LOAN CONVERSION

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19450, 27 March 1933, Page 6

LOAN CONVERSION

DISSENTS TOTAL ONLY £600,000. (Special to '* The Herald.”) WELLINGTON, March 26. Applications lodged during the last few days of the conversion loan scheme are still being received by the Treasury, but since the majority of them were covered in returns telegraphed on Friday night from all Banks, Post Offices and District Treasury Offices, there has so far been no material alteration in the figures already published. The following was the position at the close of business at the Treasury last night:— £ Assented conversions . .. 105,200,000 “Silent” conversion .. .. 9,300,000 Total conversions .. £114.400,000 Dissents £600,000 All promises to convert, amounting to nearly £28,000.000, had then been redeemed. but there are still many new applications to come in from outlying parts of the Dominion. The total applications received during the day covered nearly £3,000,000 worth of stock. Most of the dissents from conversion have been made in respect of stock which matures in August. 1933, yet, although the sum then maturing is £4.800,000. the total dissents covering the whole field of the debt are only £600,000. Holders of August, 1933, stock were in such a position that the additional penalty of 13 1-3 per cent, for nonconversion could have been levied on only one of their interest payments, and the fact that the great majority of them were willing to convert can only mean that they preferred to leave their money in Government stock at a lower rate rather than to realise it in a few months and seek investments giving higher returns. This feature of the conversion is stated to have given particular satisfaction to the Government. The Minister of Finance (Mr Coates) hopes to be able to announce the final figures of the conversion on Monday or Tuesday.