文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）
作者：Unknown
原文标题：Why America will soon see a wave of bank mergers
原文发布时间：1 May 2023
Why America will soon see a wave of bank mergers
The trouble facing many of America's banks is coming into sharp relief. After the failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in March, behemoths such as JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America attracted deposits despite paying minimal interest, according to earnings reports released since April 14th. Many small and medium-sized banks, by contrast, face increasing competition for customers and rising funding costs.
On April 18th Western Alliance, a lender with $71bn of assets, reported that it had lost 11% of its deposits this year. To tempt deposits back, banks will have to pay more for them; in the meantime many have turned to temporary loans, including from the Federal Reserve, that incur today's high rates of interest. Yet lots of banks' assets are low-yielding and cannot be sold without crystallising losses. A big profits squeeze is coming. More banks were due to report earnings after we published this leader.
But the market has already made a judgment: America's banks are worth only about their combined book value, having traded at nearly a 40% premium at the start of the year. The likely result of their low valuations, combined with a landscape in which size matters, is a tried-and-tested response to banking crises over the past four decades: consolidation. America has 4,700 banks and savings institutions, or one for every 71,000 residents. To observers in the EU, which has only one bank for every 85,000 people, that seems excessive.
为什么美国很快就会出现银行合并浪潮
精听党背景导读
5月1日，美国第一共和银行确定被出售给摩根大通，该银行也成为继硅谷银行、签名银行之后，两个月来被关闭和接管的第三家美国区域性银行。但很多市场人士认为，虽然第一共和银行收购案终于尘埃落定，但导致这波银行业危机的深层次原因并未解除，危机或将延续。
文本选自：The Economist（经济学人）作者：Unknown原文标题：Why America will soon see a wave of bank mergers原文发布时间：1 May 2023关键词：美国 银行 危机
精听党带着问题听
1. 如何理解第一段中的“behemoth”？2.“低收益资产”用英语可以怎么表达？3. 美国有多少家银行和储蓄机构？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
Why America will soon see a wave of bank mergers
为什么美国很快就会出现银行合并浪潮
merger
n.（公司、组织的）合并；1. a merger between sth. and sth. 某物与某物的合并；2. a merger with sth. 与某物的合并；3. There is a merger between two supermarket chains. 两家连锁超市合并了。4. acquisition n. 收购；购置；
段一
The trouble facing many of America’s banks is coming into sharp relief. After the failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in March, behemoths such as JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America attracted deposits despite paying minimal interest, according to earnings reports released since April 14th. Many small and medium-sized banks, by contrast, face increasing competition for customers and rising funding costs.
come into
进入；得到；1. come into effect [法] 生效；实施；
New controls come into effect next month. 下月开始实施新的管制措施。
2. come into being 形成；产生；存在；出现；3. come into operation 施行；生效；开始；4. When did this word come into common use? 这个词是什么时候开始普遍使用的？
relief n.（因恐惧、忧虑或痛苦的消除而感到的）宽慰，轻松；（疼痛或不快的）减轻，缓解；1. I sighed with inward relief. 我内心释然地长出了一口气。
behemoth n. 巨兽；巨头（指规模庞大、实力雄厚的公司或机构）；1. megacity behemoths 超大城市；2. tech behemoths 科技巨头；
minimal adj. 极小的，极少的；极简的（指短小乐句不断重复并逐渐变化）；1. minimal pair 最小对立体；最小对；2. The work was carried out at minimal cost. 这项工作是以最少的开销完成的。3. The cooperation between us is minimal. 我们之间的合作很少。
release vt. 公布，发布；释放，放走；1. released order 下达订单；2. He was released from custody the next day. 他第二天被从拘留中释放。3. The hostages were released unconditionally. 人质被无条件地释放了。
参考译文
许多美国银行面临的麻烦正在得到显著缓解。根据4月14日以来发布的财报，在3月份硅谷银行 (SVB) 和签名银行（Signature Bank）倒闭后，摩根大通和美国银行等巨头尽管支付的利息很低，但仍吸引了存款。相比之下，许多中小型银行面临着日益激烈的客户竞争和不断上升的融资成本。
段二
On April 18th Western Alliance, a lender with $71bn of assets, reported that it had lost 11% of its deposits this year. To tempt deposits back, banks will have to pay more for them; in the meantime many have turned to temporary loans, including from the Federal Reserve, that incur today’s high rates of interest. Yet lots of banks’ assets are low-yielding and cannot be sold without crystallising losses. A big profits squeeze is coming. More banks were due to report earnings after we published this leader.
