AUSTRALIAN BANKING PROFITS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 191, 10 February 1912, Page 4

AUSTRALIAN BANKING PROFITS.

In Australasia, as in various other countries, banking profits have increased l considerably in recent years. In the financial columns of the Sydney Telegraph is a statement of the recorded net profits in tho past thirteen years, which shows that they have grown from £908,(100 in 1889 to £1,700.000 in 1905, and up to £-2,700,000 in 1911. No doubt whatever this has been a great expansion, and the average dividends on the capital have risen to close upon S'/o per cent. Hut the sums actually paid in dividends reached only £1,004,000, out of the £2.700.000. and the net profits up capital of £19,074,500. These figures point to prospyity, and there is no doubt that the banks have done well latterly. It is not that they have been charging exorbitant rates, but their deposits have greatly increased, and while increasing their cash holdings, their advances have also been materially augmented, and they now have probably £145,000.000 lent out in Australia and Ne.w Zealand, as compared with £IOS.000.000 ten years ago. Their exchange business and London holdings have grown from £IOB.OO.O.fHK) up to well over JLM70.000.000, and whereas ten years back their Australian deposits and advances were about evenly balanced, their deposits now have taken the lead to the extent of 'something like £27,000,000 or £28,000,000. They, therefore, are in command of abundant resources. At the

same time, this bald outline is to some extent misleading. The combined capitals is given at £19,674,500, and thus the shareholders have £30,254,000 embarked in their business operation's, which is a very much larger sum, and upon this larger amount their net profits last year per cent., while their dividend payments were only 5% per cent. The largest institutions have been three-quarters of a century, and more, in operation, and in piling up these accumulations, and their stake in the country is in reality far in excess of the amount of their paid-up capital.

GERMAN NAVAL POLICY. Writing in December last, the Berlin correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph said:—"Every day now the German papers bring a fresh crop of reports of coming inpreases in the army and navy, especially the latter, Occasionally there is an odd denial or two. Most'of these statements are of rather uncertain origin, and can be disregarded. The chief Berlin correspondent of the Frankfurter Zeitung is, however, one of those journalists whose principal function consists in the adoption and expression of the official view, or what it 'm considered expedient to,propound as such, and the following remarks from his pen are, consequently, not without interest:—"The next Reichstag will, in all probability, be confronted with the problem of the increase of armaments', and, of course, also with the voting of financial means. Many things indicate that the manner and degree of what it is proposed to demand from the next Reichstag are at present being discussed, and that a decision will soon be arrived at. Whether or not it becomes known before the elections, hardly a single politician will shut his eyes to the fact that the Reichstag to be elected on January 12 will have to occupy itself, either in special bills or by way of estimates, with fresh demands for the army and navy, and corresponding taxes of which nobody dreamt half a year ago." While it is certain that the programme of the Navy League could be carried out- only by an amendment of the existing navy law, which official and semi-official voices' without number have repeatedly declared was not to be tampered with in the immediate there is apparently no reason why any number of extra armored l cruisers should .not be clapped on to estimates either as travellers' samples, in which capacity, by the way, the Van der Tann was not very successful, or for other types of "special service." In .fact, the law merely fixes a minimum, though in its present form it does 'prevent an increase of the fleet precisely in the manner proposed by the Navy League. The clamor for increased armaments is very widespread, but there is a disagreement as to the form they should) take. In fact, it has been proposed that an Army League should be founded to prevent the land forces from suffering for the benefit of the fleet.