THE BANKING RETURNS.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 October 1921, Page 4

THE BANKING RETURNS.

The banking returns for the September quarter contain material for serious reflection. These returns are regarded as an accurate indication of the state of the financial barometer, and there is no explaining away of figures, which speak for themselves and carry conviction. A glance at the returns shows that a year ago the banks held an excess of deposits amounting to £14,113,883, but in the December quarter this amount was reduced to £2,338,596, and in the following (March) quarter the excess disappeared, being replaced by excess of advances of £5,290,610, which in the June quarter rose to £8,874,492. In nine months, therefore, the banks had in one sense become worse off by £22,988,375 —nearly twenty-three millions—though they were earning good interest on this large sum instead of having fourteen millions idle. In other words, the advances increased in nine months by nearly twenty-three millions, an amount which is probably a record for the Dominion. As the advances in the September quarter receded to the extent of £4,280,544, the present position is that they exceed those at the corresponding period last year by nearly £18,750,000. Much of this money is utilised in trade and commerce, and it is a striking commentary on the exist- , ing financial depression and stringency that so large a sum is needed to carry on trading and other operations. The large withdrawals from the Post Office Savings Bank are also an indication of others besides the banks desiring to obtain larger returns for their capital. Already these withdrawals exceed the deposits, and if the process continues the Government will feel the pinch acutely.