美国国家公共电台 NPR--Customer deposits of more than $250,000 at 2 failed banks will be guaranteed

Customer deposits of more than $250,000 at 2 failed banks will be guaranteed

Transcript¹

The federal government's decision to rescue customer deposits in two failed banks raises questions about exceeding the cap for what's normally insured by the FDIC.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars - that number has become the subject of a heated debate.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

When two banks - Silicon² Valley Bank and Signature Bank - failed, the federal government jumped in to guarantee deposits greater than $250,000 - amounts that aren't normally insured. Was this a bad precedent³ or necessary to keep the financial system stable?

PFEIFFER: Here to walk us through that is NPR's Arezou Rezvani. Hi, Arezou.

AREZOU REZVANI, BYLINE⁴: Hi, Sacha.

PFEIFFER: So tell us how FDIC insurance would normally work.

REZVANI: So for years, $250,000 has been the limit. Anything under that has long been fully⁵ protected by the government's FDIC. Anything over is considered uninsured. Banks pay fees that go toward an insurance fund, and that's what's used to pay people back should a bank go belly⁶ up - again, up to $250,000. Now, there was an exception made over the weekend to go well beyond that limit. The FDIC tapped into that fund - that insurance fund - to pay the customers of the two collapsed⁷ banks back in full, which basically means that those previously⁸ uninsured portions suddenly became guaranteed.

PFEIFFER: And what is the point of the FDIC saying that there are limits to what it will insure when, as we're seeing in this case, it's actually willing to go beyond that?

REZVANI: Well, these limits were designed to keep people from thinking they would always be saved. I talked to Sheila Bair, who ran the FDIC during the 2008 recession. Here's how she put it.

SHEILA BAIR: It's a question of moral hazard. For wealthier people or companies, large organizations, that will have bigger deposits, you want them to look at the bank carefully, kick the tires, make sure it's a safe place.

REZVANI: So the government wants customers to scrutinize⁹ their banking¹⁰ institutions and not get too comfortable with the idea that the government is simply going to intervene every time things go sideways. But regulators argue that they had to make an exception this time because there were signs that panic was spreading, and this was the only way to keep the financial system stable.

PFEIFFER: But, Arezou, now many people are likely to think that they're always going to be saved if their bank fails. So has the FDIC created a precedent here?

REZVANI: Yes, that is the concern. Because of the FDIC's intervention¹¹, if other banks run into trouble in the days or weeks to come, the fear is that there will be greater pressure on the FDIC to step in and save those uninsured deposits as well. This has sparked a huge debate about when to go above and beyond the standard guarantees of $250,000 and for whom? You know, is it the ultra-wealthy? Is it the institutions that cater¹² to a lucrative¹³ industry? Or could it be that it's the opposite? Is our financial system such that any bank nowadays is really too big to fail?

PFEIFFER: And what do we know about whether there are other banks out there also at risk of failing?

REZVANI: Well, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were unique in many ways. They were the banks of choice for tech startups and those in the cryptocurrency space, whereas other banks have a much more diverse clientele. As we know, tech companies have been hurting a lot lately and downsizing. Crypto has, of course, run into major problems in recent months. These tech and crypto companies started pulling their deposits out of these banks at a time when the banks were seeing losses in their investments in government bonds. Those bonds, which are normally safe, lost value to climbing interest rates. And that is what put the banks in a squeeze.

Former Fed officials and regulators I've spoken to, they do wonder if other banks have not properly accounted for interest rate hikes in their investments. Those moves may have been OK a year or two ago. These days, maybe not so much.

PFEIFFER: That's NPR's Arezou Rezvani. Thank you.

REZVANI: You're welcome.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

3 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

7 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 scrutinize   

n.详细检查，细读

参考例句：

• Her purpose was to scrutinize his features to see if he was an honest man.她的目的是通过仔细观察他的相貌以判断他是否诚实。
• She leaned forward to scrutinize their faces.她探身向前，端详他们的面容。

10 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。

11 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

12 cater   

vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务

参考例句：

• I expect he will be able to cater for your particular needs.我预计他能满足你的特殊需要。
• Most schools cater for children of different abilities.大多数学校能够满足具有不同天资的儿童的需要。

13 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。