美国国家公共电台 NPR--Has JPMorgan Chase grown too large? A former White House economic adviser weighs in

Has JPMorgan Chase grown too large? A former White House economic adviser¹ weighs in

Transcript²

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) says the government might want to reconsider the size of the bank accounts it insures. Accounts are currently insured up to $250,000.

The FDIC suggests a larger limit for certain business accounts might have advantages. The recommendation comes after First Republic Bank collapsed³ this weekend. The bank had a large share of uninsured deposits, which can worsen bank runs. All the bank's deposits, and most of its assets, were sold to JPMorgan Chase. This transaction required a regulatory waiver as JPMorgan Chase already controls more than 10% of all U.S. insured deposits, a limit set by law for any bank merger⁴.

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Tomas Philipson, former acting⁵ chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers⁶, about the risks of JPMorgan Chase becoming even bigger after it took over First Republic Bank.

The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity and length.

I think the problem is that we are getting these too big to fail policies are essentially⁷ increasing concentration in the banking⁸ sector⁹. And that's what people worry about, because that ultimately leads to lower deposit rates and higher interest rates on loans, etc.

I think FDIC, when they get into a situation when they're bailing¹⁰ out a bank like First Republic, they're looking at their costs a century in the future and they try to minimize those. So, it's an additional bias¹¹ that they have for big players. JPMorgan is by far the largest bank in the country. It's 2.4 trillion in deposits and this is just a 3% add to their deposits of taking on First Republic.

On what it means for consumers when a bank gets this large

In any industry, when you have a lot of concentration, you have less price competition. Less price competition in the banking sector means lower deposit rates for deposits you make to them and higher rates on the interest rates that they lend out at.

On how to stop banks from failing

You can't have a fail-free banking system that's not good for competition. So I think, you know, the poor people in, you know, in the economy are protected by the FDIC. If you have less than a quarter million in deposits or cash at a bank with which, you know, covers a large share of the population, you are protected by your deposits being insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. So the question is, are you going to have a system where the rich people are also covered by regulation.

1 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

2 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。

3 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。

4 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

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 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。

10 bailing   

（凿井时用吊桶）排水

参考例句：

• Both fountains were going furiously and both pumps bailing with might and main. 两个人的口水只管喷泉似地朝外涌，两个抽水机全力以赴往外抽水。
• The mechanical sand-bailing technology makes sand-washing operation more efficient. 介绍了机械捞砂的结构装置及工作原理，提出了现场操作注意事项。

11 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。