SCOTTISH BANKING YIELDS
Current Price Dividend Rate Yield p. c. £ s. d.
Bank of Scotland Li units ... 65s. od.
12 per cent. 316 o Royal Bank of Scotland stock 428 17 per cent.
3 19 5 Union Bank of Scotland £5 " A " shares (Li paid) ... 81s. 6d. 18 per cent. 4 8 4 Do. " B " Li fully-paid ... 95s. 6d. 18 per cent. 3 15 5
The first point which strikes one about those shares is their exceptionally low yields, apart, of course, from the partly-paid issue, which gives well over los. per cent. more than the others. Yields ranging between 31 and 4 per cent. tell their own story of the high status of Scottish banks with the investor, a reputation which is well deserved. From the point of view of earnings, dividends, reserves and prospects these institutions emerge satisfactorily from any tests. Just now, the industrial outlook in Scotland is distinctly promis- ing, as many leading industries, notably iron and steel, engineering and shipbuilding, stand to gain substantially from the rearmament programme. Strategically, too, Scot- land has a pull as the site for new factories, apart from the advantage it can often offer of an available supply of skilled labour. Both these influences have doubtless weighed with the Government in their decision to establish the new Rolls-Royce aero-engine factory near Glasgow.
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Since this issue of The Spectator has a strong Scottish flavour we might take the opportunity to have a look at some Scottish investments. To begin, then, with bank shares, here are the details of the issues quoted on the London Stock Exchange:—
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