INFORMATION RELATING TO CREDIT 49 



debtors took considerable advantage of the state of the European exchange, 

 wliich had become very favourable to Argentine money, to repay the sums 

 they had borrowed. :, We should notice that if the exchange favoured these 

 debtors the Argentine Land Credit suffered none the less neither loss nor 

 prejudice, for its loans are made in francs, that is in the same money as its 

 capital in shares and the capital it has borrowed to develop its business, 

 and in the money with which it must cover the costs of such borrowing. 



This position, which facilitated the redemption of loans, made the re- 

 employment of capital in loans in francs difficult. The company ran the 

 risk of seeing its available funds left unproductive and the council decided 

 therefore to make loans in Argentine gold money. By the end of the year 

 a certain number of loans of this kind had been made, but the difficulties 

 prevalent in the country restrain mortgage as they do other business, and 

 the applications for loans were not numerous. ; • ' 



On 31 December 1915 the amount of loans was 223,145,077 francs. 

 Repayments effected in 1916 amounted to 31,830,810 francs, reducing the 

 amount to 191,314,267 francs. New mortgage investments otherwise 

 amounted to 11,857,696 francs of which 7,598,875 francs were reassigned. 

 Finally the effective amount of the mortgage investments of the Argentine 

 Land Credit was 195,573,088 francs. 



Current loans include urban loans amounting to 65,728,655 francs and 

 niral loans amounting to 129,844,434 francs. 



Among assets the Bonds of the Defence were increased by fifteen 

 millions, accruing from the temporary re-employment of repayments of 

 loans. Similarly the item " various debtors " shows an increase of 4,221,377 

 francs comprising bank accounts exclusively. 



Among liabilities appears a special provision of 7,699,783 francs, 

 amounting last year to 3,511,453 francs and then comprised in the item 

 " various creditors ". This provision was increased by 4,188,130 francs 

 in conformity with a resolution passed at the last general meeting. This 

 amount represents the sum of the interest acquired but not received in the 

 years 1914 and 1915. 



The " various creditors " item stands at 8,523,666 francs, having di- 

 minished by only 1,038,571 francs in spite of the subtraction of 3,511,453 

 francs for the special provision. The increase of accounts comprised by 

 this item is due to a large proportion of new assignments to the various 

 provisions which it includes. 



AUSTRALIA 



THJC SOUTH AUSTRALIAN LAND MORTGAGK AND AGENCY COMPANY IN i')ii'. 

 — The Statist, Vol. l,XXli.IX. No. 2,046. LodcIou, 12 May 1917. 



'» 



The thirty-eighth ordinary general meeting of this company was held 

 in London on 9 May 1917. The balance-sheet for 1916 showed that the 

 debenture stock had been reduced by £39,290 and therefore stood at 

 £74,510. Loans on mortgages amounted to £11,282; and the value of 



