ORGANISATION OF SAVINGS BANKS AND THE INVESTMENT OF THEIR CAPITAI, 79 



We are sorry we cannot give figures to show how much money is in- 

 vested in mortgages on rural and urban estate respectively. But, consid- 

 ering how numerous are the private savings banks in country districts, it 

 is probable that a large percentage of mortgages to private individuals is 

 guaranteed on rural estate. 



The preceding table shows that, the greater the capital of the savings 

 banks, the larger is the proportion of funds invested in mortgages. This 

 is easy to understand, since it is only when there are considerable funds to 

 be administered that it becomes easy to organise a system of mortgage 

 loans, especially of those redeemable in instalments, which at the same time 

 best satisfy the requirements of the bank by supplying funds for except- 

 ional withj.rawols, and also serve the interests of agriculture. We are sorry 

 not to possess, as in the case of other countries, facts to show the pro- 

 portion of mortgages redeemable in instalments to the total number for 

 every group of savings banks. 



Loans on mortgages to private persons have become more important 

 during the last thirty years; they represented 42.70 % of the total amount 

 of funds administered in 1886, increasing to 51.54 % in 1890, to 51.37 % in 

 1900 and finally to 56.11 % in 1910. 



But loans granted on personal guarantee have decreased in importance ; 

 they represented 30.76 % of the total in 1880, 24.64 % in 1890, 

 17.98 % in 1900, and 16.43 % ^^ 1910. In thirty years this form of loan 

 has diminished by one half. As regards loans to private individuals on 

 personal guarantee it will be observed that the savings banks destine 

 a greater or smaller proportion of their funds to transactions of this kind, 

 according to the amount of the capital they have to invest. The smaller 

 savings banks, situated in small centres where the solvency of borrowers can 

 be more easily ascertained, grant a larger proportion of loans on bills of 

 exchange than the larger banks. In fact, the banks with funds not exceeding 

 50,000 crowns invested in such loans 42.77 % of their funds in 1910, while 

 those the capital of which was from 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 crs. invested in 

 this way only 21.31 % ; and banks with still larger capital only 8.02 %. 



From what has been already said, it will appear that private savings 

 banks invest the greater part of the funds at their disposal in loans to priv- 

 ate individuals either on the security of mortgages or of bills of exchange. 

 The highest percentage of such investments (85.48 %) is made by those 

 savings banks which have deposits exceeding 250,000 crowns, but not above 

 half a million. The smaller banks usually engage in personal credit business, 

 and those with deposits exceeding 5,000,000 crs. almost exclusively in 

 mortgage credit business to the very considerable sum for Sweden of 

 271,325,623, crowns. 



§ 3 POSTAI. SAVINGS BANKS. 



In •1884 postal savings banks were founded to receive the savings 

 of the poorer classes, more especially in those thinly populated parts of 



