BANKING RETURNS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2266, 5 August 1897, Page 25

BANKING RETURNS.

The following are the bank returns for June quarter, 1897, compared with the tame quarter of 1896, and with the March quatte;: 1897 :—

These retnrus.disclosc in respect to — On quarter. On year. Deposits afc interest — Increase ... £ 22,387 Decrease ... £220,878 Deposits at callIncrease ... 125,568 Increase ... 442,565 GovernmentDecrease... 115,426 Decrease... 253,230 The tendency to increase money at call is very marked, while the dccreaie ia money on deposit is very much less. It is oue eign of increasing prosperity if traders are able to keep fair balances, but a good deal of the money go deposited will, no doubb, represent mining investments awaiting the development of the properties. The steady decline ia Government deposits may arise from further investments under the Loans lo Settlers Act. The balance is still very substantial. Advances are remarkably steady, allowing for the alteration in the Bank of New Zealand's mode of stating accounts *ince June last year, which apparently reduces advances by a million, the amount reappears under other securities. These show an increase on the year of £1,269.806, though % decrease on the quarter of £109,528. Government securities held include in thii quarter £59,927 ot other funded securities — excluding these, tbe figures *ro the same as last quarter though £526,830 in excess of those tor June, 1896. This result is mainly from the banks taking up a great part of the half million loan. Taking the totals the deposits remain nearly ihe same, while during the year the advances apparently decreased by nearly a million, and the excess cf -deposits over advances is now r.o less lh*n £4,709,519, and deducting Government and other securities, amounting to £3,780,646, there is still a margin of nearly a million. Notes in circulation show a steady increase, and are at a higher figure than they have stcod at for a long time past, which indicates more commercial activity. Bullion, on the other hand, for the first time for a long period shows a decrease of £216,431, though the banks still hold strong reserves. Without any startling changes the returns as a whole disclose steady progrens and % ctrong position and some signs of returning prosperity.

June Quarter „ 1897. Deposits — £ At interest... 7,927,603 At call ... 5,861,512 Government 798,432 Totals ...14,587,547 June March Quarter Quarter 189 G. 1897. £ £ 8,148,481 7,905,214 5,418,947 5,735,944 1,034,662 913,868 14,622,090 14,555,026 AdvancesDiscounts ... 1,768,1294 Other advances ... 8,109,734 Totals ... 9,878,028 1,717,519 1,770,876 9,153,629 8,049,087 10,871,148 9,819.963 Other securities held ... 2,890,398 1,620,502 2,939,926 Government and funded securities ... 890,248 363,418 831,148 Notes in circulation ... 1,036,097 985,343 1,007,519 Coin and bullion held ... 3,105,555 3,3-21,986 3,255,768