美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Fed has been raising interest rates. Why then are savings interest rates low?

The Fed has been raising interest rates. Why then are savings¹ interest rates low?

Transcript²

When the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates, the interest rate on savings account usually follows in step. But recently, that logic³ hasn't held up. (Story aired on ATC on Jan. 15, 2023.)

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates over the past year. But the average national rate for savings accounts has remained low. In other words, the changes in interest rates we receive are not keeping up with the rates we pay. Here are Wailin Wong and Adrian Ma from NPR's daily economics podcast The Indicator⁴.

WAILIN WONG, BYLINE⁵: So first, a quick reminder⁶ about what banks do, which is move money around. They take in money from depositors - people with, say, savings accounts - and then they take those deposits and lend them out, for instance, in the form of small business loans. For people with savings accounts, banks decide how much interest to pay you - a savings deposit rate - you know, how much they'll reward you for stashing⁷ money in the bank's metaphorical⁸ vault⁹.

ADRIAN MA, BYLINE: Matthew Plosser is a research economist¹⁰ at the New York Fed. And he says it is important to study how the Fed's actions on interest rates affect the way banks behave.

MATTHEW PLOSSER: We like to understand, when we change interest rates, how do these interest rates migrate through the financial system and change the cost of other things?

WONG: Other things like savings deposit rates. And late last year, Matthew and a fellow researcher at the New York Fed published a blog post looking at these rates over the last 30 years. This period of time covers four cycles of Fed interest rate hikes, including the cycle we're in now.

PLOSSER: So for a long time, we've known that when the Fed raises interest rates, deposit rates don't go up immediately. That's always been the case. But since the financial crisis, they've responded even more slowly than they had before.

MA: In other words, deposit rates have gotten really sluggish¹¹. Like, they barely budge¹², even when the Fed hikes rates and sends interest rates across the country higher. And the way Matthew measures this is using something called - are you ready for this econ vocab? - it's called deposit beta.

PLOSSER: It's a fancy way of just saying, how much do deposit rates change when interest rates change?

MA: It also sounds like it could be the name of some sort of, like, dubious¹³ multivitamin. Have you had your deposit beta today?

WONG: Now, Matthew found that deposit betas hit a high point before the financial crisis in the early 2000s. During this period, a large percentage of a Fed rate hike was passed through to deposit rates.

MA: So for example, if the Fed raised interest rates, say, four percentage points, you would see deposit rates go up more than two percentage points. But that started to change following the financial crisis. Matthew says people started saving more and, as a result, banks were swimming in deposits. They didn't have to offer high interest rates on savings deposit accounts anymore.

WONG: And by 2019, deposit betas had fallen significantly. So if the Fed raised interest rates four percentage points, deposit rates would go up just over one percentage point. Banks just didn't need those savings to fund their loans and other investments.

PLOSSER: They have plenty of deposits. And they weren't in a rush to start paying more on these deposits. They didn't even need the deposits they had.

MA: And because banks have this excess supply of deposits, they could let those customers go to a competitor. But that is starting to shift. People are taking their money out of savings to pay for everyday expenses, or they're moving their money to higher-earning investments. Matthew Plosser at the New York Fed says, with these changes taking place, deposit rates could start to perk¹⁴ up.

PLOSSER: At some point, banks will say, we're going to have to be more competitive with our deposit rates. The forces are all moving in the direction of deposit rates eventually going up. It just takes time for that to resolve itself.

MA: Adrian Ma.

WONG: Wailin Wong, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE BROTHERS NYLON'S "BEACH COMBER")

1 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

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 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

4 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

5 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。

6 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

7 stashing   

v.贮藏( stash的现在分词 )；隐藏；藏匿；藏起

参考例句：

8 metaphorical   

a.隐喻的，比喻的

参考例句：

• Here, then, we have a metaphorical substitution on a metonymic axis. 这样，我们在换喻（者翻译为转喻，一种以部分代替整体的修辞方法）上就有了一个隐喻的替代。
• So, in a metaphorical sense, entropy is arrow of time. 所以说，我们可以这样作个比喻：熵像是时间之矢。

9 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

10 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

11 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

12 budge   

v.移动一点儿；改变立场

参考例句：

• We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来，但它连动都没动一下。
• She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。

13 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

14 perk   

n.额外津贴；赏钱；小费；

参考例句：

• His perks include a car provided by the firm.他的额外津贴包括公司提供的一辆汽车。
• And the money is,of course,a perk.当然钱是额外津贴。