Vol. 87 No. 11
I move:—
That a sum not exceeding £100 be granted to complete the sum necessary to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1943, for Remuneration for the Management of Government Stocks.
Is not this the remuneration of the banks? Could the Parliamentary Secretary, who is an expert on this matter, give us some explanation of this sum of £20,700.
For the management of Government stocks?
Yes.
Very well, on your own head be it. Here is the information the Deputy wants. In accordance with a standing agreement with the Bank of Ireland, the provision in respect of all the stocks, except the external portion of the Second National Loan, is computed at the rate of £300 for each million pounds of stock outstanding as at the close of the last year but one, that is, in the case of the current Estimate, as at the 31st March, 1941. That rate, applicable where the total stocks exceed £30,000,000, was fixed by the Bank Act, 1892, which, by virtue of Section 19 of the Finance Act, 1937, became fully operative in this country, except as regards Land Bonds. For the service of the external part of the Second National Loan the National City Bank of New York is paid at the rate of one-eighth of 1 per cent. of all sums paid as interest on the bonds of the loan and of the principal amount of all bonds paid, purchased or redeemed by the bank as the Government's American fiscal agent together with all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses by way of printing and advertising, cost of exchange, and remittance of funds, brokerage charges, postage, cable and telephone charges and so forth. It will be seen from Part III of the Estimate how the total provision of £20,700 is apportioned as between the various Government stocks. The amounts of these outstanding at the 31st March, 1941, were as follows: 5 per cent. Second National Loan, £5,690,077; 4½ per cent. Third National Loan, £5,399,796; 3½ per cent. Fourth National Loan, £5,528,051; 4 per cent. Conversion Loan, £6,652,357; 3¾ per cent. Financial Agreement Loan, £9,759,680; 4 per cent. Exchequer Bonds, £6,961,200; 3½ per cent. Compensation Stock, £27,786; 4½ per cent. Land Bonds, £23,786,104; 4½ per cent. New Land Bonds, £569,624, and 4 per cent. Land Bonds, £3,792,656, making an aggregate of £68,266,331 which compares with £68,285,155 as at the 31st March, 1940. The amount, £5,690,077 of the Second National Loan outstanding includes £163,873 in respect of the external issue of that loan. A sum of £300 is included in the figure £1,957 to cover payments to the National City Bank of New York in 1942-43. The corresponding provision for 1941-42 was £347. In view of the basis of payment the provision for this item cannot be closely estimated. I think that is all that is of immediate importance with regard to the total of £20,700.
How many banks were involved in this?
Can the Parliamentary Secretary say why he was trying to hide all that from Deputy Davin?
I was not trying to hide it. I wanted to give him all the information he wanted.
When Deputy Mulcahy has had an opportunity of reading this over in the Official Report, it will afford him very valuable ammunition for the Central Bank Bill.
