OMPANY MEETING
HALIFAX BUILDING SOCIETY
th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF MEMBERS HELD IN HALIFAX ON 7th APRIL, 1941 EFFECTS OF THE WAR N moving the adoption of the report and statement of accounts for year ended January 31st, 1941, Brig.-Gen. Sir Edward N. Whitley, C.M.G., D.S.O., D.L., the president of the Society, said:
Just after our last annual meeting, the land campaign opened on continent of Europe with the invasion of Denmark and Norway, ended two months later with the collapse of France. Neither e results of the land campaign nor the great air battles over this untry in August and September, however, shook the confidence of investing members or depositors, and die notices for withdrawal ained at all times easily within the amount of cash lying in the ds of our bankers. Indeed, throughout the whole period, fresh vestment money continued to come in.
Turning to the effects of the war on our borrowing members, we at forget the tragedy to the individual member who has lost, in moment, his or her home and all that it contained, and we corned the Government's promise of a scheme of compensation war damage which has now been brought to fulfilment in the ar Damage Act. This Act strengthens our position as mortgagees, we have not felt it necessary to make any special provision in e year's accounts for war damage, where it has occurred. It also tiers benefits on our members whose property may have been aged or destroyed by enemy action, and introduces a wholly new ciple into the relations between lenders and borrowers. A ower who has purchased his house with the aid of a loan from e Society can under certain conditions, now call upon the Society reimburse hint a considerable proportion of the contribution which has to make under the Act.
There has been a tremendous increase in our Income Tax liability, this tax, together with our National Defence Contribution in the of account, amounted to over one and a quarter million pounds, r paying interest to shareholders (£2,626004) there remains a of £299,726 out of which we propose to pay a bonus of 5s. per . to the paid-up sfiareholders Class / and to the monthly bscription investing shareholders, leaving a balance to be carried 'aid to next year of £267,778.
The total reserve funds and undivided profit are now nearly ,000,000, or almost six per cent, of the amount outstanding on our rtgage securities.
The liquid assets' which are represented by trustee investments payable at par at faxed dates, and cash in hand or in the banks, ve increased by £1,897,585 to £23,833,977 and include L1,760,000 British Government Securities, for which we have subscribed ng the year as a contribution to the national needs, and we .e directly channelled on behalf of our members and depositors further sum of £2,3o4,000.
To sum up the accounts for the year in a sentence, we have creased our liquid assets, we have retained the confidence of our vestors, and our borrowing members have again shown their emnnation to fulfil their obligations in the face of the difficulties trials of total war.
As to the future, we are faced with the probability of increased Penses and the certainty that we shall have to pay a heavy contribu- under the War Damage Act. It is not possible yet to ascertain Y how great that contribution will be, but after careful nation of all the circumstances we are of the opinion that the own which we have carried forward to next year will be ample meet th instalment due in July. One of the difficulties in the Y of computing the amount of the contribution which will fall the Society is that during the passage of the Bill through the iUW of Commons the scale of contribution was altered, and, I need tuY saY, increased, from the scale originally proposed which had the subject of careful consideration by the leaders of the Building _,eiY movement. In order to produce an Act which would carry 'Pe Promises of the Government and be fair alike to the borrowing ilpvesting members of Building Societies the. experience of the tuulg Societies Association, under the leadership of Mr. D. W. th, whose knowledge of building society work has been pined a.service of over 40 years, was unreservedly placed at the disposal tile Government when they were framing the measure.' • There is often a tendency to regard a Building Society as a wealthy ration. and I think it is time to protest 'strongly against that-- nta of view. Our members are, in the main, men of small means, rage amount standing to the credit of each of our investing s and depositors being £256, and it is unfair to treat them IlleY held great accumulations of wealth. I conclusion the president extended the good wishes and thanks the directors to the 235 members of the staff serving with the ces, and to the general managers, officials, branch managers and staff carrYing on under difficult conditions. The rePorr and accounts were unanimously adopted.
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