《The Economist》《经济学人》中文版 2009年04月

American banks 美国银行Payback time还债赎身

Apr 16th 2009 200年4月16日From The Economist print edition 摘自《经济学人》印刷版Goldman Sachs and other banks want to pay back bail-out cash. But the banking system is not in the clear yet

高盛投资公司及其它一些银行希望偿还政府救济资金。但银行业并非已脱离困境。

USING taxpayers’ funds to prop up America’s banking system was a necessary evil. So in many ways it is welcome that some banks now want to repay the money. On April 14th, six months after getting $10 billion from the Treasury, Goldman Sachs sold $5 billion of new shares with that in mind.

用纳税人的钱来支持美国的银行业本就是一件迫不得已的事。因此从许多方面来说，现在一些银行希望偿还这些钱是受欢迎的。在四月十四号，即从财政部获取一百亿救济金六个月之后，高盛投资公司抛售了价值五十亿的新股用于还债。

It is easy to see why. Some banks, including Goldman, say that back in October they had enough capital and took part in the bail-out only to show solidarity with the government’s plan. Since then they have been excoriated by Congress and now face restrictions, mainly on pay but also on hiring foreigners, that Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman’s boss, says “limit our ability to compete”. Meanwhile banks’ shares have soared on optimism about their profits. Goldman says that repayment is a “duty”. But who wants to rely on livid voters and banker-bashing politicians when private cash is available?

其中缘由显而易见。一些银行（包括高盛）称，早在十月份他们就有充足的资金而参加政府救助计划只是为了声援政府救市方案。自那以后他们就一直受到国会非难而如今还要面临诸多限制。这些限制除薪酬问题外还包括聘用外籍员工方面。正如高盛老板劳埃德.布兰克费恩说，“那将限制我们的竞争力”.同时银行的股票已出现上涨，他们对利润收益颇为乐观。高盛称还债是“义务”。想想，当有私人资金可以利用时谁还想依靠满脸愠色的选民和欺压银行的政客？

The principles for letting a bank repay bail-out cash are clear. Its capital position must remain strong: capable of at least maintaining its lending book, absorbing shocks, and commanding enough confidence to allow borrowing without state guarantees. It should repay taxpayers by selling new shares or retaining profits. For a bank to boost capital by withdrawing credit or exiting important business lines would be counterproductive. It must have healthy profits and sane risk and pay policies. European banks, such as HSBC, that have got there without state support have rightly been applauded.

能让一家银行有能力偿还救济资金的条件很明显。那便是它的资本状况务必尚需雄厚：至少有能力维持放贷、缓解冲击及有足够的信心无需国家担保获得借款。银行务必通过出售新股或保住盈利来偿还纳税人的钱。而如果银行靠降低信誉或取消重要业务来募集资金的话只会适得其反。银行务必要有相当的利润及健全的风险和薪资政策。欧洲银行，如汇丰银行，就没向国家寻求支持而被连连称赞。

Does Goldman pass these tests too? Although it has just reported bumper earnings (see article), their quality was mixed, and relied too much on volatile trading. It has a slug of hard-to-value assets and its borrowing costs have yet to return to normal; it is still using the government’s debt-guarantee scheme. But its regulatory capital ratios are solid, half as strong again as those of America’s ten biggest banks overall. When the Treasury completes its stress tests to evaluate the largest banks soon, Goldman should pass with flying colors.

高盛能经得起这些考验吗？虽然据最新报道高盛获得了不错收益（见全文）,但这些收益的质量参差不齐，过多依赖于不稳定交易。高盛拥有小部分难估价资产并且它的借款费用又回到了原样；高盛仍沿用政府的债务担保方案。但是它的法定资本比率高，相当于美国前十大银行总体比率的二分之一。一等财政部完成对十大银行评估的压力测试，高盛将胜利通过。

No bank is an island 没有哪家银行能独善其身

Yet the crisis has shown that banks do not exist in isolation. Some say that by letting lenders repay the state, those unable to do so would face runs on their shares and junior debt. This cannot be made the sole consideration—the banking system should not walk at the pace of its weakest members. However there is still