SOLDIERS’ LOANS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25958, 26 September 1945, Page 2

SOLDIERS’ LOANS

REHABILITATION AID £10,000,000 MARK PASSED <P.A.) WELLINGTON. Sept. 25. In August the £10,000,000 mark in loan authorisations to ex-servicemen and women was passed, says the monthly statistical review of the Rehabilitation Board. By August 31 the total authorised was £10,386,548. The monthly authorisations showed a slight decrease, the total being £845,351, compared with £914.329 for July. Of the loans authorised until the end of August £9,870,38*) was for men returned from service for returned servicewomen, £393,163 for discharged home service personnel, £40.922 for merchant seamen, and £73,655 for the widows and dependents of deceased servicemen. The number of ex-servicemen and women assisted by loans during August was 1128. bringing the total to 15,893. With a further 72 returned servicemen and 1 home serviceman assisted on to farms of their own the number so aided to the end of August reached 1117. These 73 new loans were to the value of £267,780, bringing the total value of the farm loans to £3,805,289. Of those so far assisted on to farms 1086 have been men returned from overseas.

The steady demand for loans to buy or build houses continued during August, the number authorised during the month being 391 to the value of £457,486, compared with the previous month’s record of 392 to the value of £457,072. Of the loans authorised during the month 180 were for the erection of new houses and 211 for the purchase of existing dwellings. The total number of loans authorised until the end of August was 4482, the amount involved being £4,971.757. Included in the total were 2351 interest-free supplementary loans valued at £369,543, of which 247, valued at £36,797, were authorised during the month. In August a further 131 returned servicemen and 6 home servicemen were granted business loans. This was an increase of 26 on the previous month’s total, and altogether £868,182 has been advanced for this purpose to 1849 exservicemen and women, of whom 1684 were returned servicemen. Interest-free loans of £IOO for the purchase of furniture were granted to 491 ex-servicemen and women during August, the value of the loans being £45,274. The number of furniture loans authorised until the end of August was 7796, to the value of £711,830. During the month a further 27 inter-est-free loans were authorised to enable ex-servicemen to purchase tool? of trade, the total value being £932 This brought the number so far authorised to 556, representing £17,036. Nine miscellaneous advances were also made during the month, involving £694, and bringing the total assisted to 93 and the loans to £12,454.