FINANCIAL NOTES
With his recent election to the Directorate Sir Gordon Nairne's retirement from the position of Comptroller of the Bank of England followed as a matter of course. It is with satisfaction, however, that the City learns that this important position of comptrollership is to be continued and, moreover, that the successor to Sir Gordon Nairne is to be Sir Ernest M. Harvey, who for some few years has ably filled the position of Chief Cashier. Mr. Cyril P. Mahon, the former Deputy Chief Cashier, now becomes Chief Coohier of the Bank of England, while the new Deputy is Mr. Basil G. Catterns, formerly Deputy Principal of the Discount Office. It is generally assumed in time City that when the time arrives for the present Governor of the Bank of England to vacate the Chair, the Bank is likely to revert to the old system of automatic changes in the governorship every two years, and it is that system which makes the continuation of the position of Comptroller an important. matter, as it is a post which should make for continuity of policy and'management, even though the Governors are only two years in office.
A strong position was disclosed by the Chairman of the National Bank of India at the meeting recently held of that Institution, the net profit of £536,000 being slightly in excess of that for the previous year, while, including the amount brought forward, the total available for disposal was £90,926 more than a year ago -and this, after all bad and doubtful debts had been fully provided for. The Chairman was. also able to speak in favourable terms of the Indian Export Trade; although the Balance of Trade had not been so consistently in favour of India as in the previous year, owing to the heavy imports of Bills and purchases of sterling by the Indian Government. Sir Charles McLeod took the occasion of the Annual Meeting to pay a fine tribute to the memory of the late Chairman, Mr. Robert Campbell, whose death, it will be remembered, occurred nearly a year ago.
The Directors of Lever Bros. are so far able, in their last report, to justify the recent further large additions to capital by the fact that profits have increased sufficiently to pay the additional charges and to maintain the dividend on the ordinary shares at the former level of 10 per cent. On the other hand, it is not a ease, so far at all events, of the, larger capital bringing greater dividends to the ordinary shares. The actual profit balance for the year was £5,418,000 as compared with £5,017,000, but all the extra profits were required for increased Capital Charges, the Allocations to Reserve being the same as last year, Mr.,hile the Carry-over is just a trifle less.
The speeches at time Annual Meeting of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which are usually published in this country, have come to be regarded as of considerable importance, for the reason that a fuller and clearer statement of political and economic conditions in China is usually given than is obtainable from any other source. A year ago the Chairman of the Bank did not hesitate to speak with the utmost frankness as to the serious state of political affairs in China and developments in the meantime have ful13 justified his warnings. Nor, on the present occasion, was Mr. Pattenden able to speak at all optimistically, though; after referring in strong terms to the " piracy, brigandage, sporadic taxation, and generally unsettled conditions in Canton and the neighbouring provinces " which had char-. acterized the past year, he added : " there were not wanting indications of some increasing confidence amongst the Chinese, community which he hoped might presage better tinl ahead in the not too distant future." Dealing, a little late in his speech, however, with the serious decline in the Net Salt Revenue collected during 1924, the Chairman of the Hongkong Bank raised time point as to whether, in their desire not to interfere unduly in the settlement by the Chinese of their internal differences, the Foreign Powers concerned were well advised in not affording greater protection to the authorities of the Salt Revenue Administration set up under the Reorganisation Loan Agreement, which also provides that the Salt Revenue shall in the first place be security for that loan and other foreign obligations.
The full Report and Address of time Governor of the Bank of Japan at a recent meeting of that Institution shows that Japan is making a very gallent recovery from the financial consequences of the appalling earthquake. As a consequence of the depressed state of trade and inactivity in business enterprise during the past year, there was less demand for loans from the Bank of Japan, but towards the end of the year a recovery was noticeable and in trade also there were not wanting indications of a rallying tendency. The Governor of the Bank of Japan concluded his speech with a plea for speeding up reconstruction works, for the necessity of economy) and thrift, and for closer economic relations with other countries. A. VV. K. I
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