COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1781, 20 June 1913, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHAKES. Thero were two transactions in Union Steam shares at 425. 3d. reported yesterday, and this was all the business recorded in investment shares. Tho quotations wero as under:—

BANK OF NEW ZEALAND. The meeting of shareholders of the Bank of New Zealand, to bo held ou Thursday of next week, promises to be unusually interesting. Besides the discussion of tho bal-ance-sheet and any matters that • might l arise out of tho chairman's epeech. tho question of the repayment of the £1,000,CC0 debentures guaranteed by the Government, and the increase of the bank's capital, will also como up for discussion, as tho requisite notice of a scries of resolutions to be submitted to the meeting has been given by shareholders. It is believed that those resolutions, though not exactly, are very much on tho lines of the resolutions passed at a preliminary meeting of shareholders on the London Register convened by Mr. Martin Kennedy in April last, which read as follow:— 1. That the nocossnry steps be taken to secure that the £1,000,000 debentures guaranteed by tho Now Zealand Government 1)' paid off at maturity in July, 1914. 2. That, in view of tho fact that the Government guarantee will no longer be required, and that the Government will have no further liability with regard to tho bank, the shareholders reauest that the control of the bank bo restored to them, the Government, however, having a representation on the board proportionate to the nominal amount of the preference shares, aa compared with tho ordinary shares. 3. That the shareholders bo recommended to give Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Watson, the two directors representing them, proxies ill blank to enable Mr. Kennedy and his colleague to' act on their behalf. 4. That the issue of any new capital shall bo offered to tho shareholders at par ot at such advantageous nrico ae will give them a return for the losses incurred by them nineteen years ago. It is stated that the resolutions to bo submitted on Thursday a.rc much more carefully worded than the above, and are more explicit on all points. There is some doubt ob to tho rights of tho State to subecribo for any new shares that may bo issued, and the directors are to be urged to move the Courts for a declaratory , decree. NATIONAL BANK OF NEW ZEALAND. Tho general manager of the National Bank of New Zealand. Ltd.. has received a cable message from his London board advising tho declaration of a dividend of 6 per cent, for the half-year and bonus to shareholders of 1 per cent, on paid-up capital. (£503,000), equalling 13 per cent, in all for the year ended March 31 last. The sum of £20,000 has been added to the reservo fund, which will then 6tand at £520,000, £15,000 added to the roserve for depreciation of investments, and £36.750 carried forward. The directors have further allocated £15,000 ill reduction of bank premises account, and £4000 to tho officers' pension fund. The annual meeting of the bank will be lield in London on July 1.

COMMERCIAL UNION ASSURANCE. Tho report of the directors states that in the fire department the net premiums lor 1912 amounted t.o £3.238,704. boin? an increase of £55,834, as compared with the year 1911, and the claims paid and outstanding, £1,635,415, or 50.5 per cent, of the premium income. From the profits, of this department tho sum of £425,C00 lias been carried to profit and loss account, leaving the fire insurance fund at £3,261,950. In the marine department the net premiums received wore £345.367, and tho claims paid and outstanding amounted to £151,887. From tho profits of this department the sum of £50,C00 has been carried to profit and loss. leaving the marine insurance fund at £858,788. In the accident department tho net premiums received in the three accounts of this department amounted to £2,675,492, and tho claims paid and outstanding to £1,344,038. After malting provision for current risks, and transferring £215,000 to profit and lore, tho balance of the general accident insurance fund stands at £850,365.

MAMMOTH LINEI!S AND INSURANCE. The Hamburg-American liner Imperator,which sailed from Southampton for New Yorlt on Friday last, met w'th.two casualties in the course of lier initial journey through the Biver Elbe, and this emphasired the necessity of scouring the fullest possible protection in tho way of insurance which can bo obtained. According to the "Financial Times," tho Cunard Company, the Hamburg-America Company, and the International Mercantile Marino Corporation of New Jersey have recently entered into an arrangement by whioh they will form a subsidiary underwritiue rompany to take the risk of their largest liners. In order to avoid tho risk of the heavy premiums required by Lloyd's underwriters and the existing marino insurance companies. As was predicted at. the outset by certain experienced members of the profession, tho owners of the liujjo vessels which are now being built for the North Atlantic trade arc commencing to realise that they havo passed the limits of prudence. The amount of capital invested in one "bottom" is eo vast that underwriters are afraid of the business, and rightly so, for, even if there bo no serious casualty, these leviathans rarely run ono single trip without cncounterintr some slight mishap, which is sufficient to run awav with the premium and to leave underwriters in a very unsatisfactory position. It is already becoming a very probable contingency that this question of insurance will exercise an important influence upon the future shipbuilding programme of tho leading North Atlantic "hipping companies, for the position in this connection is bound.to bccomc more land more acute. At the present- foment those responsible for the linperatgr aro making desperate efforts to como to terms with underwriters for the short period of one month, and a fair amount of business has been done on this basis, although only a small proportion of tho total. It 13 possible that during the next few days a further considerable sum will be placed, but, evea so, it is quite certain that not ruore than three-quarters of the t-otal will eventually be covered by ordinary policies of marine insurance. The situation which now arises is undoubtedly a score for tlioso underwriters who took up a strong stand against accepting those liiue vessels for insurance purposes. There is no reason to doubt but that as time goes on their wisdom r.ill bo demonstrated in a still more noticeable manner. This being bo. it seems probable that for the present at any rate the limit has been reached in the size ot the vessels which ply across tho North Atlantic.