tempt vt. 引诱，诱惑；怂恿，利诱；冒…的风险；1. Nothing would tempt me to live here. 没有什么能吸引我住在这里。
temporary adj. 暂时的，临时的；短期的，短暂的；1. His job here is only temporary. 他在这里的工作只是暂时的。
incur vt. 带来（成本、花费等）；招致，遭受；1. incur losses 蒙受损失；遭受损失；2. incur obligation 承担债务；负有义务；3. incur heavy financial penalties 处以巨额罚款；
low-yielding adj. 低产的；低收益的；1. low-yielding tree 低产树；2. low-yielding assets 回报率低的资产；低收益资产；
crystallise vt. 使…结晶；使具体化；使（想法，计划等）变得明朗而具体；1. Doing it now would crystallise losses for Banks and taxpayers across Europe. 现在这么做会使得欧洲银行和纳税者马上就要面临具体的损失。
squeeze n. 挤压，捏；拥挤，塞满；挤出来的少量事物；紧缩，拮据；1. credit squeeze 贷款紧缩，银根紧缩；2. put the squeeze on 对…施加压力；3. liquidity squeeze 头寸紧张；流动性短缺；
due adj. 到期的，预期的；应有的，应得的；应付的，应给的；适当的；1. due to 由于；应归于；
The accident was due to excessive speed. 事故是由于超速造成的。
leader n.（报纸的）要闻，头条；
参考译文
4月18日，拥有710亿美元资产的银行 Western Alliance 报告说，它今年损失了11%的存款。为了吸引存款，银行将不得不为此付出更多；与此同时，许多人转向临时贷款，包括来自美联储的贷款，这导致了当今的高利率。然而，许多银行的资产收益较低，无法在没有明确损失的情况下出售。巨大的利润挤压即将到来。在我们发表这篇文章之后，更多银行将公布财报。
段三
But the market has already made a judgment: America’s banks are worth only about their combined book value, having traded at nearly a 40% premium at the start of the year. The likely result of their low valuations, combined with a landscape in which size matters, is a tried-and-tested response to banking crises over the past four decades: consolidation. America has 4,700 banks and savings institutions, or one for every 71,000 residents. To observers in the EU, which has only one bank for every 85,000 people, that seems excessive.
trade vi. 做买卖，做生意；（在证券交易所）交易，买卖；
premium n. 额外补贴，津贴；1. risk premium 风险溢价；风险酬金；风险报酬；2. insurance premium 保险费；3. A premium of 10% is paid out after 20 years. 20年后要付清10%的额外费用。
consolidation n. 巩固；合并；1. If the trend continues for longer, further consolidation is likely. 如果这种趋势持续更长时间，则可能会出现进一步的整合。
excessive adj. 过度的，过多的；1. excessive overtime 过度加班；2. excessive force 过度武力；3. excessive competition 过度竞争；
参考译文
但市场已经作出判断：美国银行的价值仅与其账面总价值有关，年初时的交易溢价接近40%。它们的低估值，加上对规模的看重，可能导致过去四十年对银行业危机采取久经考验的应对措施：兼并。美国有4,700家银行和储蓄机构，即每71,000名居民中就有一家。在欧盟的观察员看来，这似乎有些过分，因为欧盟每85,000人只有一家银行。
精听党每日单词
merger
/ˈmɜːrdʒər/ n.（公司、组织的）合并；
come into
进入；得到；
relief
/rɪˈliːf/ n.（因恐惧、忧虑或痛苦的消除而感到的）宽慰，轻松；（疼痛或不快的）减轻，缓解；
behemoth
/bɪˈhiːməθ/ n. 巨兽；巨头（指规模庞大、实力雄厚的公司或机构）；
minimal
/ˈmɪnɪm(ə)l/ adj. 极小的，极少的；极简的（指短小乐句不断重复并逐渐变化）；
release
/rɪˈliːs/ vt. 公布，发布；释放，放走；
tempt
/tempt/ vt. 引诱，诱惑；怂恿，利诱；冒…的风险；
temporary
/ˈtempəreri/ adj. 暂时的，临时的；短期的，短暂的；
incur
/ɪnˈkɜːr/ vt. 带来（成本、花费等）；招致，遭受；
low-yielding
/loʊ ˈjiːldɪŋ/ adj. 低产的；低收益的；
crystallise
/ˈkrɪstəlaɪz/ vt. 使…结晶；使具体化；使（想法，计划等）变得明朗而具体；
squeeze
/skwiːz/ n. 挤压，捏；拥挤，塞满；挤出来的少量事物；紧缩，拮据；
due
/duː/ adj. 到期的，预期的；应有的，应得的；应付的，应给的；适当的；
leader
/ˈliːdər/ n.（报纸的）要闻，头条；
trade
/treɪd/ vi. 做买卖，做生意；（在证券交易所）交易，买卖；
premium
/ˈpriːmiəm/ n. 额外补贴，津贴；
consolidation
/kənˌsɑːləˈdeɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 巩固；合并；
excessive
/ɪkˈsesɪv/ adj. 过度的，过多的；
精听党文化拓展
从宏观环境看，由于通胀仍处于高位，美联储预计在2024年之前降息的可能性不大，因此银行的账面亏损不会得到明显改善。与此同时，危机使得美国银行业收缩信贷，加大美国经济下行压力，还会带来银行不良资产和信贷损失增加等反作用，或将导致部分银行陷入“危机循环”。
摩根大通集团首席执行官杰米·戴蒙也承认，如果美国经济衰退、高利率持续，银行体系可能出现其他“裂缝”。
另外，美国银行业内部长期存在对高级管理人员奖励过多、追责较少的问题，成为当下银行业危机频发的重要原因。不少分析人士指出，银行高管在出现危机时往往已经“捞到好处”，并且不会因为危机被问责，这种情况在上世纪80年代和2008年出现金融危机时就已经显现，如今没有改观。
尽管拜登政府呼吁国会通过立法给予监管机构相关政策工具，让银行高管真正负起责任，但在共和党和民主党分别控制众议院和参议院的情况下，相关立法前景不确定性较大。而美联储在职权范围内强化监管需要履行公开程序，预计需要几年时间。因此，美国银行业积累的风险短期内无法有效化解，可能进一步暴露。
从市场来看，投资者对银行业危机的担忧没有明显缓解，包括太平洋西部银行等在内的区域性银行股票价格显著下跌。不少分析师表示，美联储加息等因素给金融体系带来巨大压力，银行业混乱不堪，今后市场上将出现更多针对区域性银行的做空行为。
精听党每日美句
They who cannot do as they would, must do as they can.
不能如愿而行，也须尽力而为。