THRIFT IN AUSTRALIA

Southland Times, Issue 20496, 26 May 1928, Page 2

THRIFT IN AUSTRALIA

MONEY IN SAVINGS BANK. NEW SOUTH WALES ACCOUNTS. Sydney, May 3. That the people of New South Wales, in the mass, are not spendthrifts, is attested by what can be fairly termed amazing figures. The deposits in the Government Savings Banks of 57.34 per cent, of the population of Sydney and suburbs alone total £43,678,588, or an average of £69. Taking the country also into account, 992,743 depositors stand behind £67,632,598 in the Savings Bank. This is the State Savings Bank, and is quite apart from the Commonwealth institution. No other saving bank in the Empire, except the Post Office Savings Bank of the United Kingdom, exceeds these figures. The bank is opening an average of 20,000 new accounts every month. During the last 10 years, depositors have reaped in interest £18,645,707. Before very long now, the Saving Bank will be m the buildings worthy of it, one of the most magnificent and imposing structures in Australia, or in any other part of the world, for that matter. As it is situated now, in Martin Place, the Commonwealth Bank, a few doors along, is reaping a lot of .business at its expense. The Commonwealth Bank, striking a Grecian Doric architectural note, one of the oldest types of the classic group, from which many of the most recent buildings in Sydney can be traced in descent, is a handsome structure but it will look comparatively cheap when compared with the new State Savings Bank.