美国国家公共电台 NPR--2 bank failures have the federal government taking extraordinary action

2 bank failures have the federal government taking extraordinary action

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Nobel Prize winner Douglas Diamond, who studies why banks fail, about what the collapses² say about the stability of America's banking³ system.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Two bank failures has the Federal Government taking extraordinary action. The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, FDIC, announced this morning it's transferred all deposits of the Silicon⁴ Valley Bank to a newly created bridge bank. Customers will regain⁵ access to their money today. That bank, which had around $175 billion in deposits, collapsed⁶ Friday, making it the second-biggest bank failure in U.S. history. And regulators in New York shut down Signature Bank over the weekend. So how stable is the American banking system right now? Douglas Diamond is a professor of finance at the University of Chicago and a Nobel laureate for his research into how banks fail. Good morning, Douglas.

DOUGLAS DIAMOND: Good morning.

FADEL: Thanks for being on the program. So before we talk about how these banks failed, I think the big question for people right now is, does this spread? Are we going to see other American banks failing?

DIAMOND: I think that's exactly what the Fed and the Treasury⁷ were concerned about.

FADEL: Yeah.

DIAMOND: And I think the action they took, which was, you know, guaranteeing all the deposits for these two banks and have - setting up this lending facility to lend against government bonds and things like that that are worth below a hundred cents on the dollar because interest rates went up, I think that should basically slow down or basically stop it. So I think, probably, this is a good enough intervention⁸. They should just be asking themselves how they got to this point where they had to do this.

FADEL: To allay⁹ fears that people have...

DIAMOND: Yeah.

FADEL: ...In other banks.

DIAMOND: Yeah.

FADEL: So how did Silicon Valley Bank get to this point? How did it end up collapsing¹⁰?

DIAMOND: Right. So Silicon Valley Bank sort of violated the two basic rules of how banking is supposed to work. Banks do their magic by diversifying¹¹ their asset risks, you know, having lots of different types of loans, in particular avoiding an overload¹² in any particular risk. The one that they loaded up on too much was interest rate risk. If interest rates went up a lot, they were going to become insolvent¹³. And they also - you're also - that's part of it, use asset diversification¹⁴. You're also supposed to use diversified¹⁵ funding sources. These are the conclusions of my research in the 1980s that, you know, people cite as what's the theory of what banks are supposed to do.

So the banks and the supervisors¹⁶ made a huge mistake avoiding, you know - ignoring these basic tenets. So it was a management mistake. And this is an unusual run. Usually, the story that Phil Dybvig and I talk about in "Bank Runs," in our model, is that banks have some loans that are hard to sell for the full price. If everybody demands their money, then that'll make the bank fail. Sixty percent of the assets of Silicon Valley were things that are very close to government bonds. They were government agency securities, basically government bonds. They could sell those pretty much for what they were worth.

The problem was they weren't worth a hundred cents on the dollar because they were long-term interest rates. Interest rates went up. They had to sell them at a discount. So this was not your standard run. And it could have been avoided if the supervisors had said, look; we realize interest rates might be going up. Banks had better, you know, dial down their interest rate exposure. Or maybe the Fed should have been thinking, I shouldn't raise interest rates this quickly if it's going to wipe out certain parts of the financial system. Maybe they made a mistake by saying interest rates are going to be low for a very, very long time.

FADEL: Is that also what happened at Signature Bank?

DIAMOND: Signature Bank, I know less about their types of assets that they invest in than I know about Silicon Valley. But they had - didn't have diversified funding sources. A lot of their deposits came from crypto firms. They were sort of the clearing bank for - who was willing to deal with crypto firms. A lot of other banks wouldn't deal with crypto firms. They also had a little niche¹⁷ in dealing¹⁸ with law firms and holding, like, you know, escrow accounts for law firms. So they had two - and so that's pretty - that stuff doesn't tend to run as much. But having runnable, uninsured deposits, which both of them have, leaves you very susceptible¹⁹ to a run.

FADEL: Now, President Biden is expected to address these failures this morning. What should he say, or what must he say, to calm fears?

DIAMOND: Basically, he should say the - I think this is true. The financial system as a whole is in very strong shape, particularly, you know, the very big banks who don't have these huge interest rate risk exposures that these two banks had. Both have a lot of capital. And they're not exposed to this type of risk. It's a very - it's a much simpler type of bank failure than we had after the Lehman thing, where everybody was thinking maybe there was some default risk and hidden default risk in mortgages. This is just - these two banks had assets that were relatively²⁰ straightforward²¹. They just weren't - they had just gone down in value because interest rates went up. He should say things are probably fine. And we've taken steps, to the extent they're not fine, to make sure deposits are not losing a lot of money.

FADEL: Douglas Diamond is professor of finance at the University of Chicago. He was awarded the Nobel Prize last year for his research into how banks fail. Douglas, thank you so much for your time.

DIAMOND: My pleasure.

1 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。

2 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。

3 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。

4 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

5 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。

6 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。

7 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

8 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

9 allay   

v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等)

参考例句：

• The police tried to allay her fears but failed.警察力图减轻她的恐惧，但是没有收到什么效果。
• They are trying to allay public fears about the spread of the disease.他们正竭力减轻公众对这种疾病传播的恐惧。

10 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

11 diversifying   

v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的现在分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• Some publishers are now diversifying into software. 有些出版社目前正兼营软件。 来自辞典例句
• Silverlit is diversifying into new markets, such as Russia and Eastern Europe. Silverlit正在使他们的市场变得多样化，开发新的市场如俄罗斯和东欧国家。 来自互联网

12 overload   

vt.使超载；n.超载

参考例句：

• Don't overload the boat or it will sink.别超载，否则船会沉。
• Large meals overload the digestive system.吃得太饱会加重消化系统的负担。

13 insolvent   

adj.破产的，无偿还能力的

参考例句：

• They lost orders and were insolvent within weeks.他们失去了订货，几周后就无法偿还债务。
• The bank was declared insolvent.银行被宣布破产。

14 diversification   

n.变化，多样化；多种经营

参考例句：

• The seminar was to discuss diversification of agriculture. 该研讨会讨论的是农业多种经营。 来自辞典例句
• Firm diversification is increasingly achieved by the means of takeover and merger. 通过接管和兼并，厂商经营范围日益多样化。 来自辞典例句

15 diversified   

adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• The college biology department has diversified by adding new courses in biotechnology. 该学院生物系通过增加生物技术方面的新课程而变得多样化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Take grain as the key link, develop a diversified economy and ensure an all-round development. 以粮为纲，多种经营，全面发展。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句

17 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

18 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

19 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

20 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

21 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。