经济学人:信贷紧缩侵蚀欧洲 银行业查漏补缺更待何时?

 　　Non-bank finance in Europe

　　欧洲非银行金融机构

　　Embracing the alternatives

　　采用新方法

　　Banks are changing. That means other providers of capital must step forward, especially in Europe

　　银行有变，资本家须出手，尤其是向欧洲

　　Fixing one problem often creates another. The financial crisis has produced a wave of regulation to make the banking¹ system safer. Banks are being required to hold more capital. They are being pushed out of riskier² areas of activity. This week regulators in America and Britain gave more details of plans to impose losses on bank bondholders to spare taxpayers³ the cost of resolving failing lenders (see article). Such reforms are needed. Banks must be better cushioned against losses and it must be possible for them to fail.

　　左支右绌的事时常发生。在本次金融危机的影响下，为增强银行体系安定性，银行业监管开始受到重视。银行需要提高其资本持有量，并远离金融海啸的高危地带。本周，英美两国的银行监管当局为避免让其纳税人来承担不良债务，就提高银行债券持有人的损失负担一事，进一步交流了该计划的细节问题。此举必不可少。一方面，对银行应增加保护力度以免遭亏损；而另一方面，也须置银行于破产的风险之中。

　　But refashioning the banks carries a cost. By making it more expensive to fund assets, both because of higher capital charges and because bondholders will bear more risk in future, the new rules are forcing lenders to be pickier. European banks are under particular pressure. They are huge, accounting⁴ for most lending (compared with 25-30% in America’s more diverse system). The Europeans are more reliant on flighty wholesale⁵ funding. Before the crisis, they financed a lot of long-term assets such as infrastructure⁶. That has to change: funding such holdings with short-term debt is frowned on, and long-term bank debt is hard to come by. The IMF said in October that European banks could end up shedding assets worth $2.8 trillion. Beyond such enormous numbers, the simple reality is that many borrowers can no longer rely on the banks.

　　但此般银行改革也会引起成本。在新的监管规则下，资本费用将会增加，债权人的未来风险也将提高，因而抬高基金资产的价格。其结果，银行借贷者在挑选银行时不得不更为挑剔。而欧洲银行面临的压力尤为巨大。这些银行规模庞大，占欧洲借贷业务的多数（相比之下美国借贷体系更为分散，银行借贷仅占全部的25-30%）。欧洲对于变化无常的批发性融资依赖较大。本次金融危机前，融资项目包括大量基础设施等长期资产。而现在这一结构需要改变，含短期债务的资产融资无法通过的话，长期银行债务也难以获得。国际货币基金组织（IMF）在10月份表示，欧洲银行最终将以丧失2.8万亿美元的资产收场。除了这一巨大亏损之外，众多人无法再依靠银行借贷。

　　For companies with an investment-grade rating or a big brand name, there is an obvious alternative. The bond markets are hoovering up corporate⁷ debt in enormous quantities, in part because investors⁸ are desperate for a yield of any kind in an environment of ultra-low interest rates. This year is likely to be the first in which non-financial firms in Europe will have issued more debt than financial ones.

　　而那些被评为投资等级或驰名中外的企业，显然有其他对策。债券市场正在大量吸收债务，其部分原因是投资者急需在极低利率的投资环境下取得回报。今年，欧洲非金融企业可能首次比金融部门发行更多债券。

　　The capital markets are not for every borrower, however. That opens the door to other providers of non-bank finance. At one end of the spectrum⁹ peer-to-peer lenders are experimenting with entirely¹⁰ new forms of finance in which individual savers and borrowers are matched in an electronic marketplace. At the other the world’s biggest insurers and asset managers are building up their credit-analysis capabilities¹¹ so that they can lend money directly to mid-market companies, property developments, infrastructure schemes and the like. The banks are often partners in this process, originating debt and then passing it on to institutional investors.

　　然而，资本市场并非适合所有借贷者。该市场还面向银行以外的资本家。其中一端发生在电子化市场中的存款个体与贷款个体之间，两者相互配对形成全信的借贷模式，为P2P借贷人所尝试。而另一端则由世界领头的保险公司和资产管理公司建立起自己的信用分析能力，借此直接向中型企业、房地产开发、基础设施建设等项目进行出资。而银行常充当其中的合伙人，推动贷款并将资本流向机构投资者。

　　Light, not shade

　　光非影

　　The idea that more funding activity will pass from the banks to non-banks makes many people queasy¹². One lesson of the financial crisis was that systemic risks can build up outside the formal banking sector¹³: think of AIG’s catastrophic derivatives¹⁴ bet. The term “shadow banking” is often used to conjure¹⁵ up this dark world. And anxiety is warranted when the non-banks ape the banks in taking on lots of leverage¹⁶, or in using short-term liabilities to fund longer-term assets. This newspaper would like to see much tougher regulation of American money-market funds, for example, which promise to pay all their investors all their money back the moment they ask for it.

