Evening star., 1923-12-26
DELAY BY berlin
BANK DISCUSSED
Significant Departure From
Methods Seen in With
holding Statement.
BY the Associa ted Press

By the Associated Press.
BERLIN, December 26.-The delay
ed appearance of the reichbank's re-
turns for the second half of Novem-
Der suggests to several financial writ
ers the possibility that central bank
ing institution is traversing a de-
cisive transitional period. the out
come of which will mark a signifi-
cant departure from the banks pre-
vious methods. The newly appointed
head of the reichsbank. DR.. Hjalmar
Schacht, is thought to have ideas on
the issues of gold currency and pri-
vate credits which will ultimately
call for a complete overhauling of
the banks policies.
That the reichsbank's statement for
the last two weeks of November
should be held back until Christmas
eve, which marks the reGinning of a
three-day banking and one week
bourse recess, occasions only re-
stricted comment. With the Decem-
ber returns still outstanding, an ade-
quate survey of the institutions pres
ent resources and liabilities is wholly
precluded, especially as the twelfth
month invariably makes heavy drains
on Its credit service.
Paper Marks Increase.
=, The returns for the latter half of
100000 trillions of paper marks in
It's holdings of private checks and
drafts, which, oddly enough are offset
by an almost equal amount of newly
hoated currency. although the bank s
communicate intimateS that the lat
ter was chiefly occasioned through
the enforced absorption of emergency
currency of municipal or private ori-
gin.
The conspicuous increase in the
banks acceptance of private bills of
exchange suggests to some observers
that the reichsbank during the latter
half of November and possibly be-
yond that time proved a useful milch
COW for industry, trade and COM
merce, which sought it's loaning ac-
comodations at an annual discount Of
30 per cent in preference to paying
anywhere from 20 to 40 per cent for
short-term loans on the bourse or
meeting equally excessive rates in
the private banking world, which. in
addition, continued to hold aloof from
the general extension of private
credits.
The reichsbank.s current returns
also failed to make clear whether it's
heavy advances on private credits
We're based on the paper mark, which
at that time had not yet been def
nitely stabilized, or whether the loans
are returnable on the basis of gold
computation.
New Problem faced.
Whether the army of borrowers
who helped to swell the reichsbank's s
fund of private chits hoped to profit
from the imitation periods last gasps
by making quick touch in paper
marks which ultimately found highly
respectable enchantment through eff
fective temporary stabilization or
conversion into foreign currency is
only one of several queries prompted
by the belated November accounting.
Up to December % the reichsbank
had drawn 750,000,000 rentenmarks
of its allotment of 900,000,000, which
it is obligated to place at the dis
posal of the central government and
on which interest is to be paid. Pre-
viously 1t turned over 100000 900
rentenmarks to the federal treasury,
which the rentenbank by the letter of
Its charter is to place at the govern
nent's disposal free of interest. These
rentenmark holdings. which are COM
puted in the reichsbank's statement
on the basis of the stabilized paper
mark, are primarily intended to alb
sorb the governments discounte ed
treasury bills, which. it is announced,
will shortly disappear from the CEN
trail banks returns.
On January / the rentenbank will
transfer to the reichsbank the sum of
1,2O0,O00,000 rentenmarks, which will
be wholly reserved for the purpose of
private credits and advances to the
note printing banks.