LARGEST BANK IN THE WOULD. The New York "Financier" has been- discussing tiie question of which is the largest bank in the world, and has drawn up a comparative table allowing the positions of American, Canadian, Australian, and English banking companies. Tho lato Mr .T P. Morgan, in giving evidence before the ".Money Trust" Commission, pointed out- that in respect to the deposits held, many English bante surpassed any of tho principal American institutions, and this is confirmed by the tabic compiled by the "Financier." In the first twelve on the list there is only one United States bank— tlie National City Bank of New York— which occupies the ninth position, tho first eight all being English banfe. Tho answer to the ouostion as to which is tho largest bonk in the world, however, depends in some mea.sure on the character of business of tho indivfdual banlis, and the "Financier" lias eliminated' the Hank of France and other similar institutions, which, while doing a discount business,ore not ordinary commercial venturer. It lias not included also the big Continental lnnl(«, such as the Credit Lyonna.is and tho DcuUcho Jituii, and tho Banquo Eusso-

Asiatinuo ill its list. After considering the figures, of the Continental institution!?, apart from tlio Jlunk of Frnnco and other national banlts, however, the "Financier" still maintains tliat one or moro of the English joint-stock bankg stands at or near the head of the list. Customs duties collected at the port of U eilinEjtori yesterday amounted to £1530 os. 7d. AUSTRALIAN PItODUCF, MAItKETS. Dy Tfil«Braph—Press Association-Copyright (Hoc. Juno 19, 10.45 p.m.) Sydnoy, Juno 19. Wheat is quoted at 3s. 7Jd. to 3s. 73d. Flour, £8 15s. Oats: Algerian feeding, 2s. 6d. to 2s. fid.; milliner. 2s. 10d. to 2s. Ud.: sparrow-bills, 2s. lid.; giants. 2s. Ud. to 3s. Hurley, Cape malting, 3p. 3d. to 3s. 9<l. Maize, fe. lOd. iiran, £4 15s. l'ollarfi, £5. Potatoes, 'Pasmanians. £7 Bs. lo £7 10s. Onions, £7 15s. Huttor, choice, 1205.; good, 110s. to 116s. Cheese, 73d. llaeon, Btl. Addaldo, June 19. Wheat, 3s. Bd. to 3s. B{d. I'lotir. £8 to £8 ss. Oats, Is. lid. to 2s. Bran and pollard, Is.' HIDES. Melbourne, June 19. Hides, in moderate supplies, with good competition; prices are unchanged. WHEAT. London, June 18. Official quotations for wheat;— South Australian, New South Wales, and Victorian, for prompt delivery, 375. 6d.; on passage. 375. 9d. Liverpool fixtures. 90S cents, July, 90. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Ltd., have received tlio following cablegram from their London house, undor date June 18:—'We have sold an Australian carjro at 38s. c.i.f. There is very little demand," owing to favourablo crop reports,' and tho Keijeral market outlook is discouraging. TALLOW. London, June 18. At tho_tallow sales 2175 casks wore offered and 870 sold. Prices were unchanged. SILVEIt. London, Juno 18. Ear silver in quoted at 27d. per ounco standard.

Buyers. Sellers. £ 6. d. £ s. d. Bank New Zealand 11 0 0 — N.Z. Loan and Jlcr. (10s.) 0 10 3 — .N'.Z. and Biver Plate ... 1 19 9 — Well. Trust and Loan 7 4 0 — Napior Qa-s (£10) 16 0 0 Well. Gas (pref.!' 0 19 6 10 0 National Insurance — 2 4 0 Standard Insurance — 111 0 Christclnu'ch Heat 15 2 0 — Meat Eiport (£4) ■■■'■ — 5 0 0 Union Steam 2 2 0 2 2 6 Taupiri Coal .. 119 — Westport Coal 17 6 — Tarinsamntu Totara 2 3 3 — GoMcu Bay Cement — 10 0 Sharland's preference .... — 12 6 Ward and Co 5 2 0 — W.F.C.A. (£5) - 7 5 0 W.F.C.A. (£1) - 18 6