2020年经济学人 印度金融炼金术(2)

Muthoot has grown steadily¹ since the early 1950s. It has more than 5,000 branches serving 250,000 customers a day,

Muthoot自20世纪50年代初以来一直在稳步增长。其有五千多家分公司，每天为25万客户提供服务，

ranging from construction workers to IT professionals. Total loans exceeded $6bn in the year to March.

客户群包括建筑工人和IT专业人士。截至今年3月的一年中，贷款总额超过60亿美元。

Muthoot is the largest of the formal gold-backed lenders: collectively, their assets come to $40bn.

Muthoot是正规黄金担保贷款机构中规模最大的一家：其资产总额达到400亿美元。

Smaller lenders, which make loans worth twice that, charge annual interest rates as high as 50%.

规模较小的放贷机构的贷款价值是它的两倍，年利率高达50%。

Muthoot charges 12 to 24%, as do its direct rivals. Banks, which are tiptoeing into the business, charge a bit less.

Muthoot收取12到24%的费用，其直接对手也是如此。悄步涉及该行业的银行，收取的费用稍微低一些。

When the price of gold rises, as has happened for much of the past few months, so does a client's ability to borrow.

当黄金价格上涨，就像过去几个月所发生的那样，顾客的借款能力也会随之提升。

But lenders' greatest risk is that the gold price falls, undermining collateral² values.

但出借方最大的风险是，黄金价格下跌，破坏抵押品价值。

To provide a buffer³, regulators had required that loans be less than 75% of the value of collateral.

为了提供缓冲，监管方要求贷款低于抵押品价值的75%。

On August 6th the limit for banks was raised to 90%.

8月6日，对银行的限制被提高到90%。

But the gold price fell by 5% on August 11th—a reminder⁴ of why the buffer exists. Muthoot follows the old rule.

但8月11日，黄金价格下跌5%——提醒了大家这个缓冲存在的原因。Muthoot遵守着旧规则。

The greatest virtue⁵ of gold-backed finance, though, is how neatly⁶ it fits with India's long-standing love for the yellow metal.

然而，以黄金为后盾的金融，其最大的优点在于，它与印度长期以来对黄金的喜爱非常吻合。

In the past decade, despite high tariffs⁷, India has imported 8,400 tonnes of it,

在过去十年中，尽管关税高，但印度进口了8400公吨黄金，

more than the holdings of America's Federal Reserve, the world's largest repository. Windfalls are often channelled into gold.

超过了世界最大储备银行美联储的持有量。意外之财往往会变成黄金。

Jewellery bought in times of plenty becomes collateral when things go wrong— "the poor person's insurance", says Mr Muthoot.

在经济繁荣时期购买的珠宝，一旦出了形式出现问题，就成了抵押品——“穷人的保险”，Muthoot说到。

What makes his business especially lucrative⁸ is that borrowers work so hard to redeem⁹ their collateral,

让他的生意特别赚钱的是，借款人会非常努力地赎回他们的抵押品，

not just to help guard against future troubles, but to adorn¹⁰ the good times to come.

不仅仅是为了防范未来的麻烦，也是为了装饰未来美好的日子。

1 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

2 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

3 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

4 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

5 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

6 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

7 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

8 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

9 redeem   

v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等）

参考例句：

• He had no way to redeem his furniture out of pawn.他无法赎回典当的家具。
• The eyes redeem the face from ugliness.这双眼睛弥补了他其貌不扬之缺陷。

10 adorn   

vt.使美化，装饰

参考例句：

• She loved to adorn herself with finery.她喜欢穿戴华丽的服饰。
• His watercolour designs adorn a wide range of books.他的水彩设计使许多图书大为生色。