Suchergebnisse

The seventeenth annual report of the Bank for International Settlements, which reviewed the period April 1, 1946, to March 31, 1947, covered such topics as 1) the transition from war to peace economy, 2) price movements, 3) recovery of foreign trade, 4) foreign exchange rates, 5) the production and movements of gold, 6) post-war settlements and new foreign lending, 7) internal credit condition, and 8) national economic plans in Europe. Reference was made to the fact that as a result of informal discussions between the President of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements, a memorandum had been worked out regarding the bases for cooperation between the two organizations. As of June, 1947, the Board of Directors of the Bank included representatives of Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Because of the war Germany and Japan were not represented but were still technically considered to be members.

Covering the financial year from April 1, 1962, to March 31, 1963, the 33rd annual report of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) was submitted to the annual general meeting of the Bank held in Basle on June 10, 1963.

The eighteenth annual report of the Bank for International Settlements, which reviewed the period from April 1, 1947, to March 31, 1948, called for abandonment of the wartime type of direct controls on prices, production and trade, and the restoration of a functioning price system, operating under well-controlled monetary regimes. The report, the most comprehensive ever issued by the Bank, dealt in detail with such topics as 1) recovery and set-back in 1947, 2) restoration of monetary order, 3) price movements, 4) the tense position of international trade, 5) foreign exchange rates, 6) production and movements of gold, 7) international credit conditions and the trend of interest rates, 8) European payment agreements, multilateral monetary compensation and the European Recovery Program, and 9) current activities of the Bank. Reference was made to the fact that the Bank for International Settlements had acceded to a request to act as technical agent for the Agreement on Multilateral Monetary Compensation, signed in Paris on November 18, 1947. Practical compensation operations under this agreement were begun in December 1947.

The twenty-first annual report of the Bank for International Settlements, which covered the period from April 1, 1950, to March 31, 1951, stated that, in spite of the changing trends in prices, production, and international trade and payments caused by the Korean conflict, 1950 was "essentially a year of continued consolidation of that astonishing progress which Europe had been making … since the crisis of 1947".

The twenty-second annual report of the Bank for International Settlements, covering the period from April 1, 1951, to March 31, 1952, was made public in June 1952. The report noted that in the first half of 1950, immediately prior to the outbreak of fighting in Korea, a real approach had been made throughout the world toward economic balance; the equilibrium had not, however, been too secure. The effects of the double impact of Korea and the rearmaments efforts of the west, with accompanying increases in imports and rise in prices of raw materials, had finally been arrested only in early 1951.

The nineteenth annual report of the Bank for International Settlements, which reviewed the period from April 1, 1948 to March 31, 1949, noted progress in the field of general economic and monetary affairs, especially in western Europe, with the fight against inflationary tendencies successfully waged in almost every European country. Noting the disappearance of the seller's market as the most outstanding development of the year, it called for more production through greater efficiency, but warned that it must be of goods demanded by a flexible price system. It was recognized that fewer restrictions on trade tended to develop a broader international outlook in individual countries, and the Report recommended further planning with an eye toward lessening restrictions as the goal for the year.

The 29th annual report of the Bank for International Settlements, covering the financial year from April 1, 1958, to March 31, 1959, was submitted to the annual general meeting of the Bank held at Basle on June 8, 1959. In his introduction to the report, the General Manager of the Bank, Mr. Guillaume Guindey, announced a net profit amounting to 9,550,894 gold francs at the close of the financial year, compared with 9,317,738 gold francs for the preceding year. Declaration of a dividend of 6 percent was again recommended, involving the distribution of 7,500,000 gold francs, so that the sum of 9,279,928 gold francs would be carried forward.

The twenty-third annual report of the Bank for International Settlements was made public in June 1953. In reviewing economic developments during the period of April 1, 1952, to March 31, 1953, the report noted that, despite the initial dislocations resulting from the Korean conflict, there had been real progress since 1952 towards economic and financial balance and a normal course of domestic and international economic development. More specifically, the report noted that: 1) the upward trend in world-market prices had been reversed, and the course of domestic inflation halted in most countries; 2) during 1952 and the early months of 1953 there was an improvement in the balance of payments position of the non-dollar world; 3) monetary reserves had recovered in a number of countries during the same period; 4) the aggre-gate amount of net deficits (and net surpluses) in the settlements of the European Payments Union had contracted from an average of $207 million per month in 1951 to $102 million by the last quarter of 1952 and the first quarter of 1953; and 5) there had been many signs of increased confidence in various currencies, notably an increased firmness of their free market quotations.

The 30th annual report of the Bank for International Settlements, covering the financial year from April 1, 1959, to March 31, 1960, was submitted to the annual general meeting of the Bank held in Basle on June 13, 1960.1 In his introduction, the General Manager of the Bank, Mr. Guillaume Guindey, reported that the net profit for the thirtieth financial year had amounted to 15,314,716 gold francs, compared with 9,550,894 gold francs for the preceding year. In view of these very favorable results, the Board of Directors of the Bank had recommended the extraordinary distribution of 42.50 gold francs per share, in addition to the regular dividend of 37.50 gold francs per share; thus the total distribution for this year would amount to 80 gold francs, payable in Swiss francs in the amount of 114.30 Swiss francs per share.