　　越来越多的借贷活动将从银行转向非银行机构，这使人们一想到就深感感不适。金融危机教会了人们，在正规银行部门之外，系统风险也会不断积累，美国国际集团（AIG）当初押注于金融衍生品上而引发灾难一事历历在目。“影子银行”一词常用以联系至这些阴暗面。而非银行机构效仿起银行，动用各种金融杠杆，或以短期债务资助长期资产，以此打消人们的担忧。例如，本刊希望美国加强金融市场监管，以承诺投资者随时可回收全部资本。

　　But plenty of non-bank finance is benign¹⁷. Insurers and pension funds, for example, have long-term liabilities (such as annuities¹⁸ and pension payments) that make them ideal candidates to invest in longer-term assets like project finance. Peer-to-peer platforms do not use leverage. Private-debt funds lock their investors in for a defined period, which reduces the risk of a run. Firms can put the piles of cash on their balance-sheets to good use by offering finance to their suppliers. And having diversity of supply is a good thing in itself. In America’s financial system risk is spread among many more sorts of lenders, and borrowers can call on a large base of credit-savvy institutional investors.

　　但非银行机构的数量增多有益无害。例如，保险公司和养老基金通过长期借贷（年金或养老金等），而成为项目贷款等长期资产的理想投资者。P2P平台无需使用金融杠杆。私人贷款基金会绑定投资者一段时间，以降低临时撤资的风险。企业则可向其供应商贷款，以此有效利用资产负债表上大额现金。同时，分化供应商本身就比较有利。在美国，金融系统风险就分担到了各个投资者身上，而借贷者则有众多信誉良好的机构投资者可供选择。

　　Given the credit squeeze now afflicting¹⁹ Europe, it would be desirable to speed up the emergence²⁰ of the good sort of non-bank finance. Europe’s regulators can help this happen. There is a strong case for allowing UCITS investment funds (Europe’s equivalent of mutual²¹ funds) to be able to hold loans, for instance. Resolving the uncertainty²² over new capital rules for European insurers known as Solvency²³ 2 would hasten investment in things like infrastructure.

　　鉴于目前信贷紧缩正在侵蚀欧洲，推动优良的非银行金融发展将比较有利。欧洲各国的银行当局可推波助澜。允许有“欧洲版共同基金”之称的法国证券投资基金业（UCITS）持有贷款就是有力的一例。欧洲保险业在资本运作上已采用新规则，对于其中的不确定因素予以解决的“欧盟偿付能力II”（Solvency 2）将加快基础设施等方面的投资。

　　Replacing the hole left by the banks is bound to be a gradual process. It must not be glacial.

　　银行业查漏补缺注定是一个漫长的过程，但绝不会止步不前。

1 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

2 riskier   

冒险的，危险的( risky的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Now they are starting to demand higher returns on riskier assets. 而今他们开始在风险更高的资产上要求更高的回报。
• The problem with that: RIM's business is getting riskier every quarter. 不过问题也随之而来：RIM面临的业务风险正逐季增大。

3 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

4 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

5 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

8 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

9 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

10 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

11 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 queasy   

adj.易呕的

参考例句：

• I felt a little queasy on the ship.我在船上觉得有点晕眩想呕吐。
• He was very prone to seasickness and already felt queasy.他快晕船了，已经感到恶心了。

13 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

14 derivatives   

n.衍生性金融商品；派生物，引出物( derivative的名词复数 )；导数

参考例句：

• Many English words are derivatives of Latin words. 许多英语词来自拉丁语。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These compounds are nitrosohydroxylamine derivatives. 这类合成物是亚硝基羟胺衍生物。 来自辞典例句

15 conjure   

v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法

参考例句：

• I conjure you not to betray me.我恳求你不要背弃我。
• I can't simply conjure up the money out of thin air.我是不能像变魔术似的把钱变来。

16 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

17 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

18 annuities   

n.养老金；年金( annuity的名词复数 )；（每年的）养老金；年金保险；年金保险投资

参考例句：

• Many companies in this country grant their old employees annuities after they retire. 这个国家的许多公司在老年雇员退休后发给他们养老年金。 来自辞典例句
• Can I interest you in one of our Easter Annuities or IRA accounts? 您对我们的复活节年金保险或者个人退休金帐户有兴趣吗？ 来自电影对白

19 afflicting   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• Violent crime is only one of the maladies afflicting modern society. 暴力犯罪仅仅是困扰现代社会的严重问题之一。
• Violent crime is only one of the maladies afflicting modern society. 暴力犯罪仅仅是危害社会的弊病之一。

20 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

21 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

22 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

23 solvency   

n.偿付能力，溶解力

参考例句：

• Fears about the solvency of the banks precipitated the great economic crash.对银行偿付能力出现恐慌更加速了经济的崩溃。
• Their targets,including profitability ratios,solvency ratios,asset management ratios.其指标包括盈利比率、偿债能力比率、资产管理比率。