Rensselaer Union and Jasper Republican, Volume 8, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 June 1876 — The Bank of France. [ARTICLE]

The Bank of France.

The bank consists of a central establishment in Paris, and seventy-four branches in the departments. Fourteen additional branches are about to be immediately established, and the foundation of two others is under consideration. When these are in existence the branches will number ninety. As is well known, the bank is required by charier to open at least one branch in each department of France. But, as the figures just cited prove, the obligation has not yet been fulfilled. The total number of persons of all kinds employed exceeds 2,100. Of these 1,598 are on the regular establishment, the rest being work people, printers, women, and so on. Of the 1,598 regular employes, the central establishment gives occupation to 830, leaving only 708 for the seven-ty-four branches, even though among these are included the establishments at such business cepters as Marseilles, Bordeaux, Lille and Havre. To provide pensions for all these employes the bank has created a fund, which, at the close of last year, was valued at £380,000. The total working expenses of the Paris bank amounted to £300,000, and those of the branches to £223,200. But of the total cost £200,000 was paid in one form or other as taxes to the Government.. About one-third, therefore, of the total working expenses consisted of taxation. The capital of the bank is divided into 182,500 shares, which are held by 20,797 shareholders. On an average, therefore, each shareholder possesses about nine shares, and the dividend paid for the year, after educti ng taxes, amounted to a net sum of eight pounds sterling. This dividend

falls short of that declared in 1874 by as much as three pounds eight shillings—a falling off of not far short of one-thira. At first sight this is a very remarkable circumstance. The year 1871, as we all remember, was during the first half, at any rate, a year of distress, of stagnant trade, and or failing revenue. The harvest of that year, however, proved most abund ant. And, in consequence, 1875 was a year of prosperity and exuberant revenues. Nevertheless, we find, as a matter of fact, that the Bank of France earned very much less, and also transacted very mucn less business. The mass of the transactions in Paris and the departments represented a value last year of £466,293,190, showing a diminution, compared with 1874,0 f £104,539,868. How is this extraordinary falling off to be accounted sos ? The first explanation that suggests itself is that the business arising out of the great loans had not been completely closed in 1874. That ‘would seem, however, to have played but a very small part. For, as the governor of the bank shows, the main falling off is in the commercial business. The explanation which he of fcra is that the savingclasses have become distrustful of foreign speculations and of all securities which cannot readily be turned into cash, but require the money invested to be sunk for a long time. The discredit which has fallen upon foreign loans among ourselves has, in short, extended to France, and people are unwilling to risk their savings lightly. They prefer, in fact, the smaller interest offered by the French funds, French railways and other home securities, to the higher interest but more risky security of foreign governments and speculations. In this way the bank lost much profitable business. It lost again through the competition of other banks and institutions of credit. There is another explanation, not offered by the Governor, but which is loudly urged by outside critics. It is that the bank pursued last year a timid and overcautious policy, denying to trade much of the accommodation it had a legitimate right to expect. However this may be, the fact remains that the bank did a much smaller business last year than in 1874, and consequently earned for its shareholders a much smaller dividend.—London Standard.