ACTIONS DE LA BANQUE DE FRANCE.

These are shares in the National Bank of France, which are limited to the number of thirty thousand, and were originally worth one thousand francs each; they therefore form a capital of 30,000,000 francs, or £1,250,000 sterling, and afford as follows:

  1. A dividend which at present, and since the foundation, has averaged from eight to ten per cent, arising from the profits on discount.
  2. A profit of from four to five per cent more on the discount of paper, which every holder of an action or share effects at the Bank, at the rate of one-half per cent per month, or six per cent for the whole year.

The present price of an action is about twelve hundred francs, which may be considered as producing:

80 francs;dividend paid by the Bank on each share.
30 francs;certain profits according to the present discount of bills.
110 francs; per share 10-10/11 per cent.

Actions de la Banque de France, though subject, in common with all stocks, to the influence of the government, are, however, far more independent of it than any other, and are the more secure, as the National Bank is not only composed of all the first bankers, but also supported by the principal merchants in the country. This investment is at present very beneficial, and certainly promises great eventual advantages. The dividends are paid in two half-yearly instalments.

ACTIONS DE LA CAISSE DE COMMERCE,
ET ACTIONS DU COMPTOIR COMMERCIAL.

The Caisse de Commerce and the Comptoir Commercial are two establishments on the same plan, and affording, as nearly as possible, the same advantages as the Banque de France: the only difference is as follows:

  1. These last two are, as far as any commercial establishment can be, independent of the government, and are more so than the Banque de France, as the actions or shares are not considered as being a public fund.
  2. The Actions de la Caisse de Commerce limited in number to two thousand four hundred, originally cost 5000 francs, and are now worth 6000. The holder of each action moreover, signs circulating notes to the amount of five thousand francs, which form the paper currency of the Bank, and for the payment of which the said holder would be responsible, were the Bank to stop payment.
  3. The Actions du Comptoir Commercial are still issued by the administrators of the establishment. The number of actions is not as yet limited: the price of each action is fifteen hundred francs (circa £60 sterling), and the plan and advantages are almost entirely similar to those of the two last-mentioned institutions.

The Banque de France the Caisse de Commerce, and the Comptoir Commercial, discount three times a week. The first, the paper of the banking-houses and the principal commercial houses holding bank-stock; the second, the paper of the wholesale merchants of every class; and the third, the paper of retailers of all descriptions; and in a circulation which amounts to 100 millions of francs (circa 4 millions sterling) per month, there have not, it is said, been seen, in the course of the last month, protests to the amount of 20,000 francs.