Bay Savings Bank Now Able To Lend Money On Mortgage

Taupo Times, Volume XIV, Issue 40, 25 May 1965, Page 6

Bay Savings Bank Now Able To Lend Money On Mortgage

At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, the GovernorGeneral, Sir Bernard Fergusson, signed the Order-in-Council allowing the Bay of Plenty Savings Bank to loan money on mortgages. The president, Mr R. L. Reeder (Rotorua) announced this to the bank's annual meeting late the same afternoon.

It meant the bank would i be able to do something for its investors. It would also probably mean having to consider staff increases and would add to the work load of the trustees, said Mr Reeder. It would mean as well | that the bank could fulfil ] all five functions of encouraging savings, assisting local bodies, investing in Government loans, lending on mortgages and, Mr Reeder hoped, by the end of the year it might be possible to make grants to area organisations. "As you know, I am a firm believer in the future of the Bay of Plenty and I am certain that to maintain prosperity each town and distriet therein must co-op-erate to make the Bay strong. A strong Bay means strong towns. Conversely, strong towns mean that the Bay of Plenty will also be a prosperous distriet." The initiative, however, had to come from individual towns because if they did not pull together the whole Bay would snfi'er. Fortunately several public bodies in the area were operating on a provincial basis for the good of the whole distriet, but Mr Reeder believed that there was still room for more improvement in many others. "I feel that the bank has achieved great things in this respect and the trustees are to be congratulated on their sincere efforts to extend the bank's services to all people in this huge distriet with the ultimate object of strengthening and assisting all sections in the area," he said. The foresight of the original promotion committeesj had been confirmed, but he j

believed that even they did not envisage sueh fast expansions and deposits of over £2 million in 11 months, While most j branches had shown considerable expansion, he referred particularly to the excellent figures of the three branches in the Tauranga County, Tauranga, Te Puke and the Mount. These three branches alone had deposit balances in excess of £1 million. "It is pleasing to record j that our figures progressive- j lv compare favourably with the other savings banks and I believe that our growth equals — and perhaps exeeeds — that of any other of the six banks opened in the last three years," said Mr Reeder,