A congressional overseer of the U.S. government's efforts to rescue the financial system said a massive infusion of federal funds intended to ease a severe credit crunch has only partially succeeded, with many ailing banks using the money to survive rather than making new loans to businesses and consumers.
美国国会负责监管联邦救助金融系统工作的一名议员说，联邦政府向金融系统注入大规模资金用来缓解信贷危机的努力，只取得了部分成功，许多有问题的银行仅仅是利用这些资金来维持生存，而不是将这些钱贷出去给企业或是消费者。
During last year's financial meltdown, the Bush administration argued that government action was required to combat tight credit conditions that were choking the U.S. economy. Officials like former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson insisted back then that the nation's banking sector was vibrant and healthy, despite a lack of lending.
在去年的金融危机中，布什政府表示，政府必须采取行动来解决信贷紧缩问题，因为信贷紧缩已经阻碍了美国经济的发展。前财政部长保尔森等官员当时坚持认为，尽管缺乏信贷，美国的银行体系仍然充满活力，非常健康。
"Our financial institutions are strong. Our banks are strong. They are going to be strong for many, many years," he said at the time.
他说：“我们的金融机构很稳固， 我们的银行很稳固，在今后很多、很多年的时间里，他们都将是健壮的。”
But that assertion proved wrong, according to Congressional Oversight Panel chairperson Elizabeth Warren, who said that hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds did more to prop up struggling banks than ease credit conditions.
但是，在国会监督小组主席伊丽莎白.沃伦的眼中，这种看法已经被证明是错误的。她说，数千亿美元的联邦资金更多地被用来支撑步履维艰的银行本身，而不是用来缓解信贷状况。
"In fact, the banks were not healthy. And when we stuffed this money into them, they just held on to it. And they held on to it, many of them, just as reserves," he said.
她说：“实际上，这些银行并不健康。我们把钱塞给他们，他们只是紧紧抓住这些钱。他们抓住这些钱，很多银行把这笔钱当成储备资金。”
Warren was speaking on CBS's "Early Show".
沃伦是在哥伦比亚广播公司“晨间秀”采访时说这番话的。
Tuesday, the Treasury Department announced it will allow 10 of America's largest banks to repay a total of $68 billion in emergency government aid. President Barack Obama welcomed the news as a sign of progress in reviving America's financial sector.
美国财政部已经宣布，允许美国10家大银行退还680亿美元的政府紧急援助资金。奥巴马总统对这一消息表示欢迎，并且说这标志着重振美国金融系统的工作取得了进展。
But Elizabeth Warren said the true health of American lending institutions is hard to judge, because of flaws in so-called "stress tests" the government administered to banks earlier this year. The tests were designed to gauge the ability of major banks to withstand further economic shock.
但是，沃伦说，现在还很难判断美国银行系统真正的健康状况，因为政府今年早些时候进行的“压力测试”本身有问题。“压力测试”的目的是评估大银行是否有能力抵御未来的经济震荡。
Testifying on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Warren noted that, at 9.4%, the current U.S. unemployment rate already exceeds the rate that was assumed as a worst-case scenario for the stress tests.
沃伦在国会作证时表示，美国目前9.4%的失业率已经超出了“压力测试”所假定的最糟糕的境况。
"Let's face it. The [economic] numbers are bad and they have headed in the wrong direction. This is a real concern: that the worst-case scenario right here in 2009 is, in fact, not the worst case. And that we are going to see worse numbers than that," he added.
她说：“让我们面对现实吧。经济数据糟糕，并且仍在朝错误的方向发展。我们真正担心的是：假定的2009年最糟糕的状况不是最糟的，我们还将看到比这个更加糟糕的状况出现。”
Warren also criticized the stress tests for gauging banks' health through the end of 2010. She argued that America's real estate woes -- particularly in the commercial sector -- could extend well beyond that date and harm banks for years to come.
压力测试所衡量的是这些银行直到2010年底之前的健康状况，沃伦对此也提出批评。她指出，美国房地产市场的困境，特别是在商业领域，将远远超过2010年的既定期限，很有可能在未来很多年对银行造成损害。
But others have argued that the essential factor when it comes to boosting stability in the banking sector cannot be measured by statistics or economic formulations. Bank analyst Richard Bove of Rochdale Securities:
但是，另有一些人认为，加强银行稳定性的根本因素并不能通过统计数据或是经济公式来衡量。罗彻代尔证券公司的银行业分析师理查德.博韦说：
"The key issue is: do we have confidence in the banking system? And I think confidence is back," he noted.
“关键的问题是： 我们是否对银行系统有信心？我认为，信心已经回来了。”
Ten of 19 U.S. banks subjected to stress tests were deemed undercapitalized and ordered to raise a total of $75 billion. Most have either met their targets or are close to doing so.
在接受压力测试的19家银行中，有10家被认为资本金不足，总共需要筹集750亿美元。目前，大部分银行已经达到了标准或是接近达标。 |