美国国家公共电台 NPR--Policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic aim to shore up banking confidence

Policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic aim to shore up banking¹ confidence

Transcript²

Financial markets are on edge, after problems at a big Swiss bank triggered fresh worries about the safety of the banking industry. This follows the collapse³ of two regional U.S. banks.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

Look at the financial markets over the last few days, and you see a general slide downward.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Which is hardly a crash but does suggest uncertainty⁴ after the collapse of two regional banks in California and New York. Yesterday, concerns about a big Swiss bank sparked a sell-off in both the United States and in Europe, which prompts a question - do we need to worry about more than just the banks?

PFEIFFER: NPR's Scott Horsley is with us now to try to answer that. Hi, Scott.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE⁵: Good morning.

PFEIFFER: Explain the ripple⁶ effects here. How does a pair of bank failures end up causing slower economic growth across the whole country?

HORSLEY: It just sparked a lot of uncertainty. Even though U.S. officials acted quickly to limit the damage and reassure⁷ depositors that their money is safe, there's just some lingering concern about the problems being more widespread. And, of course, that was amplified⁸ yesterday by worries about this big Swiss bank. Now, stock in Credit Suisse rebounded⁹ today after that bank got a lifeline from the Swiss Central Bank. But Goldman Sachs is predicting the ongoing¹⁰ tension is going to make banks more cautious about the loans they make, and that cutback in credit could lead to slower economic growth. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Economist¹¹ Julia Coronado of MacroPolicy Perspectives says it's part of what the Federal Reserve has been trying to achieve with its higher interest rates.

JULIA CORONADO: Consumers are likely to cut back or become more price sensitive and bargain more, and that's how we bring inflation down.

HORSLEY: Yesterday, the Commerce Department reported that retail¹² sales in February were down, suggesting that shoppers are getting more cautious after a big jump in spending in January.

PFEIFFER: And what is the Fed's role here?

HORSLEY: The Fed's got two jobs here - fighting inflation, of course, and safeguarding the stability of the financial system. And it's kind of a coin toss which one's going to get top billing when Fed officials meet next week. People who think fighting inflation is top of mind for the central bank expect the Fed to raise interest rates by another quarter percentage point. But rising interest rates were one of the contributing factors in the collapse of Silicon¹³ Valley Bank, so those who are most worried about financial stability think the Fed might pause and keep interest rates where they are next week. That tug-of-war has been playing out in the betting markets all week as analysts¹⁴ try to decide which is the more urgent priority for the Fed.

PFEIFFER: And the interest rates are sort of the short-term job that the Fed needs to get done. What are the longer-term things that can be done to address all these issues in the banking system?

HORSLEY: President Biden said on Monday that he wants Congress and bank regulators to put stronger rules in place to prevent the kind of problems that brought down Silicon Valley Bank in California and Signature Bank in New York. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren says part of the problem was that 2018 law that rolled back some of the strict rules put in place after the financial crisis. Warren wants to tighten¹⁵ those rules again so banks the size of Silicon Valley are put through regular stress tests.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ELIZABETH WARREN: Stress tests - they're kind of like general health checkups. They check your heart. They check your liver. They check your kidneys - because any of them can bring down a bank. It was a mistake to take them away. We got to put them back.

HORSLEY: But Republicans like Senator Kevin Cramer say not so fast. The North Dakota lawmaker says he doesn't want a national fix for what he says may have been a localized problem.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KEVIN CRAMER: The tendency to rush could be counterproductive. At the same time, somehow we have to create calm where calm doesn't exist, particularly if it's unwarranted alarm.

HORSLEY: So legislative¹⁶ changes look like kind of a long shot, but the Federal Reserve is looking at its own role and how Fed supervisors¹⁷ failed to spot the problems at Silicon Valley Bank and what the Fed might do differently in the future. The central bank has promised a public report in about six weeks.

PFEIFFER: NPR's Scott Horsley. Thank you.

HORSLEY: You're welcome.

1 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。

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 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

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 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

7 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

8 amplified   

放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• He amplified on his remarks with drawings and figures. 他用图表详细地解释了他的话。
• He amplified the whole course of the incident. 他详述了事件的全过程。

9 rebounded   

弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效

参考例句：

• The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回，欧文头球将球攻进。
• The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。

10 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

11 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。

12 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

13 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。

14 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

15 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

16 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

17 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