BANK OF NEW ZEALAND

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 68, 13 December 1919, Page 9

BANK OF NEW ZEALAND

_4 —. HALF-YEARLY MEETING PRODUCTION AND LAND VALUES The half-yearly general meeting of the slinreholders of the Bunk of Now Zealand was held at tho ■ head office yesterday. Sir. H. Upton, .acting-chairinun of directors, presided in the absence of the chairman, .-Sir. Harold Boaiichamp. The other direotors present wore Messrs. E. W.Jvane, W. Watson and D. J. Nathan. . The general manager (Mr. W. Pnlleiider) and the chief auditor (Sir. B. W. Gibbs) wero also; present.

Tho acting-chairman apologised for the unavoidable absence of Mr. H. Beauchamp. He said that! tho profits for the hnll'-year ended September 30 had boon of the usual satisfactory character; and the btwd: was declaring the customary intorim dividend of eix per cent. He declared Sir. R. W. Kano- re-elected to tho directorate without opposition.. "Sir. B. SI- Litchfield, who has occupied tho post of chief auditor since April, 1007, retired from the position on September SO last," said Mr. Upton. "Mr. Litchfield's connection with the tank has extended over a period of nearly lifty years; and he has filled, during Hiat tinie, many other responsible positions, including those of inspector and subsequently of manager at Christchurch..lt gives us pleasure ■ to acknowledge. tho value of the services rendered to the bank by him' in tho various posts he has, from time to time, occupied. The Government has appointed Mr. R. W. Gibbs, late manager at Duncdin, to succeed. Str. Litchfiold as chief auditor. Mr- Gibbs has a long and creditable record i'n. the bunk's sorvice, and is well qualified to diedharge tho duties of his new appointment." The approaching -retirement of Sir. William Callender from tho position of general manager was referred to in the "course of the chairman's remarks at our last meeting. I TCgret that, this is the last occasion on which we shall have Sir. Callender with us in the capacity of chief oxecii-ti-ve officer of tho bank. Ho retires from hie .distinguished position on Jan-' nary 31 next. .

.In order lo appreciate the, work ho has, done in' the responsible position ho has- occupied, it is necessary only to, glance at tho figures 'of the bank's bal-ance-sheet for these recent years. In 11107, when ho* assumed .charge, the. total assets of the bank were .£18,395,300. in. the latest- balance-sheet they aro '.£48,213.700. The' dividend, which waS then at ,tlio-i*ate ,of 7} per cent., • has doubled; the, earning power of the bank jins largely increased; a reserve fund of . satisfactory "magnitude has been accumulated; and there is almost an entire, alwence of bad debts or other legacies of mismanagement. , All this goes to ptflw.' how prudently and wisely tho business of. the'bank has been adminis-. tercet while lie has held the reins, of office. . Unquestionably he hands over to- his successor an institution of which any banker might* well be proud- .His work' is his highest testimonial and Ins best memorial. In bidding him goodbye, wo wish v him long life, good health and prosperity, with the capacity to enjoy to the full the well-wned rest to which he is so justly entitled. Mr., H. Buckloton" has; as you Are aware, been appointed general manager. Mr. Tiiiokleton's capacity as a banker, combined with his energy of. character, justifies ii 3 ina.nt):*cipating for him a suc.ca« equal to that of -his predecessor. . The Staff. "The various events above-mentioned, created vacancies in the important positions of the general managership and' chief auditorship, and of the management at the* Auckland and Dunedin hwinohes. ITt js a cause of much gratification to the directors iinjinrlant positions have been satisfactorily filled'by .selection from our own .stall; while the consequential vacancies occurring elsewhere, only in degree less im- ■ portent, have afforded the opportunity for deserved promotion to other promis-ing-officers. * In his address to * shiireholders'nt the* half-year.general meeting.' held oil-December 8,1916;- and at severalsubsequent meetings, the chairman has mentioned what was being done by the bank to assist those oril'3 staff, burdened with the responsibilities of families or ether dependants, to meet the increased cost of living. The costs of living have continued to.steadily advance, and Uio, board,* having come to the, conclusion that there: is no probability for some •time to come of a reversion to pre-war' cot ditions, decided to make tho • war' bonuses permanent additions to the. re-. 'numeration of the officers drawing them, aiirt, moreover, have granted, in most cases, substnutial further increment* in salaries- These salary revisions have been appreciatively acknowledged by .the officers concerned. The scale of. pay of juniors li«is also been revised and substantially advanced, nnd the reiminoratioii of officers generally is now on such a basfc as will, we think, make the service attractive to young men. Land Values. "The conditions of industry and- t*fado throughout.the Dominion rwuain for the most part satisfactory. All the -primary industries are thriving, and prices for products ate good. A ' rather teveve drought in portions of the north during the auluinn and winter, and an exctes .of moisture in parts of tha south, resulted in' a' scarcity of feed, and as a . consequence, some losses of stock occurred, and stock in thess districts generally have come through, tho winter in poor* condition. Lambing, as, a- result, is cxp?ctcd to bp below the average. In Canterbury, severe snowstorms during the. winter- , months are known to have resulted in serious stock losses, the full extent of which will iiot bo a«*crtainablo\ until mustering and shearing are:conipklc. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, however,-the. pastoral industry, owing to the good prices obtained. under the Government purchase, ;s prosperous, and most of- those engaged in it are doing well. Dairying is also prosperous. Ciimntie conditions in the dairying d'slriets both last season and this (en fiti , as it has. gono.) have been favourable; and prices being also 'satisfactory, those engaged in the • industry have thriven. •'Spcakin.fr generally, evidences of prosperity are to be found everywhere lhe people apparently have plenty of money to spend, and aro spending it freely. Wholesale and retail traders admit that they fire doing exceptionally well, and making good profits. One cannot but 'be struck by the contrast * between the 'conditions'preva-lin« here, and-thoso in a large pnrt of tho civilised world which lias been devastated by the greatest •war of history, find .where the jovulations of. those stricken are absolutely destitute and on the'verge of starvation; .and the thought not unnaturally i rises to ask whether''our happy condit'on can be regarded as'sound and likely to be lasting. Hound it certainly is, and will be, so long as the country continues to* produce to her utmost capacity; and lasting-it will bo, if our resources of every k : nd aro developed with energy ana'intelligence, so us adequately to be prepared to meet whatever contingencies mav arise.

