2. The Yokohama Specie Bank.— The Yokohama Specie Bank was established in ac cordance with the Law of the Yokohama Specie Bank, and its principal object is to conduct foreign exchange business. At the end of 1915 it had a registered capital amounting to $24,000,000, of which $15,000,000 had been paid up, and reserves amounting to $10,675,086. It has branch offices not only in many places in Japan and Kwantung Province, Manchuria, but in London, Lyons, New York, San Francisco, Hawaii, Bombay, Calcutta, Hongkong and various points in China. The offices in Kwan tung Province and China are allowed by the government to issue notes convertible to silver, against the reserves of the same amount. The kind of the reserves are ordered by the govern ment. At present the bank is ordered to keep specie reserves against more than half of the issue amount, and security reserves for the remainder. The supervision over the bank is exercised by permanent inspectors, and the appointment of directors, elected at a general meeting of shareholders, is valid only after being sanctioned by the Minister of Fi nance. On the whole, the bank is supervised by the government in the same manner as is the Bank of Japan.
3. The Hypothec Bank of Japan.— The ob ject of this bank is to promote the improve ment and progress of agriculture and industry, and it mostly makes loans on immovable prop erty. At the end of 1915 it had a registered capital of fully paid up, and re serves amounting to $2,769,200. In business it makes loans to be repaid in annual instalments covering not more than 50 years, usually on security of immovable property. It may also make fixed loans on immovable property for a term of not more than five years. Such loans, however, shall not exceed one-tenth of the total amount of loans made for yearly instalments. The bank may also make loans without secu rity to public or other sound corporations.
As a means to obtain funds the bank is al lowed to issue debentures up to an amount 10 times as large as the sum of its fixed deposits and paid-up capital. As a means of advancing money to the Agricultural and Industrial batiks, it may take up debentures issued by those banks, make loans on security of right,of claim of those banks due to their loans and appoint those banks to be its agents and make loanit on their standing as security. The government supervises this bank generally in the same manner as it supervises the Bank of J 4. The Agricultural and Industrial This bank has been established in each pre fecture, in accordance with the Law of the Agricultural and Industrial Banks. It has the same object of business as the Hypothec Bank of Japan, only on a smaller scale. At the end of 1915 the number of the Agricultural and In dustrial banks in Japan was 46, having a total registered capital of ($22,547,500 paid up), and reserves amounting to $13,532,279.
Its line of business is, on the whole, the same as that of the Hypothec Bank of Japan. But they are different in that the Agricultural and Industrial Bank is allowed to make loans re payable in yearly instalments extending over only 30 years, and that the maximum of de bentures to be issued is only five times its paid-up capital. The government supervision over the bank is similar to that over the Hy pothec Bank, except that in this bank the ap pointment of directors is solely entrusted to election by a general meeting of shareholders.
5. The Bank of Formosa.—This is a colo nial bank especially organized for the exploita tion of Formosa. At the end of 1915 it had a registered capital amounting to $4,000,000 ($6, 250,000 paid up), and reserves amounting to $2,075,000. It engages in a general banking business and owns the privilege to issue bank notes convertible into gold coin. The issue is conducted in a manner generally similar to that of the Bank of Japan. The method and degree of the government supervision over this bank is on the whole similar to that over the Bank of Japan.
6. The Hokkaido Colonial Bank.— The ob ject of this bank is to supply funds for the work of colonization of Hoklmido. At the end of 1915 it had a capital amounting to $2,500,000 fully paid up, and reserves amounting to $780, 850. Its business consists essentially of making loans for long terms on security of immovable property. yt is also allowed to make loans on security of local produce and of shares and de bentures, discount bills, take up debentures of i the companies whose object is to colonize the Island, engage in exchange business and re ceive deposits fixed or on current account. The bank may issue debentures to the extent of five times its paid-up capital. The government supervision is conducted in a similar manner to that over the Agricultural and Industrial banks.
7. The Industrial Bank of Japan.— This bank can be aptly called a bank of movable property. At the end of 1915 it had a regis tered capital amounting to $8,750,000 ( .:.900, 000 paid up), and reserves amounting to $962, 500. Its business consists in subscribing or taking up public and local loan bond and de bentures, ,making loans on security of • these bonds or shares, or of corporations established in accordance with laws relating to mines, fac tories and railways, in receiving deposits, safe keeping and trust business relating to mort gage debentures, etc. The bank can issue de bentures aggregating not more than 10 times its paid-up capital. The method and extent of the government supervision over this bank are similar to that over the Hypothec Bank of Japan.