The twenty-sixth annual report of the Bank for International Settlements was published on June II, 1956. In its survey of the year April 1, 1955—March 31, 1956, the report declared that the most important feature of 1955 was that the effect of an economic boom in North America had been superimposed on the powerful forces for expansion operating in western Europe. There was a definite need, however, for measures which would moderate the boom without weakening the forces tending to promote healthy economic growth. For this reason, direct internal or external controls had not been reapplied by the authorities and trade had been further liberalized, while restrictions on foreign payments had also been further relaxed. There had been a continuation of flexibility in credit policies pursued by the authorities who had employed methods of credit restraint, such as increased interest rates.

The 31st annual report of the Bank for International Settlements, covering the financial year from April 1, 1960, to March 31, 1961, was submitted to the annual general meeting of the Bank held in Basle on June 12, 1961. In his introduction, the General Manager of the Bank, Mr. Guillaume Guindey, reported that the net profit for the 31St financial year had amounted to 14,974,105 gold francs, compared with 15,314,716 gold francs for the preceding year. In view of the results for the financial year 1960–61, the Board of Directors of the Bank had recommended an extraordinary distribution of 35 gold francs per share, in addition to the regular dividend of 37·50 gold francs per share; thus the total distribution for this year would amount to 72·50 gold francs, payable in Swiss francs in the amount of 103·60 Swiss francs per share.

The twenty-eighth annual report of the Bank for International Settlements covering the financial year from April I, 1957, to March 31, 1958, was submitted to the annual general meeting of the Bank held at Basle on June 9, 1958. Details of the results of the year's business operations were given, together with a review of the current activities of the Bank and an analysis of the balance sheet as of March 31, 1958. The year was characterized by a stabilization of the resources at the disposal of the Bank at the high level reached the previous year and by a further increase in the volume of its operations. The financial year closed with a surplus of 19,317,738 gold francs, against 16,014,462 gold francs for the previous year; the net profit amounted to 9,317,738 gold francs, compared with 8,212,987 for the preceding year. The board of directors of the Bank recommended that the general meeting should declare a dividend of 6 percent.

The 32nd annual report of the Bank for International Settlements, covering the financial year from April 1, 1961, to March 31, 1962, was submitted to the annual general meeting of the Bank held in Basle on June 4, 1962. In his introduction, the General Manager of the Bank, Mr. Guillaume Guindey, reported that the accounts for the 32nd financial year closed with a surplus of 20,185,172 gold francs, as against 27,324,105 gold francs for the previous year. The reduction in the volume of gold transactions handled accounted for the greater part of the decline in the year's earnings. After deduction of 7,500,000 gold francs was transferred to the provision for contingencies, the net profit amounted to 12,685,172 gold francs, compared with 14,974,105 gold francs for the preceding year. The annual general meeting decided to distribute a dividend of 37.50 gold francs per share. In view of the results for the financial year 1961–1962, the meeting also decided that, as an exception measure, a lump sum of 4.5 million gold francs should be applied in the forthcoming year to the further reduction of the amount of the undeclared cumulative dividend.

The twentieth annual report of the Bank for International Settlements, which reviewed the period from April 1, 1949, to March 30, 1950, noted that "despite much political anxiety, economic recovery has in general been achieved on a more substantial scale than seemed possible after the convulsions and destruction brought about by the second world war." World production levels stood 35 percent above pre-war, with the peak increase of 70 percent occurring in the United States. Given this increased production, however, the Bank pointed out that the increase in the total national income had not kept pace with the increase in population. Industrial production had risen more than the output in agriculture and other fields. Yet reconstruction needs and increased military expenditures resulting from the uncertain political situation prevented the full benefit of the increased production to be realized. Patterns of trade had also been disarranged as, for example, between eastern and western Europe; and disturbing influences and other forms of disorganization created by the war still affected the monetary system. In addition to considering the significance of mounting production, the report dealt also with 1) the return to a balanced system as between national receipts and expenditures; 2) the approach to more normal price relationships; 3) foreign trade in 1949; 4) the effects of the 1949 devaluation cycle; and 5) intra-European payments and compensation.

The twenty-fourth annual report of the Bank for International Settlements was made public in June 1954. In reviewing the period April 1, 1953, March 31, 1954, the report noted that 1953 had been a year of economic progress for most countries, and adjustment and consolidation for the world as a whole. In a great many nations production had reached new record heights; prices had shown a remarkable degree of overall stability; and monetary confidence had been strengthened, as evidenced by the improvement in reserves and in quotations on the exchange markets, and by the fall in the free-market price of gold. These facts were important not only in themselves but also because they had dispelled preconceived ideas and prejudices, such as: 1) the claim that changes in interest rates or other measures in the field of credit were ineffective and outmoded as instruments of economic management; 2) the idea that a small decline in industrial output in the United States would lead to a proportionately greater reduction in American imports and consequently widen the dollar gap; and 3) the notion that a strengthening of monetary reserves and an improvement in the value of individual currencies could be achieved only by a policy of "deflation" and at the cost of large-scale unemployment. At the same time the business trend in the individual countries had been characterized by an exceptional degree of diversity due to the growing strength of most European economies and the pursuit in the western hemisphere of policies designed to lighten the impact of a downward adjustment of levels of business activity.