2021年经济学人 银行现在盆丰钵满?(2)

This bonanza¹ is a victory for those who spent the past decade attempting to make banks safer. In the past investment-bank earnings² were more tied to the economy, thanks to fat portfolios³ of assets like mortgage-backed securities. Now banks must hold so much capital against volatile⁴ assets that they do not bother. When markets whipsawed last year they earned the upside (bumper trading revenues) without the downside (losses on volatile assets).

对于那些在过去10年里试图让银行变得更安全的人来说，这一大笔财富是一个胜利。过去，由于抵押贷款支持证券等资产组合丰厚，投资银行的收益更多地与经济挂钩。现在，银行必须为不稳定资产持有如此之多的资本，以至于他们都懒得费心了。去年，当市场剧烈震荡时，他们获得了上行(丰厚的交易收入)而没有下跌(波动性资产的损失)。

But this earnings season has also revealed how sensible rules can go awry⁵ in bizarre times. Banks are usually keen to amass⁶ customer deposits. They are cheap sources of funding; the more deposits a bank holds, the more it can lend. Over the past year, monetary⁷ easing by the Federal Reserve has injected vast amounts of cash into the banking⁸ system and led deposits to balloon. In 2020 an additional $580bn or so piled up at JPMorgan, and $360bn at Bank of America. On one earnings call an analyst⁹ called these deposit mountains an "embarrassment¹⁰ of money for the industry".

但这个财报季也揭示出，合理的规则在奇怪的时候可能会出差错。银行通常热衷于积累客户存款。它们是廉价的资金来源，银行持有的存款越多，它能放的贷也就越多。过去一年，美国联邦储备委员会放松货币政策，向银行体系注入了大量现金，导致存款激增。到2020年，摩根大通和美国银行分别又累积了约5800亿美元和3600亿美元。在一次收益电话会议上，一位分析师称这些巨额存款“令整个行业感到尴尬”。

Yet post-financial-crisis rules make this cash pile a problem, not a victory. Big banks face high capital requirements if they grow too large. The penalties would be worthwhile if there were enough profitable opportunities. But loan demand has been low. System-wide loan-to-deposit ratios have plummeted¹¹, from 94% in 2008 to 64% last year. The result is that some banks are attempting to shoo away deposits. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan's boss, told investors¹² that the bank had asked some of its big corporate¹³ customers to move their cash, reducing the deposit base by $200bn. The firm may "shy away from taking new deposits", said Jennifer Piepszak, its chief financial officer. The covid-19 crisis has shown the resilience of the financial system. But it has also revealed its oddities.

然而，金融危机后的规则让这些现金成为了一个问题，而不是胜利。如果大银行发展得太大，它们将面临很高的资本要求。如果有足够多的盈利机会，这些惩罚是值得的。但贷款需求一直很低。整个系统的贷存比大幅下降，从2008年的94%降至去年的64%。其结果是，一些银行正试图赶走存款。摩根大通老板杰米·戴蒙告诉投资者，该行已要求一些大企业客户转移现金，使存款基础减少2000亿美元。该公司的首席财务官詹尼弗·彼得扎克说，该公司可能“回避接受新的存款”。新冠危机显示了金融体系的韧性，但也暴露了它的奇怪之处。

1 bonanza   

n.富矿带，幸运，带来好运的事

参考例句：

• Bargain hunters enjoyed a real bonanza today.到处买便宜货的人今天真是交了好运。
• What a bonanza for the winning ticket holders!对于手持胜券的人来说，这是多好的运气啊。

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 portfolios   

n.投资组合( portfolio的名词复数 )；（保险）业务量；（公司或机构提供的）系列产品；纸夹

参考例句：

• Price risk arises in non-trading portfolios, as well as in trading portfolios. 价格风险中出现的非贸易投资，以及在贸易投资组合。 来自互联网
• How do we fatten our portfolios and stay financially healthy? 我们怎样育肥我们的投资结构和维持财政健康呢？ 来自互联网

4 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

5 awry   

adj.扭曲的，错的

参考例句：

• She was in a fury over a plan that had gone awry. 计划出了问题，她很愤怒。
• Something has gone awry in our plans.我们的计划出差错了。

6 amass   

vt.积累，积聚

参考例句：

• How had he amassed his fortune?他是如何积累财富的呢？
• The capitalists amass great wealth by exploiting workers.资本家剥削工人而积累了巨额财富。

7 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

8 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。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

11 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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

13 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。