CONDITIONS BETTER

Hokitika Guardian, 30 January 1933, Page 6

CONDITIONS BETTER

BRITAIN’S FINANCE SOUNDER.

(British Official Wireless.)

RUGBY, January 27

Mr Reginald McKenna, chairman of the Midland Bank, in an address at the shareholders’ annual meeting, described conditions in Britain to-day as being distinctly better than a year ago, notwithstanding the persistence of the high level of unemployment.

“Our national finances are sounder,” lie said. “A marked reduction lias been made in the balance of our imports over our experts. Our volume of business has been fairly maintained, and ijfew industries established, and, though, exchange and other restrictions are stifling our trade with foreign countries, there aro signs of a steady development of experimental trade. This improvement has nut. been helped by events abroad. The hopes arising from the Lausanne Conference vanished in the face of disappointment regarding the war debts td America.”

INCREASE IN FIXED DEPOSITS

RUGBY, January 27

An outsanding feature of the balance sheets of the five principal English hanks, which have now been published, is an unprecedented growth in the deposits, which now! stand at -£1,773,287,0,00, an increase of £209,398,715 on the previous year. This increase', has been achieved in spite of a reduction, of £119,882,153 in the advances, which materially would have involved a similar reduction in the deposits.