A BANK'S CREDIT

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20927, 5 January 1938, Page 14

A BANK'S CREDIT

ONCE DOWN TO 11/7 | References to a bank which at one period was only 11 7 in credit were made at the Mansion House recently, says the "Daily Telegraph and Morning Post.” William Abraham Dreyfus. 53. managing director of the Federal Industrial Development Bank, of Mincing Lane, E.C., lived in Kensington, pleaded guilty to obtaining £lO4 by false pretences and with intent to defraud. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. Mr Vincent Evans, prcs_cuting, said the bank was incorporated in 1933 with a nominal capital of £lOO. later increased to a share capital of £25.000. In 1935 it lost £2217. in 1936 £330. and in 1937 £B2B. Coming to the charge before the Court. Mr Evans said that a Mr Joseph Albert Edward Record was introduced o Dreyfus last October and opened an account. When he had a credit balance of over £7O two cheques were returned unpaid. Mr Record had paid in £lO4 2 4 and had withdrawn £3l 2 10. The Federal Bank had an accou.it with Barclays Bank. The day before Mr Record opened his account the

bank was only £4 12 1 in credit, and earlier in November it was only 11 7 in credit. £150,000 Transaction Detective-Inspector Ernest Gtasspool stated that Drexfus was a naturalised British subject of Swiss origin. The customers of the bank included undoubted sharepushers and very few genuine people banked with it. He added: "One transaction of about £150,000 which has gone through this bank concerned cases now before this Court. Some of the persons who were connected with the bank have been convicted of share-pushing.” Mr Stone, defending, suggested that Dreyfus was a pawn in the hands of unscrupulous people. He belonged to a banking family well known in Europe, and they were prepared to make restitution. The Lord Mayor. Sir Harry Twyford: "I have no doubt this bank was started by a clique of share-pushers and that this man was perfectly willing to do what he was told.”