BANK OF AUSTRALASIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2929, 4 May 1910, Page 3

BANK OF AUSTRALASIA.

THE COLONIAL OUTLOOK. (Fkom Oub Own Correspondent.) LONDON, March 18. At the annual meeting yesterday of thtf; Bank of Australasia the Earl of Liohi) field (chairman) congratulated the share l l holders on the account which the directors j were able to give of the prosperity of thi! Australasian colonies. The balance sheet,; he said, showed an increase of, roundly<,,> £1,000,000 in the deposits, a decrease o>U £700,000 in the advances, and an increase of £1,700,000 in tho loans at call and shortf; notice. They had had to employ in Lon^, don at less remunerative rates a muc)i'\ larger sum than was the case in the pre- i coding year. Ho felt that in these chr« cumstanoes it was satisfactory that, in, i spite of the difficulty which they experi-;",; enced in lending out their funds, they had) j earned a sum of only. £IO,OOO less than they] did for the corresponding half of the previous year. They showed the considerable net profit for the half-year of £177,565, which not only enabled them to pay tho usual dividend and bonus making together. a distribution at the rate of 14 per cent.per annum, but they could also place £50,000 to the reserve fund and a further;, £15,000 in the reduction of the cost oi bank premises, carrying forward upwards of £17,400. As to the outlook, while rfc, was not for the chairman to prophesy, ha could state that their institution was i« a stronger Dosition than in any previous period of its history. The condition o£ things in Australia in the past season hadl been on the whole favourable, although the frozen meat industry had suffered somewhat from the low prices ruling consequent upon the large quantities placed upon the market. There had now, however, been an improvement, the prices were' higher, and the outlook generally more satisfactory. There had been an excellent wool clip, and good prices had been realised for that commodity. The wheat-growers had also experienced a profitable season. The output of gold, on the other hand, had shown a steady andl continuous decline, but there was. still plenty of room in the continent of Australia to discover new goldfields to compensate for the falling-off which waa shown in the output of the old ones, lne trade returns of merchandise for the farst 11 months of the year 1909 were as fok low—lmports, £45,029,000, being an in« crease of £1,053,000; and exports, £48,096,000, being an increase _of £6 097,000—the latter augmentation being, chiefly attributable to the items of wool, wheat, and flour. The latest cabledi intelligence from the other side was to the effect that the conditions continued to be prosperous, and the season was an encouraging one. The report was adopted.