;ANY MEETING
HALIFAX BUILDING SOCIETY
-GEN. SDI EDWARD N. WHITLEY, speaking at the eighty-ninth annual al meeting of members, held in Halifax on April 13th, 1942, said: t accounts which are now before you deal with our second complete ;ear, and they show little important change, but rather repeat and sise the tendency to which I called your attention last year of lishing the amount of our funds lent on mortgage and increasing puree investments.
the profit and loss account, on the income side, we have received retest from borrowers £280,000 less than last year, owing to the :01 amount which we now have on mortgages, and this is set off to the extent of kicoo,000 by increased interest from investments bank interest, the difference being due to the lower rate of interest Di on our trustee investments as compared with our mortgages. On other side of the account we have had to pay f,,zoo,000 more in ex Tax and National Defence Contribution (it amounts now to on a million and a half pounds), and in the appropriation account ore made provision for a sum of £200,000 for War Damage Contri- p Indemnities. '
011 say a few words about this item at a later stage, but for the t I ask your attention to the fact that with a diminished income are had to meet increased Income Tax and a new burden in War age Contribution Indemnities. 10 enable the society to meet these t charges we have, with great regret, had to give notice for the
of interest on deposits and shares. The saving on the former ed to L93,000. The interest and bonus to shareholders is reduced 79,000, but this is only in part due to the reduction in interest ; it is also due to the reduction of LSoopoo in the amount due to Wm of shares.
total effect of the variations which I have enumerated is that balance carried forward is £299,369, which shows an increase on e for the previous year of only £31,591. This is much the lowest that we have recorded for many years as the result of a year's g, and it shows clearly that without the reductions in the rates crest allowed to depositors and shareholders during the year we not have been able to make both ends meet.
board recognises the hardship which the reduction causes to many
• s, especially to those who have only a fixed income, and they gladly have avoided this if it had been possible, but it must be out that after the reductions the gross yield to shareholders who e to Income Tax at the full standard rate of los. in the £ is nt to £4 icts. od. per cent., subject to tax, and the great strength
• society is shown in the balance-sheet, to which I now invite your n.
reserve funds and undivided profit now exceed six million pounds, the liquid funds, represented by British Government securities and to local authorities repayable at fixed dates at par, together with in the banks and in hand, amount to £29,839,323, or more one-quarter of the whole of the investing share and deposit funds. strong liquid position of the society has always been a feature of balance-sheets,—and it is without doubt of even greater importance than ever before, but it does involve a lower average rate of return capital, and therefore reduces the rate of interest available for
• Cs.
total amount invested by the society in British Government es on behalf of all our members jointly is £5,323,169, and in we have channelled into Defence Bonds, Savings Bonds, War and other Government securities £3,776,305 on behalf of indi- 1 members. We have made special provision for the sale at our affice and daily branches of War Savings Certificates and Bonds bees who may wish to buy them.
hive already drawn attention to the provision which we have made accounts for L200,000 for War Damage Contribution Indemnities, ?nth your permission I will explain this in rather more detail. The Damage Act imposes on owners of property in Great Britain, certain exceptions, a liability to contribute for five years 2s. in the £ net assessment of their property to Income Tax Schedule A. irnount so paid is not strictly an insurance premium and it is not as a charge against income for the purposes of Income Tax. soaety, like all other owners of property, has to pay this contribu- la respect of its office premises, but in addition we have under the to indemnify certain of our borrowers against part of the money they have paid in respect of property in mortgage to us.
amount owing on mortgages has been reduced during the year ty-four million pounds, as compared with one hundred million a year ago, and the average amount now owing on each mortgage St, as against £403. We have been at all times ready no make on suitable properties, and we have actually advanced close on oci a half million pounds during the year.
conclusion, I wish on behalf of my colleagues and myself to thank 'metal managers, the general managers' assistants, and the heads of .ents at the head office for the personal assistance which they tven so ungrudgingly at all times to the board.
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