BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 12, 8 December 1916, Page 3

BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

HALF YEARLY MEETING. (By Telegraph—Special). Wellington, December 8. The half-yearly meeting of the Bank was held to-day, Mr Harold Beauchamp, Chairman of Directors, presiding. In his address, 51 r Beauchamp revived the military and financial situation, and in so doing, said that so lar as New Zealand is concerned, th> state of trade and business throughout the country is, on the whole, good. The excellent prices which have been realised for the past two years lor our staple products and the large expenditure of borrowed money that is in progress in connection with the training and equipment of our troops for oversea service, have placed the people generally in an easy position in regard to resources, and they are d asdisplaying the uual liberality, i! not prodigality, in the expenditure ot tile abundant funds that they have available. Traders in luxuries, such as jewellery, soft goods, etc., haf?e been doing exceptionally well. Land and agency business is fairly quiet, file building trade is severely handicapped by tho shortage of skilled labour and the high prices of materials; and operations in this industry are confined mainly' to necessary works. There is little change to chronicle iu the state of the money market. Mortgages still continue to he raised and renewed at rates averaging as a rule 5.V per cent, to 6 per cent., and the effect of t lie £8.090,000 local War Loan, which the Government placed on the market in August last and which was over-sub-scribed, has not apparently been to harden the market to any appreciable extent, at any rate in the meantime. The Trade returns of the Dominion exhibit a very satisfactory position, lu each of the two complete produce years that have passed since the outbreak of the War there has been a very substantial increase in the values of the Dominion’s exports as compared with previous years.

Referring to the Stall, the Chairman said; Since the'outbreak of war no fewer than 3G9 of the Hank’s officers — more than a third of the total stall—have joined the military forces. J’ho Hank granted leave of absence, to 329 of those, with half-pav in the case ol members of the Colonial staff and lull pay for members of the London staff , the military pay of the latter being on a lower scale than that of the Colonials. The remaining II) resign >d their appointments in order to join the Army, preferring that course rather than to wait their turn to be relieved. Of the officers on leave I regret to say that 20 have lost their lives, one is missing and believed to bo wounded, and 51 others have been wounded in action. As probably less than 200 of our officers have been in the firing line, the balance being still in camp or in transit, ibis is a heavy toll, and it can be judged, that, as a soldier, the banjt clerk keeps well to the fore and takes bis full share ot the lighting.

.Mr William Watson was re-elected unopposed as a Director ot the Hoard. Tributes were paid to the late Mr Martin Kennedy’s work as a director of the Bank by Messrs Beauchamp, Watson, Kane, and others. An interim dividend o! six P e, ‘ cent, was declared.