Sir Otto Ernst Niemeyer,
GBE,
KCB (1883-1971) was financial controller at the
Treasury and a director at the
Bank of England. He was also treasurer of the
National Association of Mental Health (UK) post World War II. His niece, Mary Applebey, was General Secretary of the association.
In July 1930, during
Australia's Great Depression, he travelled to
Melbourne to advise
James Scullin's government. There, he devised the 'Niemeyer statement', a monthly statement of
commonwealth government financial transactions. He was Chairman of the
Bank for International Settlements between 1937 and 1940.
Journey to Australia
Australia had accrued substantial debt, mainly from Britain's independent banking sector, by the late 1920s - party as a result of Prime Minister
Bruce's"Men, Money, Markets" economic strategy, and partly because of the large war debt established during
World War I. Following the
Wall Street Crash, the
United States called in many of its
World War I loans, including many from the UK, which, in turn called in its own loans from Australia. Australia had accumulated such massive debt that it was unable to repay even the interest on its loans. In order to avert total bankruptcy, Australia asked Britain for a deferment of payment on its war debts. To determine whether or not this was a viable financial option, the British banks sent Niemeyer to give an assessment of Australia and its financial situation.
However Niemeyer's report was less than positive. He was...
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