MR CARR AND THE BANKS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18815, 2 March 1931, Page 2

MR CARR AND THE BANKS.

To the Editor of the •' Tlmaru Herald. Sir,—On more than one occasion during- the past few weeks the member for Timaru has spoken in disparaging terms of the banks, and stated, that with financiers, they were responsible for the present depression. It is easy to make a generalisation of this kind, but if it is to carry any weight, it should : be accompanied by a number of facts ■ which would prove conclusively the . truth of the assertion. Mr Carr does not ; venture to give us any evidence that . would lead us to share his belief. It [ would therefore not be amiss if we ex- . amined the question and attempted to • find out the truth for ourselves. Who ; and what are the banks? They are a ; collection of individuals who have ) formed companies registered under the > Companies’ Acts of the States in which > their head offices are situated, and ’ they are amenable to the laws of the f various countries in which they do 1 business. A single example will illus- ' trate how widely spread is the proprietj ary, and how unlikely it is that any of ; our banks could have for one of its objects the lowering of prices of our !’ principal products which has been followed by great losses to practically s every dweller in these lands. The Bank „ of New South Wales is the largest and wealthiest of the Australasian banks.

The number of shareholders is 8981. The average number of shares per shareholder is 42. There are 4529 (more than half the total), who have 20 shares each or less. The number of shareholders in New Zealand is 1600 with an average holding of 30 shares. Mr Carr says the small shareholders have little say in the management of the banks. Special provision is made by this Bank as well as by others to protect the interests of this class. No shareholder can vote in respect of any shares held by him beyond one thousand. It will be seen that it would be difficult for any such corporation to deliberately enter into a conspiracy to ruin its shareholders and its customers. This Bank has over £66,000,000 of deposits, the average amount deposited by each fixed depositor being £IO2O, and the average overdraft, £1402. It will be seen at a glance what a vast number of people are being assisted by the Bank. Some of the other banks have a larger number of shareholders with smaller holdings and borrowers with smaller overdrafts. The greatest concern of all banks is not for the dividends of its shareholders, but for the securities which represent the moneys loaned to them by the depositors. That banking is not an extremely profitable business is proved by the fact that no new banking business has been started in Australia or New Zealand during the last 42 years. It may not be within the knowledge of Mr Carr that several hundreds of his constituents are shareholders in the banks and probably a greater number are depositors. Ido not think that Mr Carr would deliberately cast a slight on a large body of men and women by insinuating that they are members of corporations, one of whose objects is to bring about a depression. In the opinion of numerous thoughtful people, the banks have done infinitely more to help those in need, than have any of the governments or the politicians. —I am, etc., AGRICOLA. Timaru, February 27.