PBS高端访谈:摩根大通公司调查开放前的巨额损失

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF: And we turn to the government's probe of financial giant J.P. Morgan, and specifically two former employees charged today with covering up huge losses.

　　The case is tied to more than $6 billion in trading losses early last year. A team at the bank made big bets known as derivatives¹ against the credit health of some companies. The bets were wrong and losses spiraled out of control. It tarnished² the bank's reputation and it raised questions about Wall Street's behavior in the wake of the financial crisis.

　　Prosecutors³ said that Javier Martin-Artajo, who oversaw⁴ trading at the bank's investment office in London, tried to falsify just how big the problems were. He was charged with several criminal counts, as was Julien Grout, a trader who used what prosecutors call complex financial derivatives.

　　PREET BHARARA, U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York: While the transactions and financial products involved may be complex, the criminal conduct alleged⁵ is simple and straightforward⁶. The defendants⁷ deliberately⁸ and repeatedly lied about the fair value of billions of dollars in assets on J.P. Morgan's books in order to cover up massive losses that mounted month after month at the beginning of 2012.

　　Those lies misled investors⁹, regulators, and the public, and they constituted federal crimes. As has already been conceded, this wasn't a tempest in a teapot, but rather a perfect storm of individual misconduct and inadequate¹⁰ internal controls.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: The man at the center of the case, Bruno Iksil, became known as the London Whale because of his central role in these huge trades. But he is cooperating with investigators¹¹ and wasn't charged.

　　For its part, J.P. Morgan still pulled in a record profit last year.

　　Reporter Dawn Kopecki is with Bloomberg News, and she joins me now.

　　Dawn Kopecki, welcome back to the NewsHour.

　　First of all, explain to us exactly what these two men did that was ill -- that the prosecutors say was illegal.

　　DAWN KOPECKI, Bloomberg News: Yes. What they did is -- in trading derivatives, they are a very complicated financial instrument, and the pricing of them isn't very clear.

　　They can use a range of prices, and in the past J.P. Morgan had typically used the midrange of prices that were available on the market. As their losses started mounting, they started using more favorable pricing. It sounds like a very minor¹² detail, but by the end of March, we're talking about a difference of about $700 million just by using a slightly more favorable price at the end of the day, when they would mark their books.

　　It amounted to hiding about $700 million in losses that the U.S. attorney's office accused the men of hiding today. That's at the crux¹³ of it. When they used the more favorable pricing, they also reported that to the bank. Those numbers then went into the bank's bottom-line numbers that were reported to shareholders¹⁵. So you have falsifying books and records, falsifying internal documents.

　　You have a whole host of a snowballing effect of criticism charges that fell out from that simply by using slightly more favorable prices to make their losses look a little bit better ever single day over a two- to three-month period of time.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Why were the losses so big? They ultimately ran into the billions, and then they kept -- they continued with this behavior.

　　DAWN KOPECKI: Yes. Yes.

　　No, the losses were large because what happened is, the markets started getting wind, they started catching¹⁶ wind about what these traders were doing and where their positions were. We started reporting on it. We actually broke that story last year. Other news outlets¹⁷ reported on it.

　　And as soon as hedge funds and other major banks found out where these -- where these guys were trading, what they were trading, they started trading against them. And so it had the combination of the economics, the economy going against them. In addition, the market just descended¹⁸.

　　It's like sharks smelling blood in the water, and they just descended upon these traders, squeezed them out of the position, and it caused the trade to just hemorrhage. Also, in mid-March, Ina Drew, who ran this division, told the traders to just stop trading, so they couldn't defend their position. They couldn't go out and put other hedges against this position.

　　And that's when you saw the daily losses just escalating¹⁹ into the hundreds of millions of dollars. We're talking going from, like, $30 million to $50 million to $60 million to a daily loss of $350 million. And so you saw the trade just blow out completely in mid-Match after they stopped trading and after they were able to hedge against that particular position.

　　That's how it ended up being a $6.2-plus billion loss.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: So, the prosecutors have just charged these two men. Are they saying that higher-ups had no idea what was going on here?

　　DAWN KOPECKI: They're not saying that.

　　They're, in fact, not closing the door on looking at other executives. I was at the press conference today, and specifically asked them. They said that the investigation²⁰ is still open. And I said, so does that mean that other executives may be under investigation?

