The Taranaki Herald. (DAILY EVENING.) SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 1912. BANKING RETURNS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LX, Issue 143765, 13 April 1912, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. (DAILY EVENING.) SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 1912. BANKING RETURNS.

The banking' returns for the March quarter indicate a continuance of the buoyancy which has been a feature of the money market for the last year or two. All the banks are still advancing fairly freely, the total advances at the end of the quarter amounting to £21,284,054, or £3,274,470 more than at the end of March last year. Discounts, too, show an increase, though not so marked and shared only by three of the banks. The deposits as a whole show a decrease of £345,741, but this is entirely due to a falling off in the Government account. The free deposits, or current account balances, have expanded by £669,831, while the fixed deposits exhibit a shrinkage, which is too small, however, to have any significance. The total deposits, fixed and free, compare very favourably with former years, indicating that produce realisations are satisfactory. The fact that the advances and discounts continue to grow is evidence also that the banks have still money to lend and are not afraid to lend it. All the banks are in a strong position, all with the exception of the Bank of New Zealand holding a substantial excess of assets over liabilities. The Bank of New Zealand’s returns do not, of course, include the London, Australian, and Fiji business. Their metallic reserves also show a substantial increase, the value of coin and bullion held at the end of March being £6,323,014, which is £292,253 more than at the end of March last year. The note circulation indicates a fairly brisk retail trade, the total being £1,708,889, as compared with £1,661,468. From this it may be gathered that the people have money to spend and are spending it freely. Altogether the returns may he regarded as satisfactory, though we note that The Dominion and the New Zealand Herald say they clearly indicate that a trying time is about to he experienced, .which

may or may not be of short duration, and that while there is no warrant for alarm there is much need for prudence and caution. Our contemporaries may not, however, have taken intp account that the exports during the last few weeks have exhibited a very large increase over those of the corresponding period of last year. The exports during February were valued at £2,984,763, or £638,009 more than those for February last year, while the first half of March showed an increase of £352,037 over the corresponding period last year, making a total increase of nearly a million in six weeks. If this expansion is continued, and there is every indication that it will be, the balance of trade will soon be adjusted, provided, of course, imports do not expand in equal proportion, which is unlikely, because they have been at a high level for a long time past. There is always need for prudence in trading, hut unless the primary industries of the Dominion receive a severe setback, which seems very improbable at the moment, there does not appear to be any reason to expect a particularly trying,time.