B—6.

Management of the Reserve Bank. The management of the Reserve Bank shall be vested in a Board of Directors consisting of a Governor, a Deputy-Governor, and seven other members, and in addition thereto the Secretary to the Treasury shall by virtue of his office be a member of the Board, but shall not be entitled to vote at any meeting thereof. Three members of the Board of Directors shall from time to time be appointed by the Governor-General in Council to hold office as State Directors, the additional members of the Board of Directors (4) shall hold office as shareholders' Directors, and shall in the first place be appointed by the Governor-General in Council and hold office until retirement in rotation, pursuant to section 29 of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act, 1933. After retirement in accordance with the Statute, the shareholders' Directors shall be elected for a period of five years by the shareholders at a general meeting. Of the shareholders' Directors, two shall be persons who are or have been actively engaged in primary industry and two shall be persons who are or have been actively engaged in industrial or commercial pursuits. General Meetings and Voting Bights of Shareholders. Ordinary general meetings of shareholders shall be convened by the Board once in every year and shall be held not later than the 31st day of July in each year. Every shareholder of the Bank shall at any such meeting be entitled to one vote for every share of which he has been the registered proprietor for not less than six months immediately preceding the date of the meeting : Providing that no shareholder shall be entitled to more than five hundred votes. The right of voting at any general meeting may be transferred by a shareholder to any other shareholder as his proxy, provided, however, that no person shall be entitled at any time to exercise more than five hundred votes, whether in his own right or as proxy, or shall be competent to receive proxies purporting to authorize him to exercise more than five hundred votes in the aggregate, taking into account the number of votes to which he is entitled in respect of the shares held by him. Distribution of Profits. The financial year of the Bank shall end on the 31st day of March. After such provision as the Board thinks proper has been made for bad and doubtful debts, depreciation in assets, superannuation or retiring allowances for the staff, and all such other matters as are usually provided for by Banks, and after payment out of the net profits of a cumulative dividend of 5 per cent, per annum on the paid-up capital, the surplus for each financial year shall be applied in terms of paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of section 36 of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act, 1933, which means that as long as the General Reserve Fund is not less than twice the paid-up capital (and that will be the position at the commencement) the whole of the remaining profits accrue to the State. Taxation. The Reserve Bank shall be exempt from public taxation (not including local rates) to the same extent as the Crown, but dividends received by any shareholder will be included in his assessable income for the purposes of the Land and Income Tax Act, 1923. Security of Capital. The safety of the investment of funds in the share capital of the Bank may be judged from the facts that not only is provision made for a General Reserve Fund at twice the amount of the paid-up capital, but the classes of business that may be conducted by the Bank are specified in section 13 of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act, 1933, and are of such a nature as will ensure ample security to the Bank in respect of its operations. These, it is particularly mentioned, include dealing in New Zealand Government securities and short-term negotiable paper bearing two or more good signatures. General. The Bank shall not be at any time dissolved except pursuant to an Act of Parliament passed in that behalf. Copies of the Annual Accounts and report shall be available for shareholders at the offices of the Bank. Two qualified accountants must be appointed as Auditors of the accounts of the Bank. Copies of this Prospectus with the form of application for shares may be obtained at any Postal Money-order Office, at any Branch of the Trading Banks throughout the Dominion, or from members of any stock exchange in New Zealand. Applications, together with the amount payable on application, may be lodged at any branch of the Bank of New Zealand in the Dominion or at any postal money-order office. Payment may be made in full on application or in instalments to be paid on or before the dates specified, and on allotment of the share capital any amount paid in excess of the full nominal value of the shares allotted will be refunded. Interest is not payable on application money or on allotments. In case of default in the payment of any instalment by its proper date, the deposit and any instalments previously paid will be liable to forfeiture, and the relative allotment to cancellation. A commission of J of one per cent, will be paid to Registered Sharebrokers and Banks on allotments made in respect of applications bearing their stamp, with a minimum of Is. in respect to each allotment. The list of applications will be closed on or before the 15th day of February, 1934, but the Minister reserves the right to close the list on such earlier date as he may prescribe by notification in the New Zealand Gazette or otherwise. J. G. Coates, Minister of Finance. The Treasury, Wellington, C. 1, New Zealand, Ist February, 1934.

By Authority : G. H. Loney, Government Printer, Wellington.—l 934.

XXIII