BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1781, 12 June 1906, Page 3

BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES.

A PROSPEROUS HALF-YE VR.

Tho hundred and eleventh half yearly moetiog of the Bank of New Siuth Wales was held at Sydney, Dr. 0. K. M-ickell »r, M.L.0., presiding The report (whioh was adopted) shows that the not profits for the half-year, after deduoting rebate on current bills, ia'o'est on deposits, paying info aud other taxes, roduoiog valuation of bank prern srs, providing for bad and doubtful debts, and fluctuations in the value of investment securities, and including reooveiiea from debts previously writtea off ob bad, amounted to £129 885, to which haviog .been added the undivided balanco from last half yrar of £lB 232, made £147,617, available for distribution. This sum tho directors reoommended to be dealt with as followsTo payment of dividend at the rate of 10 per oent. per annum, £10,000; to augmentation of the lvservo fund, £25,000; to balauoe oarried forward, £22 617. ~ , avuaiiiiian, in moving the adoption of tbo report, BaidComparing the figures of Maroh, 1905, with tho 36 of the present half-year, I beg to call your attention to the Wowing features Tho circulation has increased by the Domical sum of £85,000 only. Is is bcooming more and more evident that notes so far as these colonies are eorcsrned aro being used almost solely for what may be termed pockat-mofiey purposes,' aud that the adoption of tbo cheque, based on a current acoount, as a means of settling payments of even tbe sma’lest description, provides tbo real currenoy of the country. Deposits have increased somewhat over £1.500,000 on tbe year. This is not quite so large an inoroase as that between Maroh, 1904, and March, 1905, but is sufficiently noteworthy, and arises to a la’ge extent from tbe same oauie Which was-referred to last year, namely, the enhanced income aooruiDg to the producing interests, The inorease is fairly evenly divided between fixed deposits aod ourrent aooounts. The reduction in tbo rato3 of interest paid on the former has had a steadying effeof, as was pointed out last half-year: B lie payable and other liabilities have iooreased by some £BOO,OOO, wbioh is very largely in bills payable. This may be fairly taken as an indication that the requirements of our ooßtomeis to pay for imports are again

on the increase, sflcr a somewhat slack I lime in ibis resp c>, Such a trade ten- | danoy was to bo expected in view of tbe very much improved condition of the ' great producing inlerests. " The accumulation of d.-posit money is refleoted very olea-iy cn the asset er'de. Coin and its equivalents have inoreased by £380,000, while money at short call in London shows tbe largo increaee of £1,240,C00. We havo fully availed ourselves of tbe opeuiogs which have presented thomsclves of placing our spare funds in London, wbero at present they are earning good rates, and whero they will be readily available when required for use in the business at this end. " B ile receivable in London or on the way thither, and remittances in transit, show an increase of £720 000, whioh is really patt of tbo operations just referred t', and will (cud to further strengthen tho London funds.

“Advances are prectioally etationary, and with reference to these, as has been explained before, you will readily understand that tbe factors wh’oh havo brought about a special increase in the deposits, namely, exceptional leoeipts of money produce sold, must alike affect tho hasten a bv 3 vidual accounts, but we have been able to reload the moaey thus repaid to other clients, and thereby at least maintain the advanoes at an even figure. It may be expected that os tbe improved condition in our country districts make themselves felt, tbe requirements of our olientß generally will increase. But we have no desire to foroo matters in this respeot, nor to onoourage any Bpiiik of speculation. , . . Ia order to provide suitable accommodation at Wel'ingtoo, N.Z., we havo had to dismantle our very old wooden buildiDg—one of the oldest ia the oity—and erect an ootirely new one. Wo have nbw got a handsome building there, worthy of the capital oity of New Zealand, and of our own lccjfl headquarters in that flourishing oolony, . . . The general conditions in tho oountry districts are for tbe most part fairly satisf aotory, good rains have M-tn in a large portion of Queensland, and in some districts of Yiotoria and New South Wolob, There are, however, large traots of oountry in New South Wales and some in Victoria in whioh tbo rainfall has been very scanty, and in these portions pastoralists are looking forward with soma anxiety to tho proßpcots of lambing in the coming winter, and Bpring.”