been deposited on the same conditions as thoseL prevailing in
savings banks, i.e. subject to notice in advance. The paid up
capital, the reserve fund, and the guarantee fund of the banks
based on shares at the end of 1897 were kr. 32,207,000, their
deposits kr. 178,771,000, and their loans granted against notes,
«vexelobligationer», etc., kr. 125,389,000.
Of the deposits there remained on account current kr. 13,732,000
and on other accounts kr. 165,039,000, the latter amount chiefly
consisting of money deposited on the conditions peculiar to savings
banks.
The rate of discount in Kristiania, during the 10 years 1889
—1898, has been on an average, 4.35 °/o. INSURANCE
Th e first Norwegian fire insurance company, the «Kristiania
brandassuraneekasse», was'formed in 1752', but had already
ended its labours in 1827. In 1767, the government, in addition
to this, established a mutual company"‘f i * De norske kjebstæders
almindelige brandforsikring», in which all town householders were
obliged to insure. In Kristiania, however, the householders might
also employ the lo.cal company. In thé country there was no
compulsory insurance ; and it was done away with in the towns in
1845, when «Landets almindelige brandforsikringsindretning for
bygninger» (the General National Institution for the Insurance
of Buildings against Fire) was divided into two, one division for
the towns, and one for the rural districts.
This institution, which is under government management, and
is wholly mutual, has taken over most of the building insurance
of the country, and at the end of 1898, its liabilities amounted to
1094 million kroner, of which 736 million were in the town division.
Besides this large institution, there have been, since 1838,
when «Det norske brandassuranceselskab paa varer og effekter»
(the Norwegian Company for the Insurance of Goods and Chattels
against Fire) —; the first Norwegian company for the insurance of
movable property was founded in Bergen, a small number of
Norwegian joint-stock insurance companies (at the close of 1898,
9 with a paid-up capital of about 5,640,000 kroner, and liabilities
to the amount of more than 600 million kroner), and in the rural
districts a large number of small mutual fire insurance companies
(in 1895,172 companies with total liabilities amounting to 301 million
kroner, of which about § is on buildings, and the remainder on