美國開始減少對金融業(yè)支持力度

The US is starting to pare back its emergency support for banks and financial markets, its Treasury secretary Tim Geithner declared yesterday, taking the first step towards unwinding policies that have propped up America's battered financial system.

美國財長蒂姆·蓋特納(Tim Geithner)昨日宣布，美國政府已開始削減其對銀行和金融市場的緊急支持力度，從而向收回支持了美國受重創(chuàng)金融體系的各項(xiàng)政策邁出了第一步。

Almost a year to the day since the collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered a panic that tipped the US and much of the world into recession, Mr Geithner said it was time to move from crisis response to recovery.

在雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)倒閉引發(fā)恐慌、進(jìn)而令美國及世界大多數(shù)國家陷入衰退一周年之際，蓋特納表示，從應(yīng)對危機(jī)轉(zhuǎn)向著眼復(fù)蘇的時機(jī)已經(jīng)到來。

Pointing to evidence of a healing in financial markets, which only a few months ago had been paralysed by a retreat from risk and banks' reluctance to lend to each other, Mr Geithner said the US would allow its guarantee for the $2,500bn money market mutual fund industry to expire on schedule later this month.

蓋特納指出，金融市場已出現(xiàn)好轉(zhuǎn)跡象，而就在幾個月前，避險情緒和銀行不愿相互放貸還曾令金融市場處于癱瘓狀態(tài)。蓋特納表示，美國政府將允許其對貨幣市場共同基金的2.5萬億美元擔(dān)保，按原定期限在本月晚些時候失效。

He also backed a review by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that is likely to lead to funding guarantees for banks either ending completely or being restricted to emergency cases.

他還支持美國聯(lián)邦存款保險公司(FDIC)的一項(xiàng)評估。這項(xiàng)評估可能導(dǎo)致政府對各銀行的融資擔(dān)保要么徹底結(jié)束，要么僅在緊急情況下提供。

“As we enter this new phase we must begin winding down some of the extraordinary support we put in place for the financial system,” said Mr Geithner, who said the improvement in markets was in large part due to the actions taken by the Obama administration.

蓋特納表示：“在我們步入這個新階段之際，我們必須開始撤銷過去實(shí)施的一些不尋常的支持金融體系的措施。”他表示，市場的好轉(zhuǎn)在很大程度上要?dú)w功于奧巴馬政府的行動。

The Treasury secretary made no mention of an “exit strategy” from fiscal and monetary stimulus. Instead, he said “we must continue reinforcing recovery until it is self-sustaining and led by private demand” and vowed not to “put on the brakes too early”.

蓋特納沒有提及財政和貨幣政策刺激的“退出策略”，而是表示，“我們必須繼續(xù)強(qiáng)化復(fù)蘇態(tài)勢，直到復(fù)蘇能夠自我維系，并由私人需求帶動。”他誓言不會“過早踩下剎車”。

Nonetheless, the timing of the strategic shift towards pulling back support for financial markets is symbolic. The money fund guarantees were put in place immediately after the Lehman collapse to stop a run on the sector triggered by losses at the Reserve Primary fund, which had invested in Lehman debt.

盡管如此，撤回對金融市場的支持這一戰(zhàn)略調(diào)整的時機(jī)具有象征意義。雷曼倒閉后，美國政府立即啟動了對貨幣市場基金的擔(dān)保，以阻止Reserve Primary fund的虧損在全行業(yè)引發(fā)擠兌。Reserve Primary fund此前投資于雷曼債務(wù)。

Mr Geithner said the flow of government capital into the big US banks had reversed, with banks repaying more than $70bn in emergency bailout funds. “We now estimate that banks will repay another $50bn over the next 12 to 18 months,” he said. He said the size of Federal Reserve emergency loan programmes had greatly diminished, with the Fed's commercial paper funding facility down 87 per cent from its peak, and its cash auction scheme down 57 per cent.

蓋特納表示，政府與美國大型銀行之間的資金流向已經(jīng)逆轉(zhuǎn)，銀行已經(jīng)償還了逾700億美元的緊急紓困資金。他表示：“我們目前估計(jì)，銀行將在未來12到18個月再償還500億美元。”他指出，美聯(lián)儲緊急貸款計(jì)劃的規(guī)模已顯著減小，其中美聯(lián)儲的商業(yè)票據(jù)融資安排額已自峰值下降87%，現(xiàn)金拍賣計(jì)劃規(guī)模也已減小57%。

A senior Treasury official said the administration wanted to “reduce our footprint in various areas of the markets” but did not intend to cut off all support overnight.

美國財政部一名高層官員表示，奧巴馬政府希望“減小我們對市場各個領(lǐng)域的干預(yù)程度”，但不打算立即撤銷所有支持措施。

譯者/章晴