LOCAL BODY LOANS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22053, 8 September 1933, Page 10

LOCAL BODY LOANS

FIRST CONVERSION APPLICATIONS TOTAL OF NEARLY THREE MILLIONS (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, September 7. At the last meeting of the Local Government Loans Board 21 applications totalling £128,000 were dealt with. Loans amounting to £124,150 wero sanctioned, including £79,450 of renewals and £44,700 of new loans. The diversion of unexpended loan moneys totalling £25,691 was sanctioned. The first complete conversion applications were dealt with. These comprised schemes formulated by 14 local authorities, the amount involved being £2,770,030. To a large extent the premiums on conversion are being met by the issue of new securities, but owing to the utilisation on conversion in certain cases of the existing sinking funds for debt redemption purposes the net result in the 14 cases dealt with is a reduction in the total debt, the amount of the new securities to be issued being approximately £2,763,608. The rate of interest on all the new securities is 4J per cent., which the board previously adopted as the basic rate for all conversion schemes.

In -practically all cases dealt with the converted loans will be repaid without any undue extension of the existing dates of maturity. The conversion schemes under consideration emanated from nine different classes of local authorities, and included one city, two boroughs, two town boards, a fire board, a harbour board, a hospital board, a drainage board, a river board, and four electric power boards.