FINANCIAL 
207 
FINANCIAL NOTES 
Norway Brighter 
The marking down of the discount rate of Norges 
Bank from 6% to 6 per cent is taken as an in¬ 
dication of a turn for the better in the financial 
situation in Norway. The bank’s loans have dimin¬ 
ished since the turn of the year from Kr. 476,- 
000,000 to Kr. 429,600,000. The circulation of 
paper money has decreased to Kr. 382,400,000. 
Through Norges Bank a number of provincial 
banks have been rehabilitated and banking shares 
have risen considerably on the stock exchange. A 
new banking combination is the amalgamation of 
Drammens Privatbank and Drammens and Op- 
lands Kreditbank, two old institutions which joined 
will form one of the largest banks in Norway. 
In spite of the stringent conditions of the year, 
Nordisk Handelsbank was able to declare a 5 
per cent dividend. At home Norwegian capital has 
recently been able to assemble Kr. 21,100,000 for 
new shares in A/S Sydvaranger and abroad a 
Norwegian bank has been established in China, 
the Sino Scandinavian Banking Corporation, with 
branches in Hong Kong, Canton, and Shanghai. 
The rate of exchange has somewhat improved, but 
Norwegian shipping and industry do not look fa¬ 
vorably toward a rise which would affect competi¬ 
tion with Germany and Finland. The State budget 
for the coming year shows a large reduction on 
both sides but establishes a balance without addi¬ 
tional taxes excepting a new luxury tax. 
The Nickel Affair 
The great loss of Norwegian capital invested in 
nickel operations in Canada, as yet quite unpro¬ 
ductive, is arousing considerable discussion in the 
Norwegian press. Since 1916 Norwegians have ad¬ 
vanced to the British-American Nickel Corpora¬ 
tion what is now the equivalent of Kr. 70,000,000. 
The drain of so large a sum without visible return 
has had its effect in many ramifications of Nor¬ 
wegian life. The government has been urged to 
examine the history of this complicated business 
and to call before it the principals, whose busi¬ 
ness judgment and financial ethics have been 
challenged, but whose honesty is not in question. 
Danish Banks Combine 
Brown Brothers & Co. have received a cable 
from their correspondent, Den Danske Land- 
mandsbank, Copenhagen, stating that this insti¬ 
tution' has just declared for 1921, a 10 per cent 
dividend, and that its gross profits, including Kr. 
16,850,532 carried forward from last year, amount 
to Kr. 64,521,661 less Kr. 17,345,507 for general 
expenses and taxes. After providing for bad and 
doubtful debts of Kr. 25,867,937, and statutory 
contribution to reserves, Kr. 9,614,909 were car¬ 
ried forward. Reserves are now Kr. 50,769,230. 
Subject to a general meeting of stockholders, Den 
Danske Landmandsbank has entered into an agree¬ 
ment with the Kjobenhavns Private Laanebank, 
''established in 1854—the oldest bank in Copen¬ 
hagen—by which the two institutions will be amal¬ 
gamated. 
The Danish Lotteries 
Probably no incident of recent years has done 
more to damage Danish credit in America than 
the publicity given by the American press to the 
so-called government lotteries. Two of the old 
Danish lotteries still survive, the so-called “Class 
Lottery” and the so-called “Colonial Lottery” 
created to make up the Danish deficit in the West 
Indies. From each the government receives 10 per 
cent. Although lotteries are forbidden in the 
American mails, many invitations to subscribe to 
the Danish Colonial Lottery have recently reached 
citizens of this country under German post mark. 
The economic moral conscience of our people may 
seem puritanical or even hypocritical to the Danish 
committees who perpetuate these lotteries, yet 
we are such as we are, and not only are lotteries 
illegal and barred from our mails, but in the pop¬ 
ular mind a state which countenances them is 
guilty of antiquated methods of doing business. 
We hope that their days are numbered. 
The Swedish Banks 
The annual reports of the various Swedish 
banks show that they have weathered the storm of 
1921 remarkably well. In general the profit for 
that year fell off only a fourth or a third, and 
true to their conservative banking tradition, divi¬ 
dends were lowered accordingly. As a result, 
banking shares on the Swedish Stock Exchange 
during the third week in January increased in 
value by Kr. 27,000,000. . Skandinaviska Kredit- 
aktiebolaget has declared a dividend of 17.6 per 
cent compared with 21.1 per cent the previous 
year; its net profit for the year was Kr. 18,700,000. 
Handelsbanken reduced its dividend from 21 to 
15 per cent; Carl Frisk has retired from his posi¬ 
tion as its managing director and is succeeded 
by Maurits Philipson. Goteborgs Bank reduced 
its dividend from 14 to 12 per cent; Sundsvalls 
Enskilda Bank from 17 to 13 per cent; Kredit 
Banken, Stockholm, from 9 to 6 per cent; Vaners- 
borgs Enskilda Bank from 10 to 8 per cent; Upp- 
lands Enskilda Bank from 18 to 14 per cent; 
Varmlands Enskilda Bank, with a relatively poor 
year, from 22 to 10 per cent. Stockholms Enskilda 
Bank, however, although earnings were diminished, 
retained its 15 per cent dividends, while the 
Stockholms Inteckningsgaranti Aktiebolag, Swe¬ 
den’s largest mortgage bank, showed a greater 
profit than the preceding year and maintained its 
15 per cent dividend. The farmers of the island 
of Gotland apparently enjoyed a prosperous year, 
for Gotlands Bank also showed a greater net 
profit and declared unchanged a dividend of 8 
per cent. - 
Locomotives for Russia 
The transport of Swedish locomotives to Russia 
constructed by Nyquist och Holm at Trollhattan 
is now proceeding uniformly by a ship which 
makes- sailings from Landskrona for this purpose. 
Fifty locomotives were delivered in 1921. This 
year 200 will be completed, and according to 
contract 250 each in the years 1923, 1924, and 
1925. _ 
Live Wires 
The low cost of the mark helps to keep Fin¬ 
nish workmen busy. The number of unemployed 
is said to be only 3,200. The saw mills are in 
full swing. 
Asea has delivered the largest electrical ma¬ 
chine in its history to Glomfjord, a generator of 
30,000 horse power. 
Old Privilege 
