PROMINENT BANKER

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 241, 12 October 1931, Page 7

PROMINENT BANKER

SIR J. COATES’ BIRTHDAY EIGHTY YEARS OF AGE LONG SERVICE IN DOMINION AUCKLAND, Oct. 10. The 80th birthday of Sir James Coates, formerly general manager of the National Bank of New Zealand, was celebrated at his home at Parnell yesterday. Congratulatory messages were received from many parts of the Dominion. The history of the xamlly is linked with the beginning of Auckland, Sii James Coates’ father, Mr J. Coates, having been associated with the founder of Auckland and ftrst Governor of New Zealand, Captain William Hobson. Mr Coates was the first clerk tG the Executive Council of the colony and subsequently was sneriff of Auckland until 1853. Sir James was born at St. George’s Bay in 1851. The family was closely connected with the Church of England, a brother of Sir James, Mr Hobson Coates, being the first child baptised in the old St. Paul’s Church. Sir James was educated at the Church of England Grammar School and St. John’s College, and always displayed a keen interest in finance. In 1869 he entered the service of the Bank of New South Wales in Auckland. After a term at Thames in the heyday of the goldfields, Sir James accepted the position of teller' of the National Bank of New Zealand in Auckland. He became accountant in 1876 and manager in 1884. Later Sir James was appointed general manager of the bank and he visited England to consult with the London directors on the policy of the bank in the Dominion. Returning to New Zealand, Sir Janies transferred the main office from Dunedin to Wellington. J.n 1814, he became a director of the bank at its head office in London. During the Great War he was identified with several organisations working in the interests of colonial soldiers. As a banker, Sir James, who was knighted in 1922, attained great prominence and was adviser to a number of administrators of New Zealand. He was especially prominent during the banking crisis of 1894, when Australian banks were closing their doors. Before it took action in regard to the Bank of New Zealand Share Guarantee Act, the Seddon Government was fortified by the counsel of the leading bankers of the country, foremost among them being Sir James. When the Bank of New Zealand came, partially undei Government control, he was offered the distinction of being its first president, but he declined. After retiring from the bank, Sir James, who has been a fellow of the Bankers’ Institute of London since 1899, joined the directorate of the South British Insurance Company, a position he still holds.