§ DR. MACNAMARATo ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he 204 is aware that the sum due to depositors in the Post Office Savings Bank and the Trustees Savings Banks amount together to £200,000,000, repayable on demand, against which no reserve is kept; and has he considered the desirability of forming a gold reserve against these deposits.
(Answered by Mr. Austen Chamberlain.) The cash balance held on account of the Savings Banks is sufficient to meet the actual demands. The statutes require that the funds of the Savings Banks shall be invested in securities in order to earn the interest payable to depositors, and I see no reason why that requirement should not continue to be complied, with.