BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26631, 29 November 1947, Page 3

BANK OF NEW SOUTH WALES

PRESIDENT- REVIEWS ACCOUNTS

At the ordinary general meeting of the Bank of New South Wales, held at Sydney yesterday, the president of the bank, Sir Frederick H. Tout, reviewed the accounts and discussed general economic conditions. The total of the balance sheet had increased by £20,492,000 to a new record of £265,516,000, the main increase being in deposits, which were £232,875,000 on September 30, Sir Frederick said. On the assets -side, liquid assets represented 60 per cent, of the total. Loans and ad vances had risen by £19,825,000 to a total of £94,354,000 in meeting post-war demands of various sections of the community in accordance with the policy laid down by the central bank. There still remained a large potential demand for bank accommodation for both,urban and rural industries. Wisely controlled, a further expansion of advances, as an incentive and means to increased productivity, need not contribute to inflaTlie net profit had increased by £48,145 to a total of £617.530. Current accounts with the bank had increased by 60,000 during the past two years.. This marked growth was that the public retains its high opinion of the bank and the efficiency of its services. “ Trading bank policy is controlled by the central bank under the 1945 legislation, which gave the Government more than enough power to support and control Australian development,” Sir Frederick said, when discussing nationalisation. "No further control was necessary for economic reasons, and nationalisation will actually add to the uncertainty factors in the economy. Past and present experience has indicated that the errors of free enterprise, which are visited usually only on the heads of a few people, are merely replaced by public errors, from which the whole economy suffers. Hence the loss of freedom which the formation of bublic monopoly and its concomitant regulations entail, so far from being compensated by. added economic security is actually accompanied by lower standards of living, periodical shortages, the survival of black markets, and the gradual weakening of standards of human honesty and integrity.”