asked the Minister for Finance whether, in view of the statement made by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Government, he is in fact now able to give a very approximate statement based on possibly some hypothetical deductions of the total private and publicly owned or known external assets and liabilities for the years 1946 and 1955, or for any two periods earlier than 1952 and later than 1953.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - External Assets and Liabilities.
The net external assets of the Central Bank and of Government Departments, including the courts of justice, together with the net external assets of the commercial banks, amounted approximately to £236,000,000 at the end of 1947 and to £200,000,000 at the end of 1955. The net external assets of the commercial banks represent, in respect of the banks incorporated within the State, the excess of their assets held outside the State over their liabilities outside the State and, in respect of those banks incorporated abroad, the excess of their liabilities within the State over their assets within the State. Apart from the external assets I have mentioned, there are miscellaneous holdings in the hands of companies and private persons.
With regard to these holdings in private hands I have not sufficiently detailed or exact information on which I could base a firm estimate of their magnitude. The indications are that there was no fall in the value of such assets between 1947 and early 1955. Later information is not available. The current value of external investments is, of course, affected by the prevailing rates of interest and by the earning capacity of the individual joint stock companies, etc., in which the investments are held.
As regards external liabilities, those of the commercial banks are taken into account in the figures already quoted which refer to their net external assets. The balance of payments statements show an increase of £152,000,000 between 1947 and 1955 in external indebtedness, including £40.7 million borrowed from the Government of the U.S.A. under the E.R.P. The value of British-owned investments in this country is substantial and has increased since 1947; the outflow in respect of profits, interest, etc., rose from £9.9 million in 1947 to £14.7 million in 1955.