2016年经济学人 德意志银行深陷经济漩涡 总裁们手足无措(上)

 

Deutsche Bank

德意志银行

Two’s company

两人成伴

Hard questions loom¹ for the new bosses of Germany’s national banking² champion

德国最大银行的新总裁们面临着隐隐出现的棘手问题

Dual³ passports

双重护照

IN THE entrance to Deutsche Bank’s London office is a giant silver ball with a hole in the middle that offers an inverted⁴ reflection of the viewer and bank. The sculpture, which is called “Turning the World Upside Down III”, is a fitting metaphor⁵ for the changes sweeping⁶ the banking industry. Deutsche itself has had a good crisis, eschewing⁷ direct help from the German government and rebuilding its balance-sheet to regain⁸ its place as the biggest bank in Europe by total assets. Yet its world is turning upside down, too.

德意志银行伦敦分行的入口处有一巨型银球，球中有洞，窥洞中可见观者与德行的倒影。这尊名为“颠倒世界III”的雕塑对于席卷银行业的变革浪潮是一个贴切的暗喻。德意志银行独善其身，很好的度过了危机，他们避开德国政府的直接援助，重建自己的资产负债表，欲借资产总额重归欧洲最大银行之席。然而，德行的世界也正发生着翻天剧变。

The most obvious upheaval⁹ is in the executive suite¹⁰. On June 1st two new co-chief executives, Jürgen Fitschen and Anshu Jain, will take over from Josef Ackermann, who has run the bank for a decade. Mr Fitschen, the boss of Deutsche’s German operations, is a far less controversial figure than Mr Jain, an Indian-born, American-educated British citizen who has propelled Deutsche’s rise in investment banking. Mr Jain’s elevation¹¹ is a remarkable¹² one in a corporate¹³ culture as crusty as Germany’s: most bosses are either German or native German-speakers from Switzerland or Austria. His appointment has also provoked a backlash from an “old guard” within Deutsche who fear the growing influence of the investment bank, which is based almost entirely¹⁴ in London and is staffed largely by non-Germans.

管理层的剧变尤为明显。新任联合首席执行官安舒·贾恩(Anshu Jain)和尤尔根·菲茨岑(Jürgen Fitschen)将于6月1日走马上任，从执掌德意志银行十年的约瑟夫·阿克曼（Josef Ackermann）的手中接过大权。论争议性人物，德行德国业务主管菲茨岑先生远不如贾恩先生。英国人贾恩先生出生于印度，求学于美国，他一手推动了德意志银行在投资银行中的崛起。德国企业文化素来顽固保守，高层大都以德国人或瑞士、奥地利的德语区人士为主，故贾恩先生的高升着实令人惊叹。这次任命同样也激起了德行内部“保守派”的对抗情绪——德行的投行部几乎完全设立在伦敦，员工多为非德裔，投行部日益增大的影响力令“保守派”担忧。

Yet the focus on Mr Jain is a distraction¹⁵. The bank’s biggest task is not to convince investors¹⁶ that it has the right executives in place—big investors and fund mangers see the new team as more shareholder-friendly than the old one. It is to prove that it has enough capital and liquidity¹⁷ to satisfy regulators and that it can adapt its business model to a topsy-turvy landscape.

然而对贾恩先生的关注是件分心事。 依大投资者和基金管理人之见，新领导团对股东比上任要友好的多，因此德行目前的最大任务不是说服投资者，自己选对了领导人选，而是向他们证明，自己有足够的资本和流动资金来满足监管机构的要求，并能在业界一片颠倒混乱的情况下调整自己的业务模式。

1 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

2 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。

3 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

4 inverted   

adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Only direct speech should go inside inverted commas. 只有直接引语应放在引号内。
• Inverted flight is an acrobatic manoeuvre of the plane. 倒飞是飞机的一种特技动作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

6 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

7 eschewing   

v.（尤指为道德或实际理由而）习惯性避开，回避( eschew的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The company sells direct to customers, eschewing distributors, re-sellers, and dealers. 公司直接向客户销售，避开批发商、分销商和经销商。 来自互联网
• That suggests the Taliban forces are eschewing firefights in favour of terrorist-style attacks. 这表明塔利班武装力量正偏向采用恐怖袭击方式以避免交火。 来自互联网

8 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

9 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

10 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

11 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

12 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

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。

14 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。

15 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

16 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

17 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。