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6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Wednesday, Mar. 24, 1976 Reader's Viewpoint Manager provides clarification (continued) couldn't attract and retain the capable employees we do in the Royal Bank. By the way, anyone who reads Arthur Hailey's pop- ular book, "The Money Changers', shouldn't jump to any conclusions. Mr. Hailey wrote about banking in the United States and their system is significantly different to that of Canada. Mr. Kelly comments at length about the independ- ent businessman's situation and is so bold as to suggest that banks are assisting in destroying small businesses - in Canada. Nothing could be further from the truth, as businessmen in this com- munity can attest. The Royal Bank looks after the banking and finan- cial needs of more than 75,000 businesses in Canada, large and small, and more 'than 95 per cent of these businesses fall in the cate- gory of smaller-sized oper- ations with borrowings of less than 200,000. In recent weeks, the Royal . Bank reintroduced the Inde- pendent Business Base Rate of 's of 1 per cent below . prime rate. I think this illustrates our continuing concern and service to inde- pendent businessmen. On the matter of over- drafts, contrary to what Mr. Kelly says, businessmen are allowed overdrafts if they are pre-arranged with the manager and-or are within his line of credit. Mr. Kelly attempts to give the impression that 'big banks help only big busi- ness' and don't particularly care about the little fellow. Well, the Royal Bank is allotting close to $1 billion this year for mortgages in Canada and this will provide thousands of jobs in the construction industry as well as helping people buy homes. Of course we are a big bank, and there are advant- ages to being big, especially in our international oper- ations and dealing with the huge financial jobs that come up in Canada. But, at - the same time we conduct our business through more than 1,400 branches in 700 different communities. Many of them are small municipalities much like Port Perry where we deal- with small businesses, individual households and people with varied financial needs. Banking is a highly com- petitive business and if each of our branches doesn't ade- quately serve individuals and the smaller commercial clients, there's nothing to prevent them from taking their- business across the street. It is as simple as that. And I would add one final note. Anygpe who feels they have been{iistreated by our bank, or who simply want additional faformation about banking, come and see.me. My staff and I are here to serve you. Yours truly, Bill English, - -- Manager, The Royal Bank of Canada. Port Perry, Ontaric Refutes statements To the Editor & Readers: Re? Ontario Beef Calf Stabilization Program I feel I should refute some of the statements in the letter of Gord Burnett, pub- lished in the March 17th, 1976 issue. The grant paid on Beef Cows is taxable and must be declared as income. This also applies to grant on cows sold under cow stab- ilization plan during winter ROAD -READY of 1974, 1975.. * Furthermore, there is a quote from the Ontario Beef Calf Income Stabilization Program, "For the purpose of this program, beef cows are defined as cows which have produced a calf. Any cows from which industrial or fluid milk is sold cannot be registered in - the program'. Signed Dirt Farmer Holidays. Condition. ~ 1974 Chrys be appreciated. 1973 Mercury Marquis 4 Door Hardtop, Fully Equipped, Air-Conditioning, Power Windows. Low Mileage, Immaculate. 1974 Chevelle Station Wagon V-8 Automatic. One Owner. A very Clean Car, Perfect for the 1975 Chrysler Newport Custom" 2 Door Hardtop, Air-Conditioning, Stereo. 14,000 Miles. Mint . . 4 Door, V8 Automatic, Power Steering, Power Brakes, Radio. Perfect Car. 21,000 Miles. 1971 Chrysler 4 Door Hardtop, Fully Equipped, Air-Conditioning. Must be seen to 1975 Dodge Sport Coupe 6 Cylinder Automatic, Power Steering, Radio, Vinyl Roof. Balance of New Car Warranty. 1975 Dodge % Ton Pickup Truck V8 Standard Stick Shift. One Owner. 13,000 Miles. HCS 259 HZB 464 JFR 673 WTA 820 FAD 065 JST an CHRYSLER LEASING LLL H $Y DEAN WATSON AUTO SALES Hwy. 47 South of Uxbridge 852-3313 [Py] [ctmyste] psy (continued) Money deposited in a non- chequable savings account earns a competitive interest rate calculated on the minimum monthly balance and money may be with- drawn from these accounts without charge at any time, with interest still credited on the previous monthly balances. The interest rate on this type of deposit account is currently between seven and eight per cent - not three per cent, as quoted in the article, Even higher rates of.inter- est can be earned on other specialized types of depos- its, when savings are not required for a specific pur- pose in the immediate future. © Again the banks' interest Ss are