COMPANY MEETING

BARCLAYS BANK (DOMINION, COLONIAL AND OVERSEAS)

RECORD CURRENT AND DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS SIR JOHN CAULCUTT'S STATEMENT

STATEMENT by the chairman, Sir John Caulcutt, K.C.M.G., on the report of directors and balance-sheet for the }ear ended Septem- ber 30th, 1941:

In existing circumstances it is felt desirable that the proceedings at our annual ordinary general meeting should be as brief as possible. I have therefore decided to send the enclosed statement to share- holders in place of the speech usually made at the meeting.

I am proposing on this occasion, having regard to the times, to confine my remarks to the domestic affairs of the bank, in connexion with which I feel shareholders will be interested to know that nearly i,000 members of our staff, here and overseas, have joined the Forces. Owing to the widespread distribution of our branch system we have been able to render many services to the Governments of the terri- tories in which we operate. In this way .we have been able to make a special contribution to the war effort.

Following the military occupation of Abyssinia and Eritrea, and, at the request of the authorities, we have opened branches at Addis Ababa and at Asmara.

BALANCE SHEET

Turning now to the figures of the bank, current and deposit accounts, at approximately L157,000,000, show a further record figure for this bank, being an increase for the year of over £30,000,000. Cash in hand has been maintained at about 33 per cent. of the liabilities, while the total amount of advances is approximately the same as a year ago Our increased resources are reflected in the figures for investments, which include a substantial contribution to new Government issues ; and in the figure for bills, in which are included our holdings of United Kingdom and South African Treasury bills. The market value of investments is in excess of the figure at which they stand in our books.

The net profit for the year ended September 30th, 1941, after making provision for taxation and for bad and doubtful debts and contingencies, amounted to £399,685, compared with £423,692 last year. The sum of £171,936 was brought forward from October 1st, 1940, making a total to be dealt with of £571,621.

Having regard to the continued growth in the bank's liabilities to the public, the directors have decided to transfer £200,000 from the current year's profits to the reserve fund. In addition, a sum of L300,000 has been transferred to that fund from the contingency -account, to which account we have, during the past three years, allocated £470,000 from our profits. These transfers will bring the reserve fund to a figure of £2,600,000.

After making the above appropriation it is proposed to pay a final dividend of 4 per cent. (actual) on the cumulative preference shares and 31 per cent. (actual) on the " A " and " B" shares, less income tax at 8s. sod, in the pound in all cases, payable on December 29th, 1941, leaving £196,470 to be carried forward.

CONVERSION OF SHARES INTO STOCK

It has been decided to invite you to pass a resolution authorising the conversion of the bank's fully-paid shares into stock. If approved, this measure will eliminate the labour involved in recording and checking the numbers of shares on the registers, certificates and transfers, and means that the Li " A " shares and Li eight per cent. cumulative preference shares will, after January rst, 1942, be known as " A " stock and eight per cent. cumulative preference stock respectively and will be transferable in multiples of Li.

GENERAL

I have pleasure in expressing once again the board's thanks and appreciation to the boards overseas, to the general managers in London and in South Africa, and to the whole of our staff here and overseas, for the manner in which they are carrying on the business of the bank in these exceptional times. The staff on night duty at one of our principal London offices probably saved the building from total destruction during a raid in May of this year. They remained at their post throughout the night, fighting a bad fire which followed a severe blasting of the building by a land mine. The business of the branch was carried on next day, in temporary premises, without interruption or inconvenience to customers. Thanks to our system of duplication of records, all the books were balanced without delay or difficulty. The branch has for some months past been re- -established in its old quarters.

We have, so far, been fortunate in our experience, particularly when we consider the territories which we serve and the possibilities of air attack to which they are subject. From Palestine, Egypt and East Africa to Malta and Gibraltar our branches have been carrying on their work in the zone of combat. The experiences which they have had vary as between one point and another, and it is difficult to draw distinctions. Pride of place might be given to our Malta branch, situated on that small island, which has been attacked so heavily and on such numerous occasions, and which is playing so gallant a part in the war.

I think we can look back on the past year's working with some satisfaction ; it has been an eventful year, marked by many anxieties, but some progress. I feel we have grounds for viewing the future with .confidence.