BANKING RESULTS.
Apart from Brazilian securities, there has been some improvement during the last few days in bank shares. These had been depressed by the reduction in the dividend on Lloyds Bank shares, but they have since rallied owing to the fact that the other five members of the Big Six have retained their dividends, though in all cases there was, as had been expected, a very considerable reduction in profits, the decline in the aggregate of the six banks being a little under 12,000,000. On the whole there has not been a great disposition in the City to over-criticize the policy of Lloyds Bank in reducing the dividend, though in some quarters it has been thought to be a case, perhaps, of ultra-caution. Still, there is no gainsaying the fact that the present outlook is a peculiarly difficult and uncertain one.
* * * *
Previous page