compet- itive with other financial institutions: As its name implies, the-- personal chequing account is not for savings, it js. for paying personal bills. There is a charge for each cheque written to offset the cost of providing personalized cheques, returning cancel- led cheques and providing a monthly statement of depos- s and withdrawals. The customer thus has a con- - venient and permanent re- cord of all personal financial transactions. And there- is no charge to transfer money from a savings account to cover cheques written on a personal chequing account. Me. Kelly also wrote that no intérest is paid on about 46 per cent of bank deposits. -- Again, taking the Canadian dollar deposits of the public the rw figure is about 20 per cent. And most of this is in current accounts which are used by businesses for . | their specialized needs and are not intended as a savings medium. - The profit increase cited by Mr. Kelly for the charter- ed banks in 1975 is 80 per cent while our figures show a rise of 46 per cent. The actual rise for the banks' operations in Canada was even less while their inter- national business was up at a greater rate. I might add that Canadian funds are not used in these international operations...the money is raised in these markets. It is well to remember that the level of interest rates is determined by the federal government and monetary authorities...not by the chartered banks. Banks and other financial institutions all operate on the 'spread' between the cost of money they borrow from depositors and the interest earned on loans to their customers. This "spread" remains relatively constant whether _interest rates are high or low so the banks have nothing to gain from today's historically high interest rates. By inference, Mr. Kelly seems to suggest that higher interest rates should be paid on savings deposits. It is pertinent to consider the _ consequences of such a move which would only serve to increase the cost of credit to all segments of our society. For example, with housing starts falling far short of our needs, higher mortgage rates hardly seem desirable. These are only a few of the. points in the article that do not stand up under examin- ation. To comment on them . all would require an extrem: - ely lengthy letter. I trust, however, that these will be "Simple truths distorted" enough to suggest to readers that they should not accept the statements made in the column as factual. Yours sincerely, M. B. Gausden Director of Public Relations The Canadian Bankers' Association EDITORS NOTE: Mr. Kelly is away on vacation for a few weeks and will answer youl letter in detail when he returns. In the meantime. he would like Criticism (continued) mon sense knows if the cow- calf farmer goes out of bus- iness, there will be stockers for the farmer who finishes them. I would also like to bring to the attention of the readers of -your paper that Mr. Burnett has not kept up with the Government hand- outs when he talks about tax money given to cow-calf farmers. He did not mention the tax money the Government handed out to buyers of first homes, tax free. This infor- - mation can also be got if you write to your Member of Parliament. William H. Montgomery Nestleton to have the answers to these questions: 1. What is the total ASSETS of the major banks in Canada (All ten). The amount of customers money on desposit and the average interest paid on the total figure, : 2.What was the total PROFIT of the major banks for the years 1974 and 1975? (include subsidiary compan- ies, realty companies, hold- ing companies controlled by the banks). 3. What is the AVERAGE salary of the major bank Presidents (include expense accounts, stock options, pen- sion, car allowances, etc.) 4. The number of bank directors who are interlock- ing directors of other com- panies. (The total number of directorships held by bank directors.) 5. The amount of deposit- ""ors money taken out of Port Perry in relation to the amount loaned out in Port Perry--not including govern- ment 'insured loans.) The percentage charged Port Perry retailers using CHARGEX on top of the 18 percent paid by customers. Explain why percentage charge INCLUDES charges on the Ontario Sales Tax. 6. The total amount on loan by the banks through Chargex and Mastercharge in Canada, Dean J. Kelly Take advantage of the 1975 price. The Lord Simcoe is maintaining the price on the 2 nite special in the face of rising costs. fortwo includes: e modern guest room for 2 nights ¢ dinner one evening at the famous Captain's Table including a welcoming refreshment = e breakfast each morning ] e free overnight parking (from 6.00 p.m. to 8.30 a.m. only each day) $6990 subject to advance registration and you can stay an extra night for only $23% double . See your travel agent or reserve direct. The Lord Simcoe Hotel, 150 King St. West, Toronto Tel: (416) 362-1848