A. No. On occasions the Reichsbank has not increased its rate of discount above 5 per cent. At times we have discounted even at 3 per cent., when we have had to pay a tax of 5 per cent.
Q. It has been suggested to us as a matter of policy in times of stress that it would be better for you to add the 5 per cent. tax to the rate of discount.
A. The Reichsbank must be considered in the first place as a public institution which has to take care of the public interest, and secondarily as a money-making institution.
Q. Is there any restriction as to the percentage of silver in your reserve?
A. No; but there is another law, the coinage act, by which the amount of silver coined depends upon the population. They do not coin more than 20 marks per capita.
Q. What steps do you take to increase your gold reserve or to protect it?
A. We always have a large amount of bills of exchange payable in foreign countries, payable in gold. We also increase the rate of discount. We consider that the latter measure is the only effective one. We also make advances without interest to importers for the time the gold is in transit; we do that even in times when the ordinary gold import point is not reached. Then we may raise our tariff for the purchase of foreign gold coins, as the Bank of England does.
Q. Do you take any steps to prevent exports of gold? We have been told that it is the habit of the Reichsbank, in case of large exports of gold from Germany, to suggest to the other banks that it is not agreeable to have the gold exported.
A. It has never been the case and never will be the case that any such suggestion has been made by the Reichsbank to anybody.