarter: and on the other hand advanceson Government securities have increased by £120,000. There are no material chauges in advance accounts, the total advances being only £92,000 lesi than last quarter. Nates show i a very slightly diminished circulation, and coin and bullion a Blight increase. The Bank of New Zealand is particularly strong in its reserves of coin and bullion, which total £1,120,000, while iv proportion to liabilities the Union Bank of Australia is still stronger with £784,000. It may even be a question whether a lock-up of £3,300,000 iv ■. coin and bullion is not; an unnecessarily strong reserve against a total of .notes and liabilities at call (apart from Government balances) of £5,300,000, or about 12s 6d in the pound, in addition 'to nearly half a million of Government securities. As may be supposed, the figures' for the Bank of New 'Zealand are materially altered by the absorp- ' tionof the Colonial Bank. The deposits, apart , from Government, increased from £4,128,593 to ' £5,452,047, and the advances from £4,378,928 to £5,915,827, showing & large increase in bnsineßS. It is a remarkable fact, however, that, taking all the banks together, the advances are very nearly two millions leas than the total deposits, which implies that there are ample resources for a, farther increase of business.

December September June Quarter Quarter Quarter 1895. 1895. 1895. Deposits- £ £ ■ £ At interest... 8,1161,550 8,349,092 8,481,524 At call 4,455,128 4,307.591) 4,494,998 Government 969,737 697,189 670,446 Totals ,i. 13,544,413 13,353,871 13,846,968 Advances— . Discounts .„ 1,75S,49S 1,761,026 1,770,404 Other advances ... 9,810,717 9,900,212 9,8S1,862 Totals ...11,569,215 11,661,238' 11,65S,2C6 Other secnri- • ties.i. .... 2.242,274--' 2,248,058 2,330,987 Government securities ... • 483,235 361,389 359,288 Notes in circulation ... 861,717 867,355 .934,280 Coin and bullion held ... 3,333,272 3,319,755 3,305,107 Assets... ..."lfUsgjSO 18,196,143 18,266,078 Liabilities ... 14,491,626 14,284,553 14,645,120 Excess of assets over liabili- ' ties ... ... 3,008,154 3,911,590 3,620,958