74 AUSTRIA - CREDIT 



(f) Discounting of Bills. 



State bonds and personal estate securities (land and other bonds, lot- 

 tery tickets, shares) which can be given in pledge to the Austrian Postal 

 Savings Bank, and their respective coupons, when payable at latest 

 within three months, are discounted by the Postal vSavings Bank, as far as 

 its assets will allow. It does not discount such securities as are pledged, 

 or, generally, such as are not negotiable on the Vienna Exchange {Vin- 

 kulierte oder an der Wiener Borse nicht lieferbare Wertpapiere). 



The rate of interest to pay for discounting bills and coupons is fixed 

 by the Postal Savings Bank Management. 



When bills and coupons payable in Vienna are discoimted, interest 

 is only calculated for the period to elapse before maturity ; in the case of 

 those not being payable in Vienna, in addition to the interest a commission 

 of I °/oo, and at least 60 heller is charged on bills and one of ^ % (at least 

 20 heller) on the coupons. 



{g) Business in connection with Salt Spring Certificates 

 {Parzial Hypotheken Anweisungen. — Salinenscheine). 



For the account of the Department of Finance, the Austrian Postal 

 Savings Bank issues Parzial Hypotheken Anweisungen or Salinenscheine (Salt 

 vSpring Certificates) on security of the salt springs of Gmunden, Hallein and 

 Aussee and arranges for the renewal, exchange and payment of certificates 

 already matured. The salt spring certificates are issued, at six or three 

 months' date, according to the desire of the parties concerned. The certi- 

 ficates at six months may be renewed twi ce for six months, those at three 

 monthi, three times for three months. After the expiry of the term, matured 

 certificates may be exchanged on request for new ones. If they are not 

 exchanged, they are collected for repayment of capital. The rate of interest 

 on salt spring certificates is fixed from time to time by the Department of 

 Finance. 



§ 2. Work. 



As appears from the statistical tables published in the number of 

 this Bulletin for August, 1913, it is not the savings business of the Austrian 

 Postal Saving Bank which is of most importance. The Bank had succeeded 

 from the first year in attracting a fairly considerable number of deposits, 

 but the average amount was, however, so smaU and, on the other hand, the 

 general working expenses were so high, that the interest on the deposits 

 was quite insufficient. Then it was decided to encourage the dealers and 

 manufacturers to make use of the Savings Bank for the regulation of their 

 mutual economic relations, by the foundation of a postal cheque and 

 clearing service. This was originally therefore intended as a means for 

 increasing the savings deposits. 



The innovation at once gave exceUent results. In 1883, before the 

 change, the deposits amounted to 8,176,889 fls. 



