Again, we have seen that some customers arrange that their rate shall be either Bank rate or ½ above it, as the case may be. Suppose that the Bank rate on the 22nd April were raised from 3 to 3½ per cent., and that it had stood at 3 from 31st December. The customer, who has agreed to pay his banker ½ above Bank rate, will then owe 3½ per cent. per annum on the sum or sums he has borrowed from 31st December to 22nd April. Applying this hypothesis to the account under review, we rule a line beneath the figures 6,160 in “total” column, and add up the column, which comes to 30,600. From 31st December (exclusive) to 22nd April (inclusive) there are 112 days (see page 59), and, as the figures in the days’ column give the same result, we know that they are correct. The customer, then, owes his banker one day’s interest at 3½ per cent. per annum upon £30,600. At each change of the Bank rate this process must be repeated; so instead of having one rule-of-three sum to work out, as in our illustration, there may perhaps be four or five of them. Should the fortunate possessor of a large creditor account have arranged with his banker that he is to receive 1½ per cent. _below_ Bank rate on his daily credit balances, then assuming that the balances on our form were creditor, the banker would owe 1½ per cent. per annum on £30,600 for one day. The customer, when calculating the amount due to him, would proceed in the same manner as indicated above, and he might remember that, in arriving at the number of days from one change of the Bank rate to another, he excludes the day from which he calculates and includes the date to which he calculates. The rest is easy. CHAPTER X BILLS, COUPONS, FOREIGN DRAFTS, ETC. Discounted Bills. The city-article of every morning paper contains a list of market discounts from which one can see at what rates the bill-brokers and discount-houses are taking the various classes of bills. Bank-bills would be paper either accepted or indorsed by the banks; and fine trade-bills or best trade-bills would be the acceptances of those firms whose credit is so good that the question of their paper not being paid at maturity is practically never considered. As the credit of the banks ranks highest it follows that bank-bills can be discounted at the finest rates. Again, less risk is run on a three months’ bill than upon one for four or six months. In other words, the position of an acceptor is less liable to change in three months than in six, therefore short bills are in greater favour; consequently, the rate upon a six months’ bill, other considerations being equal, will be higher than that upon one which has three months to run, though the difference, of course, will only be a fractional one.