The Feilding Star, Oeoua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1895. THE COLONIAL BANK.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 229, 28 March 1895, Page 2

The Feilding Star, Oeoua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily. THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1895. THE COLONIAL BANK.

Ix a recent, ss m we j.ublisbcd a summary of the report which would be presented <■ ;he shareholders of the Colonial Bank at the meeting which vras held in Dunedin yesterday. In moving the adoption of the report which recommended a dividend of six per cent., the President (the Hon. George McLean) said that their bills pa} able and other iiabilities were less by £78,000 than the half -jmr preceding, lut their deposits had increased , by £136,000, coin and bullion by £86,W0, remittanses in course of transit by £109,000, while the advances had decreased by .# I £1,000. He further said that encouragipg npws had come to hand of an improved demand and hardening prices for wool, and regular markets with fairly payable prices should speedily put an entirely different aspect on the trade of the colony. la reply to q. question, Mr McLean sS'd thafc as far as human foresight could see there was no chance of a call being made on the share holders for the very excellent reason that the Bank could not profitably employ all the money they had at their .disposal at the present time. The report was adopted. Our readers can ccc for the&i&e.iyes that the Bank is in slq excellent po^t.ion ; botlj aa

| regards finance and management, only ! it has in point of fact too much money ! lying idle. This, of course, is not the fault of the directors, because they are not likely to follow the old plan, | which proved so disastrous both io i this colony and in Australasia a few years ago, of forcing money onjheir clientele ; but, unless they intend to work at a loss, the interest now paid on deposits will have to be reduced, and we are certain if they make a move in that direction the other banks doing business in the colony would only be too happy to follow their example. Already the Australian banks are giving half per cent, less for yearly deposits than the New Zealand banks, and are said to be declining them. This naturally forces the money on the New Zealand banks, which are paying the higher rate, and thus further hampers them with a surplus of money which, as Mr McLean said, they were unable to profitably employ. Shareholders should remember that beyond a certain proportion of the capital employed by the Bank, every farthing paid on fixed deposits is a means of reducing their dividends.