美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Federal Reserve tries to limit any further damage to the banking system

The Federal Reserve tries to limit any further damage to the banking¹ system

Transcript²

The Federal Reserve is facing a decision this week on whether to raise interest rates again to fight inflation or take a breather to avoid putting more stress on the banking system.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The sudden failure of Silicon³ Valley Bank this month surprised a lot of people.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Yeah, but it may not have been a shock to federal regulators. Multiple news reports say they'd been warning about the bank for years before its failure. The Federal Reserve Bank oversees⁴ the banking system, so its leaders face questions as they meet in Washington this week.

INSKEEP: NPR's Scott Horsley will be listening to them, as he often does. Hey there, Scott.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE⁵: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: How much will this bank failure dominate the Fed meeting?

HORSLEY: It's definitely casting a shadow. It not only influences the Fed's decision about interest rates this week, but the Fed itself is under the microscope for the way its supervisors⁶ police Silicon Valley Bank and a second bank that collapsed⁷ a few days later. A House committee is planning to hold hearings on the subject next week. Here's committee Chairman Patrick McHenry of North Carolina on CBS.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PATRICK MCHENRY: We need to get to the bottom of whether or not this is a supervisory problem, a regulatory problem, bank mismanagement problem, perhaps all three.

HORSLEY: You know, in hindsight, the problems at Silicon Valley Bank are clear. It had really fast-growing deposits, most of which were not insured. It was overconcentrated in the tech industry, which meant a lot of withdrawals⁸ when that industry suffered a downturn. And too much of the bank's money was tied up in long-term bonds, which lost value as interest rates rose. So this was a recipe for trouble. And we now know many of those problems were identified by Fed supervisors years ago but not corrected.

INSKEEP: Well, sure. It just sounds like math. You can tell that interest rates were going to be going up. You know you have a certain number of assets. And if you're smart, if it's your business, you ought to be able to do the math and see the problem coming. So who failed to get the word out?

HORSLEY: Yeah. Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal all say the bank got multiple warnings about its risk management practices. The Journal says one notice came as far back as 2019. These notices are typically confidential⁹, though. Rutgers economist¹⁰ Eugene White, who's written a lot about bank supervision¹¹, says the idea is to quietly correct the problem without damaging a bank's reputation.

EUGENE WHITE: What they don't want to give is a warning not only to the public but to the financial community in general. And any change in the signal might panic people.

HORSLEY: Of course, panic is what ultimately ensued at Silicon Valley Bank. We had a massive bank run, and that's when the government had to step in.

INSKEEP: Help me with some context here. How unusual would it be for a bank to get a bunch of warnings from the Fed and not take action?

HORSLEY: Yeah, that's hard to know, but it's certainly something people are going to be asking about. We don't know how many other banks have gotten similar notices from Fed supervisors and what steps they've taken to address them. Right after a bank failure like this, there are lots of calls for increased monitoring. But often, we hear calls for a lighter¹² touch. Literally¹³ days before Silicon Valley Bank went under, Republican senators were complaining about too much bank regulation from the Fed. Dennis Kelleher, who heads the nonprofit watchdog Better Markets, says that's no surprise.

DENNIS KELLEHER: The power and influence of the financial industry in Washington, D.C., is incredibly widespread and ever-present. And the result is that they are pushing to deregulation at all times.

HORSLEY: We know that Silicon Valley Bank was spared some of the most stringent¹⁴ bank oversight¹⁵ thanks to a law passed in 2018. What we don't know yet is how that deregulatory atmosphere affected¹⁶ the quality of supervision the bank did get. We may learn more about that in the weeks to come. The Fed's planning to release an internal report by May 1.

INSKEEP: NPR's Scott Horsley, thanks so much.

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 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。

4 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

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 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

7 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。

8 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

9 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

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 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

12 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

13 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

14 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

15 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

16 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。