Business NEWS photo Stuart Devis A CUP of coffee never tasted so good. Dean Singh entered a contest at Capilano Mall’s Mmmarvelous Mmmuffins and walked away with a cool $50. Singh’s name was drawn after he entered the muffin shop's recent promoticn contest. SHELL PROGRAM W. Van teacher studies energy WEST VANCOUVER science teacher Jerry Stewart has joined 26 other teachers from across Canada in spending his summer learning about energy. Stewart was part of the select group chosen from a field of 150 Canadian educators. During July, the teachers took part in the Shell Merit Fellowship Institute in Energy/ Environment Education. . Underwritten by Shell Canada Limited, the institute is a joint venture of the University of Calgary and the Society, En- vironment and Energy Develop- ment Studies (SEEDS) Founda- tion, a Canadian organization founded 10 years ago to develop energy/environment classroom materials for all ages. Stewart, a recipient of the Shell Merit Fellowship, has taught science in West Vancouver for [1 years. He obtained a BSc in geology from the University of Puget See Shell NEW TELEPHONE NUMBERS Capilano College has a NEW TELEPHONE SYSTEM and many NEW DIRECT IN DIAL TELEPHONE NUMBERS. a Here are the DIRECT IN DIAL TELEPHONE NUMBERS for the mare _ FREQUENTLY CALLED DEPARTMENTS AND SERVICES. i Registrar - Recorded Information : + Admissions......... + Students. Records. B Advising Centre Hot Line....... R, Extension Sarvices ONLY - General information 11 a.m. to 4:30 fe Bookstore .. mM Purchasing..... tau fm Personnel.. a an - Registration by Credit Card...... £ - Course Status {24 hours) sede e ene eee sees 986-5143 # +» 984-4901 +984-4920 see. s 984-4972 984-4929 . 984-4963 986-911 If, during normal business hours, you experience difficulty when telephoning college departments or services, please call 984-4963 to report your problem. PEOPLE TALK about the size and strength of Ca- nadian chartered banks, but who owns them? The Bank Act ensures that bank shares are widely held by prohibiting anyone from owning more than 10 per cent of a domestic bank. Shares of the Canadian domestic, or the Schedule A.” banks are traded on the major stock exchanges and are owned by some 270,000 shareholders, 95 per cent of them reside in Canada. In addition, many thousands of others have an in- direct interest in bank shares through pension funds, mutual funds, estate trusts and so on, which own bank shares. . The domestic banks are corporations owned by large numbers of shareholders who have invested their money in the expectation of receiving a share of the profits in the form of dividends. In this report, a bank is like any other corporation, the profits being the property of the shareholders, In pra.ice, some of the profits are paid out as dividends, and the remainder is retained in the bank to finance future growth, A bank’s revenue comes from interest paid on loans and. securities, foreign exchange commissions, divi- dends and payment for other services. The largest single expense is the interest that the bank pays on the funds entrusted to it by depositors. Other major expenses include salaries, property ex- 39 - Wednesday, August 20, 1986 - North Shore News Penses, various federal and provincial taxes, and in- terest on the many instruments that the bank issues from time to time to raise capital. In additien, allowances must be made for possible losses on securities and on loans which are not repaid. Because of their absolute size, bank profits appear to be large to some observers. But banking is a high- volume business, with the banks serving thousands of customers each day. Because of the many expenses that the banks incur in their business, profit margins are low. A good in- dicator of profitability for banks and other financial institutions is return on assets. Since 90 per cent of bank assets are loans, this is a reliable indicator of how much the banks have carned on their business. On average for the latest decade, the banks have had a profit of less than $5 cents for every $100 of assets employed. As with other corporations, a board of directors establishes and administers general policy and super- Vises management on the shareholders’ behalf. Day- to-day management is the responsibility of profes- sional bankers. Directors are elected periodically by shareholders and each brings to his or her bank detailed knowledge ef a particular industry of region. Boards meet fre- quently and there are also meetings of groups of directors in regions of the country away from head office.