BANKING POSITION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 April 1939, Page 3

BANKING POSITION

OVERSEAS FUNDS. ABNORMAL FEATURES. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON. This Day. Abnormal features continue to be shown in the banking position cf the Dominion as revealed by the weekly statement of the Reserve Bank and the latest returns of the six trading banks as at March 27. Last Monday the sterling exchange funds of the Reserve Bank amounted to £4,659,061. a decrease last week of £213.757. The bank’s reserve was £7.433,700, a decrease for the week of £216.894. A year ago the reserve totalled £21,128,478. The proportion of reserve to ’ notes and other demand liabilities on Monday was down to 25.11 per cent, as compared with 26.305 per cent, on April 17, and 81.667 per cent a year ago. An increase of £217,890 last week brought the note issue up to the high level of £15,658,762, which is £1,576,500 in excess of the total of £14.082,262 on April 25, 1938. Advances to the Primary Products Marketing Department at £7.609,484 were up on the week by £329,731, and compared with £4,071,226 a year ago. Advances to the State for other purposes were unchanged at £12,075,000. The State's indebtedness to the Reserve Bank was thus £19,684.484. against which there were demand liabilities of the bank amounting to £3.097,302. The trading banks’ returns show their holdings of Government securities at March 27 at £10,602,559, an increase since February 27 of £199.880. The trading banks’ returns for the four weeks ended March 27, show that at that date their London funds had increased to £5,422.189 and their overseas funds held else where than in London had decreased to £1.459,537. Their total overseas funds, London and elsewhere, were thus £6,881,726, as against £6,715,745 on February 27, a net increase of £166,081., Against this amount, however, there were demand and time liabilities totalling £2,235,961, thus making the net overseas assets £4,645,765, as against £4,257,437 on February 27, an increase of £388,328.