ALEXANDERS DISCOUNT POSITION
As the annual statements have shown, the three discount companies contrived to do well in the difficult conditions of last year. The main aspects of 1939 from the money market standpoint were very clearly reviewed by Mr. COHE Campbell, chairman of Akxanders Discount Company, at this week's meeting. In the first six Months the profit from bills was singularly small and the company was compelled to fall back on the policy begun several years ago of holding a substantial volume of short-dated Government bonds. The situation began to alter in the summer and changed very materially when war broke out. Bill rates then rose sharply, and in the last few weeks of the year there was a fair margin of profit between the loan rates charged by the banks and the Treasury Bill rates. How sharp the fluctuations were may be gauged from the fact that while the average Treasury Bill rate was is. per cent. in the first half of 1939 the average for the second half was 33s. 5d. and the rate at the end of the year was 24s. 4d. One result of this change is that the company is able once again to concentrate on its "normal" business by taking up large quantities of Treasury Bills. This is good for the company and is certainly for the good of the discount market as a whole.
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