BANKING AND THE PRESS

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21415, 6 March 1935, Page 7

BANKING AND THE PRESS

is tu r&nog of mi: £a,~Pkase accept from myself and •skeri a well-merited bouquet. Insuggestions as to how you are town your paper to suit certain sec•>oai to the disadvantage oi' others fell *** thistle-down or granite, apparto the relief of those who feel j-sty have an equal right to be heard. Tat correspondence pag'i in Tuesday's 3TO was a good example of the pub•xi appreciation of the "open forum" »asca you generously provide for its in which has been, and may .«U be. ventilated every phase of Root opsnion on public questions. *,?. editor must be endowed with qualities above the average •a oot be easily stampeded by purely interests into an unfair sr»" E #' contestants in their state<2?i 'heir particular case. Your J®, Ifflpartiality in the treatment of volume of interesting corressubmitted must win the re2?.®® esteem of everyone conand many are the compliments to yonr credit for your K(g in holding the balance more than once of new 7"*« Den being won bv this one Of your paper. To me it is t 0M °f 'he most interesting and "toon etf Pages of y°ur journal.— . . JURY. 5. 1935. lai iDHOI O* TFI y. KIK>3. V ° Ur * en^cr - v " u touched on t% ,he mo.st important and probst, * , !T!0:t "nportant of modern v; ' ril " 1 von referred 1o the JWh r.f , • ttM . c 'P"i! r, n, in parliamentary tm-t* e ' s '" A "hfrc. in favour of h^" ent '' w ' ro! " f ti »- national !s f»" ! ' 50 ' ! ' : '' r ' r " ;i,| °ual finance in the interest of the St 7 ?? 3 whole it is an essential *0 Itv1 tv , at - enterprise <in bankfejasgSii be influenced self"W.. y M competitive circum--5- it is asking a lot of a f ® onf *y-mak in g profession to and forgo an unfair but wantage. igr«Ss ale thi£ !*•'»« let us take 4tR a ? an sample. We will " a nks. through the firms, !Srt^ E f r f 0 ," ev to stock u » in lambs made £2 5s a nf ~ efl appreciation in Bet* SO reduced the value of - anc * more, the banks iawif? handsome thing and re- i (lit jj-Zf®?. 60 per cent., as would jkite, ?. i r -, they billed the w» .. interest, until many wiiT, '-r.ev had. Of course lirmi£? u^,.kacll: Ihat when prices Wb acce Pt the advantage l * a halvJr, an won't offer the Ite Tim is where governN b( -' advantage. have reached the ca " be maintained .Another point is that Bani, ginates from the State instead of from private «sey va.£ do ?,V- a <iJ' rise or fall in »**to L« ac .crue to the State «Jj* th» Particular section. bankers are not k2Nied w W er e local banking tPaKrilt-. 0 dou bt bank manfT«,have great technical 2if Mr / or their districts; P"* Soirt . nch , ester 'ikes to speak ton i' f ll righl - But when nal financial policy miseraMy. They canZealand's inter- » «Khly profitable and

few nations can rival' it, and that the chance of increasing the balance in our favour to any great extent is very remote. Yet with this firstclass international trade advantage New Zealanders at home are in financial straits. The internal financial difficulties we experience are due to the limitations of our leading bank directors, and due especially to their visualising banking from the point of view of private enterprise and not from a national point of view. Mr Winchester does not want the general public enlightened on banking moves and policy. Yet he wishes the banks to serve and control the nation financially. Surely the people have a right to all information as to how they are financed nationally. What reasons are there for withholding information? The banks are very honest institutions, and cannot want silence to cover up any doubtful moves. The only other reason I can think of is they do not want inefficiency exposed—the prescription they ladle out to others. If their moves in national finance had been made public useful criticism might have saved them from many pitfalls. That they have not a perfect knowledge of the banking system is obvious. This was easily seen in their working of the exchange rate. They did not at first let everyone who received money from England have the advantage of the exchange. They also called a £22,000,000 balance on overseas trade a debt. Then they got the Government to pass a bill to indemnify them from loss over the raising of the exchange. Even the accountants in the Reserve Bank did not have perfect knowledge of the working of the exchange rate. —Yours, etc., KAYE HOE. Cu.-t. March 4, 1935.