Report of Chairman and General Manager on the proceedings at the
Third
International Thrift Congress held in Paris, May 20th to 25th, 1935.
(continued)
THE SAVINGS BANKS RATE OF INTEREST POLICY.
1. The Savings Banks should endeavour, by means of suitable investments, to
obtain from the funds entrusted to them a remunerative return which will allow them to pay substantial interest to their depositors
while respecting the fundamental principles, the observance of which is incumbent on them in an equal degree: security of their investments,
sufficient liquidity to enable them to meet all probable withdrawal demands, and general utility of their investments.
2. The
interest thus obtained from the investments should be wholly paid over to the depositors with the exception of the sums necessary
for
(1) The functioning of the Savings Banks.
(2) The building up of a reserve fund for covering possible losses -- the fund and
the interest it produces to remain, moreover, the property of the Savings Bank.
(3) The help to the various social works in which the
Savings Banks are interested.
3. In fixing the rate of interest asked of borrowers who apply to the Savings Banks, these institutions
should not give way to a tendency to make excessive demands, but should be guided by the situation of the capital market in their
respective districts.
4. As far as loans to social works (workmen's dwellings, establishments for prevention and cure of sickness,
co-operative societies, etc.) are concerned, the duty of the Savings Banks is to fix the rate of interest as low as they can.
5.
The Third International Congress declare -- as the Congresses of Milan and London declared -- their absolute adherence to the principle
of freedom of action of the ordinary Savings Banks. Being more capable than any other institutions of fixing their own rates of interest,
they should be allowed to fix them by agreement either between themselves, or with their associations or other national groups, or
else with the competent authorities. (x). If, in countries where the economic situation expresses itself by an exaggeration of the
rate of interest and especially during the periods of serious crisis, State intervention in this domain seems acceptable, once all
other useful means have been tried, it is essential that this intervention should be exercised in consultation with the Savings Banks
and should cease as soon as the cause of the intervention disappears.
(x) For the necessary adaptations see introduction.
6.
Concerning the fixing of the rates of interest, it seems to the Congress that these rates should be fixed in relation to the ensemble
of rates allowed in the respective countries where Savings Banks operate.
7. The stability of the rate of interest to be allowed
to depositors being an essential condition for the development of Savings Banks, the Congress believe that the Savings Banks should
endeavour to pay their depositors a fixed rate of interest decided on periodically in advance and, as far as possible, to keep it
unvaried.
8. While proclaiming the general utility of allowing the same rate of interest to all depositors impartially, the Congress
nevertheless note the communications made by some Savings Banks which allow their depositors different rates of interest according
to the amount of their deposits. The Congress consider that it may be useful for some Savings Banks to accept deposits subject
to particular regulations concerning their amount, their withdrawal and the interest they bear.
SAVINGS AND LIFE INSURANCE.
Considering
the close affinity existing between those two methods of providing for the future - Saving and Life Insurance.
1. The Third International
Thrift Congress entrust the International Thrift Institute with the task of examining the conditions under which the co-operation
of these two methods of providing for the future might be established.
2. The Third International Thrift Congress request the
International Thrift Institute to submit the results of these researches to the next Congress.
SCHOOL SAVINGS.
Convinced
that, especially in troubled times such as these, the principles of thrift and saving must be deeply rooted in the minds of the new
generations as a fundamental factor of all normal life.
Considering that the educative work of the Savings Banks is an essential
and characteristic part of their social mission, independent of the direct advantages they may derive from this activity, the Delegates
to the Third International Thrift Congress urge all governments to encourage, as much as possible, the teaching of thrift.
Considering
the high value of this teaching in the building of character and the development of true citizenship, they confirm the resolutions
already adopted in the preceding Thrift Congresses concerning the introduction of thrift as an ordinary item of the syllabus in all
schools, chiefly in the schools in which the future teachers are educated.
With that aim in view they propose to suggest to the
Savings institutes of every country that they should form mixed committees, made up of educators and Savings Banks representatives,
to elaborate the programmes and the teaching methods of this new item in conformity with the curricula of the schools; these programmes
may then be submitted to school authorities and may be eventually the object of legislative measures.
They also propose that,
while waiting for the results of the work of those committees, the Savings Banks should neglect no means of obtaining the close collaboration
of the teaching body, which is a fundamental element of success in this domain, especially by distributing text books on thrift and
saving; those books will be used as a basis for the teaching of thrift in training college pupils and as a help to schoolteachers;
they will contain numerous examples and arguments inspired by thrift and adapted to the different branches of teaching (Arithmetic,
Composition, History, and so on).
They confirm anew that in this work of thrift teaching, theory must be intimately bound up
with practice, and considering the results obtained in countries where school Savings Banks are established, they express the wish
that this undertaking should be more and more generalised according to very simple methods which, while imposing as little work and
responsibility on the teachers as possible, calls for an immediate participation of the schoolchildren by giving them numerous opportunities
to be in contact with Savings Banks.
Seeing the more and more frequent use of the cinematograph and wireless in teaching, the
Congress express the wish that the Savings Banks make increasing use of those means, which are most effective from a psychological
point of view.
Concerning the cinematograph, the Congress refer to the resolutions of the First International Congress of Educational
Cinematography, Rome, April 1934, presented by the International Thrift Institute: production of films for the economic education
of youth, collaboration of the Savings Banks and the school authorities for the projection of films concerning thrift, and so on.
As
to wireless, where wireless talks for schools are already regularly organised, the Congress propose to add periodical talks about
thrift and saving.
The Congress also confirm the general need for peace and collaboration among the nations, and propose lastly
that World Thrift Day should be celebrated everywhere on the same day of the year, this day being particularly dedicated to youth,
to whom its universal significance and the ideal inspiring it must be explained.
SAVINGS BANKS AND LOTTERIES.
Referring
to the vote passed at the Second International Thrift Congress, and considering that the spirit of gambling is in flat contradiction
with the spirit of thrift, the Third International Thrift Congress resolve that although financial necessities may sometimes not permit
of lotteries, these should be at least limited, and their abolition should be considered in all countries as an ideal to be realised.
UNIFICATION
OF STATISTICS CONCERNING SAVINGS DEPOSITS.
The International Thrift Institute is requested to study, together with the League of Nations, the statistics of thrift in the various countries and to establish what deposits can be considered as savings deposits. As a result of these studies the Institute should offer, at the earliest meeting of the Permanent Committee, a proposal for modifications concerning the standardisation of the official statistics on thrift in all countries.