2020年经济学人印度金融炼金术(1)（打印版）

In times of trouble, jewellery turns from ornament to collateral

在困难时期，珠宝会从装饰品变成抵押品

Closing time for the Kondapur branch of Muthoot Finance, in Hyderabad, is usually 5.30pm on a Monday.

穆特胡特金融公司位于海得拉巴的康达普尔分公司周一的下班时间通常是在下午五点半。

But on August 10th it was only two hours later that the manager, Haripuri Padmavati, and her five colleagues, could shut the doors.

但8月10日，开门仅两个小时后，公司经理Haripuri Padmavati和她的五位同事就关上了门。

More than 150 customers had visited the gold-backed lender, six times as many as on a Monday before covid-19.

超过150名客户来访了该家以黄金为为担保的公司，是新冠疫情开始前周一客户数量的六倍。

Among the borrowers were those caring for infected family members;

借款人中有那些照顾被感染家庭成员的人；

those who had lost their jobs but had big bills, such as school fees, to settle; and business owners needing to pay creditors and employees.

有那些丢了工作，却有大笔账单（如学费）需要结算的人；以及那些需要支付债权人以及员工的公司老板。

The average loan size was 50,000 rupees ($700).

平均贷款金额为5万卢比（即700美元）。

The pandemic has meant huge uncertainty about banks' loan losses. Business at Muthoot, though, is booming.

疫情意味着银行贷款损失的巨大不确定性。不过，穆特胡特金融公司的业务却在繁荣发展。

Loans are extended for a year in exchange for collateral in the form of gold—

贷款被延期一年，以换取黄金形式的抵押品——

usually a bangle or necklace of the sort that lights up Indian weddings. The entire lending process usually takes 15 minutes.

通常是点亮印度婚礼的一个手镯或项链。整个借款过程通常为15分钟。

Jewellery is weighed, then scratched on a small square stone. Acid and salt are applied to the scratch, to test purity; 5 to 10% of items fail.

先给珠宝称重，然后在一块小型方形石头上划过，这一步骤中需要用到酸和盐，以检测黄金的纯度；5到10%的物品没能通过检测。

With experience, says George Alexander Muthoot, the company's managing director, you can tell by touch.

有经验的话，公司总经理George Alexander Muthoot说到，你通过触感就能辨别。

In a video call with your correspondent, he demonstrates by putting a chain in his palm,

在与记者的视频通话中，他进行了展示：他将一条链子放在手掌中，

flopping his hand to the left and right, and then opening up his fingers with a nod and a smile: appraisal done.

左右晃动，然后张开手指，点头微笑：评估完成。