BANKING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
At the annual meeting of the Standard Bank of South Africa, held on Wednesday, the Chairman—and also the veteran ex-Manager—Mr. William Smart, had a very satis- factory report to present to the shareholders both as regards the affairs of the bank and general conditions in South Africa. With regard to the former, the published Report had disclosed an exceedingly strong position and it was only necessary for Mr. Smart to touch upon one or two points. Not the least interesting of his statements was concerned with the com- parison which he made between the first balance sheet of the bank at June 30th, 1863, when the deposits totalled only £203,000, and the latest balance sheet, where the total is nearly £72,000,000. The net profits for the past year showed a sub- stantial increase and the balance sheet itself gave every in- dication of satisfactory expansion in the bank's activities, combined with a due preservation of liquidity.
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