FINANCIAL BAROMETER

Taranaki Daily News, 12 September 1934, Page 5

FINANCIAL BAROMETER

YEAR’S BANKING FIGURES RECORD AMOUNT OF DEPOSITS. MARKED INCREASE IN ‘FREE’MONEY The latest returns of the six trading banks operating in New Zealand, briefly commented upon below, cover the quarter ended June, 1934, states the annual report of the Department of Industries and Commerce. Deposits for the quarter ended June 30, 1934 (exclusive of Government deposits), totalled £63,735,896, as compared with ■ £55,734,003. for the corresponding’ quarter of 1933, an increase of £8,001,893., Advances, on the other hand, aggregated £41,344,129, against £46,757,111 for . the quarter ended June 30, 1933, a decrease of £5,412,982. As a result, there was an. excess of , deposits over advances for the last quarter of no less than £22,391,767,; as compared with an excess of £8,976,892 : for the corresponding period of the previous year. The relation of deposits to advances for the quarter ended June 30 in each of the past ten years is shown in the following table:—

tExcess of Advances. ■"Excess of Deposits. ) The deposits for the past quarter, totalling £63,735,896, consisted of free or non-interest-bearing deposits to the extent of £22,874,327, and fixecl or interest-bearing deposits amounting to £40,861,569. These figures compare with £18,866,445 and £36,867,558 for free and fixed deposits respectively for the quarter ended June 30, 1933. For the past quarter the former class of deposits consequently showed an increase of £4,007,882 and the latter class ah increase of £3,994,011. STEADY RISE IN DEPOSITS. Total deposits have thus reached si" new record high level. Coming at the end of the export season, the June figures usually reach the highest level of the .year. Since the June quarter of 1927 fixed deposits have shown a steady rise in each corresponding quarter in the subsequent years. The June quarter’s figure for 1926 (£20,674,853) has practically doubled for the same quarter in 1934 (£40,861,569). * The marked increase in free deposits is almost on a par with that of the fixed deposits and is indicative of a greater measure of confidence in business and trading conditions generally. The relative movements of the two classes of deposits for the quarter ended June 30 in each of the past ten years are shown in the table which follows:— Fixed Deposits. Free Deposits.

1934 40,861,569 . Deposits shown in the foregoing table do not include Government deposits, which for the quarter ended June 30, 1934, amounted to £1,017,649, compared with £1,740,207 for the corresponding quarter of the previous year, a reduction of £722,658. ’’ • Advances for the past quarter which totalled £41,344,129, comprise ordinary Advances aggregating £39,429,093, and notes and bills discounted £1,915,036. In comparison with these figures, ordinary advances for the corersponding quarter in the previous year totalled £46,147,379, and notes and bills discounted £609,732. The ordinary advances therefore showed ia , s substantial decrease of £6,718,286, while the discounts also showed an abnormal variation in that they increased by. £1,305,304. . . J The average notes in circulation for the quarter ended June 30, 1934, amounted to £6,423,115, as corfipared with £6,305,060 for the corresponding period of I. 1933, an increase of £118,055. Goin and bullion showed a decrease in value of £33,259, the relative figures being £5,045,199 in 1934 and £5,078,458 in 1933.

Deposits £ Advances £ £ 1925 . 51,463,635 43,935,770 7,527,865* 1926 . 48,269,349 48,714,742 445,3931 1927 . . 46,490,366 50,753,106 4,262,7401 1928 . . 52,947,133 45,426,955 7,520,178* 1929 . . 57,051,894 ’47,407,211 9,644,683* 1930 . 53,748,038 54,063,162 315,1241 1931 . . 51,169,387 53,395,535 2,226,1481 1932 . . 52,216,782 50,581,395 1,635,387* 1933 . 55,734,003 46,757,112 8,976,891* 1934 .• 63,735,896 41,344,129 22,391,767*

£'■ . £ . 1925 20,966,426 30,497,209 1926 ..... 20,674,853 27,594,496 1927 ..... 21,749,104 •, 24,741,262 / 1928 27,589,988 25,357,145 1929 30,241,013 26,810,881 1930 ..... 30,522,174 23,225,864 1931 33,045,225 18,124,162 1932 35,400,900 16,815,882 1933 36,867,558 18,866,445 ,