　　And they said that, generally, when an investigation is still open, they're looking at other executives. Some securities attorneys, criticism attorneys we spoke²¹ with said that this is typically -- these guys are relatively²² small, relatively low rungs on the ladder at J.P. Morgan, and typically they will bring these guys in and try to turn what state -- it's called turn state's evidence, try to get them to turn on their colleagues, strike a similar non-prosecution agreement type of deal, as Bruno Iksil, the London Whale, got, and then testify against other executives.

　　The prosecutor's office did hint at the fact that, at some point, Martin-Artajo, who was the manager of -- Bruno Iksil's manager and Julien Grout's manager, said that these orders were coming down from New York, and so there's a hint in the charges that, at least according to Martin-Artajo, he thought these orders were coming down from higher-ups in New York.

　　And so that, other attorneys have said, makes them think that they may want to try to go after other executives. But if they can't extradite these guys -- these guys aren't in this country -- if they can't extradite them and get them to talk, the investigation isn't going to go very far beyond the two that they have named today.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: So there's a question of whether they will even be able to get their hands on them.

　　DAWN KOPECKI: Yes.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: But I want to ask you about, what does this mean for J.P. Morgan, the fact that it's just two lower-level people at this point who have been charged, the fact that regulators spent months looking into this, and as you say, they're still looking at J.P. Morgan?

　　DAWN KOPECKI: Yes. Yes.

　　Well, they are, and J.P. Morgan expects to pay some pretty hefty fines. They expect to be fined by virtually every regulator looking at this. So, you're talking about the Department of Justice, civil fines. Criminal is not so clear just yet, but civil is probably definitely on the table, according to people we have spoken to, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures²³ Trading Commission, and as well the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom.

　　And so, for J.P. Morgan, this is going to be -- they're going to be writing checks. They're going to be writing a lot of checks for the next couple of months on this. They're facing an enormous amount of litigation from shareholders. The company lost as much as $51 billion in shareholder¹⁴ value at one point last summer.

　　Their stock price has recovered from that, but shareholders can still sue based on what it lost last summer. So they're facing shareholder lawsuits²⁴ on that. It's just such a big black eye to their reputation. It increases the scrutiny²⁵ that they're getting for other regulators as well.

　　And, also, because they were trying to game regulatory capital rules -- the trade is very complex, and they were trying to game basically the regulatory capital rules -- it has drawn²⁶ much more scrutiny on those rules, and regulators are much more in tune²⁷ to try to tighten²⁸ those rules so that banks can't do this.

　　Also, the Volcker rule, which bans proprietary²⁹ trading, they're looking at strengthening that to prohibit banks from being able to make these kinds of risky³⁰ bets with their own money. And so it's had a whole cascading³¹ effect on the regulatory front, litigation, and also it's going to hit their bottom line with all of these fines.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: And I was going to ask you if there were implications more broadly for Wall Street, and it sounds like you're saying that it will.

　　DAWN KOPECKI: Yes, it is. Exactly.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Dawn Kopecki, we're going to have to leave it there for now. We thank you very much, Dawn Kopecki.

　　DAWN KOPECKI: Thank you.

1 derivatives   

n.衍生性金融商品；派生物，引出物( derivative的名词复数 )；导数

参考例句：

• Many English words are derivatives of Latin words. 许多英语词来自拉丁语。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These compounds are nitrosohydroxylamine derivatives. 这类合成物是亚硝基羟胺衍生物。 来自辞典例句

2 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

3 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

4 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

5 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

6 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。

7 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

8 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

9 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

10 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

11 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

13 crux   

adj.十字形；难事，关键，最重要点

参考例句：

• The crux of the matter is how to comprehensively treat this trend.问题的关键是如何全面地看待这种趋势。
• The crux of the matter is that attitudes have changed.问题的要害是人们的态度转变了。

14 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

15 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

16 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

17 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

19 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

20 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

21 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

22 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。

23 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

24 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

25 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

26 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

27 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

28 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。

29 proprietary   

n.所有权，所有的；独占的；业主

参考例句：

• We had to take action to protect the proprietary technology.我们必须采取措施保护专利技术。
• Proprietary right is the foundation of jus rerem.所有权是物权法之根基。

30 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

31 cascading   

流注( cascade的现在分词 )； 大量落下； 大量垂悬； 梯流

参考例句：

• First of all, cascading menus are to be avoided at all costs. 首先，无论如何都要避免使用级联菜单。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Her sounds began cascading gently. 他的声音开始缓缓地低落下来。