ORIENTAL
49
BANK CORPORATION.
INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER.
CAPITAL, £1,500,000.
TWENTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
COURT OF DIRECTORS TO THE PROPRIETORS.
THE Directors beg to submit to their Co-Proprietors the General Statement of the Corporation's affairs and Balance Sheet for the year 1878, which has been duly audited.
The earnings of the year's business (including £5,758 12s. Id. brought forward from the last Account), after defraying all current expenses and deducting suns written off for the first half of the year, amounted to £198,727 78. od.; out of which a Dividend at the rate of ten per cent. per annum for the half-year was declared, and divided amongst the Shareholders in October last, leaving an unappropriated amount of £123,727 75.
The Directors now extremely regret to announce that through the depressed con- dition of trade, and the commercial crisis which has been experienced during the last six months, very serious losses have been sustained at various points. These losses, with provision for doubtful debts, including a large amount recently advised from Australia, have exceeded the unappropriated earnings, as above shewn, by the sum of £120,130 95, 3d.
The Directors have also taken into account the existing depreciation of their Public Securities held in London and at the different Branches, and although they trust that, as regards Indian Government Securities, this depreciation is only temporary, as depending on the rate of exchange between this country and India, they have valued all the Government Rupee Paper at the market price in India at 31st December, and for that portion thereof which stands in the Bank's books in London, and is therefore subject to exchange, a rate of Is. 8d. per rupee has been assumed.
They have further made provision for the return of all Funds invested in the East at the Exchange of the day, excepting only such portion of the Bank's Capital as is allotted to each Branch for its local permanent use.
These two items together have occasioned a writing-off against the Reserve Fund of £185,567 35.
Under the head of Foreign Securities they also regret to report the heavy deprecia- tion of £91,030 35. 44. on £318,806 3s. 4d. in Chilian Government Bonds, which they have
PUBLIC RECORD.OFFICE
Reference :-
TLLC.O.537
33
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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