Chapter 76 The Royal Bank Opens for Business
On February 17, 1901, a certain street in Sydney was crowded with people, all eagerly looking forward.
One by one, people wore smiles on their faces and occasionally looked with gratitude toward the place where the government and Arthur were located.
Directly in front of the crowd stood a building that had undergone simple renovations and was now adorned with the sign of the Royal Bank of Australia, officially opening for business today.
A bank opening on its own would not have attracted such a crowd. What truly brought this surge of people was a policy Arthur announced in conjunction with the bank's opening: all Australian households could take out an unconditional loan of up to two hundred pounds from the Royal Bank, and they could also mortgage their assets for an additional loan of up to one thousand pounds.
Combined, the two types of loans allowed each household to obtain a maximum of twelve hundred pounds.
Even in the wealthy and prosperous homeland of the British Empire, such a sum would only be within reach for high-income families.
For some, this sum might very well change their destiny, becoming the seed money to start a small business or even rise as a business star.
Of course, for the vast majority, being able to use the funds to buy more land, increase family income, and improve their lives would already be the best outcome.
Since the interest on the loans was very low, virtually negligible, many were planning to take out a loan.
At ten o'clock in the morning, under the respectful and enthusiastic gaze of the crowd, Arthur arrived slowly in a carriage, accompanied by Butler Hunter and several guards.
With Arthur's arrival, the scene gradually quieted down, waiting for his speech and actions.
Arthur was there to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the bank opening, but naturally, a few speeches had to come before the ceremony.
After Butler Hunter introduced the bank's function and objectives, it was Arthur's turn to speak.
The content of the speech was simple. Besides explaining the purpose of the loan policy, it was also meant to encourage Australians to start businesses and strive for success.
Although the speech was simple, it was met with enthusiastic cheers and approval from the Australian people.
The reason was clear: it was because of Arthur's prestige and popularity in Australia.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony was completed, the Royal Bank of Australia was officially open for business.
Then, in an orderly yet busy line, the crowd entered the bank one after another, asking questions while handling transactions.
Fortunately, the Royal Bank was only opening in the capital, Sydney, for the time being. Branches in other states would not open until next month or even later.
This significantly eased the pressure on the bank's funds. Although the crowd seemed large, many were still hesitant about taking out loans, and only a few had already made up their minds.
Arthur had specially prepared five million pounds in cash for the bank's opening, which now seemed to be more than enough.
After all, most ordinary people, even if they had decided to borrow, were likely to opt for the small unconditional loan.
Aside from a few who were confident they could rise through opportunity and grow their industries, others were reluctant to burden themselves with large debts.
Besides the popular loan services, a portion of people had come for the bank's savings services.
This included many officials and wealthy individuals, and naturally, cabinet members were no exception.
Led by the experienced Prime Minister Evan, the cabinet ministers each deposited their funds in the bank. Some ministers, who had considerable wealth, even deposited tens of thousands of pounds.
This wasn't surprising. The previous prime ministers had all risen from powerful senators and were granted colonial leadership titles with Queen Victoria's recognition.
In essence, colonial governors and prime ministers were like regional authorities, wielding significant influence within the colony.
Though they held no military power, they had considerable political authority. Combined with various welfare policies from Britain, this meant their annual incomes were very high—at least several thousand to tens of thousands of pounds.
Therefore, when they deposited tens of thousands of pounds, not a single trace of hesitation showed on their faces.
To them, making Arthur happy and supporting his venture was more important than the money.
Compared to the prime ministers, the funds brought in by the other ministers appeared much smaller, though still in the thousands of pounds.
But this was more in line with reality. Given the incomes of Australian cabinet ministers, they could only manage to save about a thousand pounds after six months.
Compared to the loan counters, the lines at the savings counters were pathetically short.
It wasn't that Australians were unwilling to deposit money in the bank—it was that most of them simply had no savings, their wallets empty, with no other option.
After inspecting the bank for a while, Arthur returned to the estate. Although today was the grand opening and the crowd was relatively large,
in fact, most Australians would take careful consideration before deciding whether or not to take out a loan, so the busiest period for the bank would come a few days later.
Arthur was in no rush and simply instructed Butler Hunter to carefully review and process every single loan and deposit, and to compile a detailed report.
On February 25, after one week of operations, the Royal Bank had successfully gained a reputation in Australia and had even attracted people from other states and cities.
At the same time, Butler Hunter had completed the weekly business summary for the bank's opening and submitted it to Arthur.
One couldn't help but sigh at the dire poverty faced by Australians. From February 17 to February 24, a full seven days, the Royal Bank processed more than 2,900 transactions.
Although this number seemed high, over 2,800 of them were loan-related, with just over a hundred being deposits.
Keep in mind, this data was generated with the support of cabinet members and some officials.
Without their support, the number of depositors would have been even smaller, and the total amount would likely have never reached ninety thousand pounds.
Compared to deposits, loan services were clearly much more active.
Of the 2,800+ loan transactions, over 2,300 were unconditional loans, with each household borrowing an average of eighty pounds.
The remaining 500+ loans were from households taking both unconditional and mortgage loans. Due to differences in their assets, loan amounts varied, but most were above four hundred pounds.
(End of Chapter)
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