BANKING SIDELIGHTS.

Mt Benger Mail, Volume 17, Issue 850, 22 August 1896, Page 4

BANKING SIDELIGHTS.

FiiOM the Star's* Parliamentary Reporter. WELLINGTON. August 15. § The printing of documents, returns, and evidence in connectin with the inquiries of the banking committees will prove a very expensive item. The whole of the annual reports and balance-sheets of the Bank ef New Zealand since its inception have been ordered to be printed in pamphlet form, and in view of the misleading—not to use a stronger word—character of a number of the balance-sheets they should prove both interesting and instructive. The following are the transfers ef Bank of Now Zealand shares made since the beginning of 1893. Some of the mere recent transfers show what little va'ae the transferor placed on his shares. This much of the return will be well worth studying :

The asterisk signifies that Mr J. Ryley wa3 the transferee. Another return gives particulars of the Colonial Bank landed property and premise?, and in many instances this shows that not more than lj per cent, per annum is being returned on the money paid. The properties sold by the Bank of New Zealand since their acquirement are :

The book value of all the properties acquired is £125,379 15a 21. The Christchurch bank firemises, which were valued at £12,953, are jing idle, and £BO odd is being paid yearly by way of rates. The Dunediu premises were taken over at a valuation of £36,928. All that is returned by way of income for rents is £962 per annum, while £376 13a is absorbed by rates. Aa to writings off in 1895-96, the following particulars arc supplied, shillings and pence being omitted :

Written Off 1895-96. Capital £900,000 Reserve fund... ... ... ... I;>,oi>o Call, 1895, received to 13th July, 1896 ... 441,808 Profits 7,031 Profits £49,470 And from su-peuse account ... 4,723 ■ 54,193 General contingency account ... ... 62.451 Interest suspense account ... ... 3,720 Recoveries ... ... ... ... 105 Consolidated properties account .. 41 Reserved profit account ... ... 17,968 Bad debt suspense account 204 £1,531,951 AITMEP. Call, 1895, to Estates Company share account X441,20tj Share capital to Estates Company share account 323,100 To Estates Company contingency fund 171,136 Pad debts written off 542,316 Further, for March, 1896 ... 54,193 £1,531,951 The only general information as to writings off that the directors felt justified is contained in tlio following : Writikus On, 1888-96. Total writings off £3,095,709 The various accounts comprised in the consolidated properties account were, prior to the sale to the Estates Company, written down in 18*9-90 by ... £1,195,231 Further writings oft' took place in 1895-96 in the sliapc of reduction of Estates Company's share capital, ai noun tfugto 764,306 Total £1,959,537 Leaving balance written off other accounts £1,136,262 Of which £171,136 still remains to credit of the contingency fund.

Date of Transferor Shares . CODslUCDeed. raticD. 1893. £ s. d. Sept. 14 E. R. Smith 1-2 .52 1 0 Oct. 11 A. H. Nathan 23 100 0 0 Sept. 14 Mrs R. J. Seddoti ... 20 83 0 0 Dec. 20 Richard Rankiu 73 281 5 0 1«94. Feb. 19* Juhn Ritchie 132 473 4 0 April 30' Thomas Turrell 166 16B17 0 Sept. 20 John Ryley .10 87 10 0 Dec. 28 John Murray 100 — Sept. 19 John Ryley 25 10 5 0 Oct. 1R Bendix Hallenstein... 100 ,X 13 0 Sept 29 J. H. Ken20 40 0 0 1895. Mar. 21 Ellen A. Paris 39 0 3 0

Book Value. Sold for. £ P. (1. £ s. d. Cambridge ... 250 0 0 250 0 0 J,awrence ... 2,559 19 ti 1,009 U 0 Marton ... 265 0 0 25 0 0 Xorruanby «9 7 1 3 0 0 Rangioni ... 1,390 19 11 1,000 0 0 Wanganni ... 3,805 5 0 3,003 15 3 Wyndham 77 6 1 90 10" 6