COMMERCIAL.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2311, 3 May 1887, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

The Waikato Turns Office, Monday. TIIE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND.

Half-yearly Meeting,

Ax the half-yearly meeting of the Shareholders of the bank the president, in inovin;; the adoption of the report and balancesheet, said: Before moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, I shall, as usual, offer a few remarks on the figures presented in them, and on the general state of business. As far as the figures in the report are concerned, you will observe that the conditions have not been favourable for the acquisition of enlarged profits. _ There has been no bnoyance in business during the half-year; and, though by the reduction in deposit interest the margin of profit is somewhat enlarged, we have scarcely yet begun to feel the benefit. We have, besides, considered it prudent to continue the conserverative policy which when I last addrssed you I reported had been adopted, preferring in these times to maintain strong reserves rather than seek fuller employment for our resources. You will consequently _ observe a marked strengthening in various items in the bal-ance-sheet, representing the immediately available resources of the_ bank a result attained partly by contraction of advances and partly by an increase of deposits. We are therefore in the best position to take advantage of the first opportunity which offers to augment business, and from present indications it may reasonably be hoped the opportunity will not be long delayed. The accounts received from branches generally favour the idea of an ea £ ? return to more active operations, that the cloud which has so long over-shadowed business is gradually dispersing. Such a period of unexampled depression, however, cannot be expected to have passed without leaving a very distinct track behind it, and it is therefore a matter for congratulation that in the past more successful years we have been enabled to build up a Reserve Fund which, according to the provisions of our deed of settlement, is specially meant to provide for occasional losses. This provision under the original deed of settlement, was confined to 2C per cent, of the capital, which on the present capital of the Dank would represent £200,000, and might_be reduced to 10 percent., or £100,000. The maximum account was subsequently altered to £300,000, beyond which no addition was to be made to it, and later still all restriction as to amount was removed, except that it shall not be reduced below three-tenths of the paid-up capital, without appropriating 10 per cent, of the net profits to bring the Reserve Fund up to £300,000. Past success, as you are aware, as enabled us to bring this fund up to £635,000, and for the first time we are now obliged to intimate that an appropriation has been made to meet the exceptional losses whioh adverse times have entailed upon us, and to which I specially alluded in my address last halfyear. Wo bad not then fully realised the extent of such losses, but the almost utter collapse of business in Adelaide, and failures which have occured in our own colony, have been unfavourable to the realisation of debts which we were then hopeful might provegood, and hasaggravatedtneloss which it was then anticipated might be inflicted on the Bank. The directors have therefore, under the authority conferred on them by the deed of settlement, decided to transfer from reserve fund to bad and doubtful debt, Suspense Account, £125,000, which will, still leave that fund at half a million, or £200,000 in excess of what is required by the deed of settlement; and considering the ease with which the reserve had been accumulated in the past we may look for a return to more prosperous times to have the opportunity of again making additions to it. World-wide as the depression has been, it could not be expected that any financial institution could pass through such times without loss, but we have at least the negative eonsolation that reverses are not confined to this Bank ; on the contrary, we may express a conviction that we haye fared at least no worse than most of our neighbours. I feel sure shareholders will heartily endorse the policy the board has adopted, and that the result of the half-year will not be considered unsatisfactory, as the report shows we are fully justified in paying you a dividend of twelve and a half per cent., leaving the respectable balance of £14,594 lis 3d to be carried forward to next account. With these remarks I beg to move the adoption of the report and balance-sheet.