"One "result of our prosperity—and a result which 1 cannot out regard otherwise than as unfortunate—is an accentuated upward movement in tho. price of land, in some districts, land :s chaining hands at prices that, imnudiatoly before the war, would have been regarded as reckless. A note of warning was sounded iii the last address from this chair; and we feel it our duty to repeat and emphasise it. Clearly, aanic agriculturists and pasloraliste are basing their calculations on a contimianco of the present high prices for produce, or a possible furt.hor improvement therein. VVe cannot but regard the ns too optimisti'!. Operators should not' clcvse their eyes to the po-sibilily, or even the probability, of a fall, and should k> ■•estrict their liabilities that they will not- lie seriously hampered should a fall in prions, and a corresponding shrinkage in land values take place.

"A most important question is that of freight facilities after tho Government purchase ends. Owing to the shortage' of insulated ships, it would seem necessary that early steps should be taken with a view to ensuring that flip neccssarv amount of insulated space shall be .available to carry our exports to market, otherwise our producers will bo in a very unenviable position. One freezing companv has been so impressed with tho prospective difficulties of the position that it has made the experiment of purchasine a steamer, which it proposes to iu-

sukto and utilise to relieve the pressure, so t'nr as its own particular works aro concerned. Sho will also carry wool or other produce in her non-insulated space. The results of this experiment will,' no ooiibt. l>o watched with interest by other meat freezing companies. What tho coursfl of nricea will bo after tho cessation of Government purchase is largely a matter of conjecture. Somo lines, owing to scarcity of supplies, may temporarily advanco and others recede. But whatever tho imiucdinto result may bo, nrodncers, will do w'oll to keep in view the probability of an ultimate recession in nrices: and base their business calculations accordingly." • Sir. It. W Kane returned thanks for 'his-re-election to the directorate, and assured shareholders that, as in tho past, hn would continue to use his best .endeavours' in their interests. Shareholders had been advised that the call on old shares was now to be made. _ This should be very gratifying to those interested, as it would place all the holders of ordinary shares on an equal footing, and should be-some compensation to those who, in days gone by, suffered such heavy losses. Mr. \V. Watson added his congratulations to those of Sir. Kane on tho shareholders exchanging their unremunerativo liabilitv on the old shares for what was now a eood investment. Even then, after twenlv-nve vears since . the rearrangement of tho bank, there would be eome leeway to make up. .The original east of the shares, without premium, was -CIO. That, together "with .£3 6s. 8(1. reserve liabilitv called : upouj was written off, and a further'subscription of ,£3 6s. Bd. was levied-to'constitute tho nominal value of the present 'old share. ■• But the goodwill, which twenty-five years ago he maintained both' to Parliament and to the shareholders was of great value, remained, and ho had no hesitation in saving that the prosperity of the. Dominion in a vast measure as well as'that of the bank, was duo to the financial snpliort which, during the past'twenty-five vears. the institution had afforded to all sound industries. With the .£3 On. Sd. to be paid-up in April next, each <£G IDs. •Id fu.llv-paid share would have cost £»0 nr.iwirc without reckoning loss of interest, but. he was confident that'the'leowav would be made' up to the shareholders . whether'."the- Government acquired their interests or not.. . . . , , Sir. W. Callondor.'said.that.ho wished to bid the shareholders official, farewell on tho last occasion on which he would - have the privilege of attending a meeting ns general manager. He;was very pleased indeed to congratulate the shareholders \i.pon the very fine position vl-ich the. bank now occupied. Tno fehiik of New Zealand was now the sec-'oii-l largest among the banks of Austiolasia. Thnt was a fact that'should give thV shareholders.great gratification. The 'finances of tho bank wore very 'slicing. Tho reserve 'now exceeded the amount of the paid-up capital and would still exceed this capital when the call, of JiMO.MO was paid in April next. The bank's earning power was exceptionally pood "So good is it that-1 think some of those in ..high , places aro casting envious eyes ii]>oii this very fruitful vineyard of yours." said Mr. Cullender. "There is another asset you have, the good will of the.people of New ZealandI.hold that 'the bank stands well in the esteem of the "people of New Zealand. We'had the most striking illustration of that "as far back as 1888 and 1889,-when the loyalty of the people of New Zealand prevented the bank from going tinder. "■ The way they stood by us was very fine indeed, and'if they had failed us'then our troubles, would have been imteh worse than - we had subsequently. Our •customers stood by us well."