每日英语听力外刊精读20230408:<瑞士人对瑞士信贷倒闭的愤怒>


文本选自:The Economist(经济学人)
作者:Unknown
原文标题:The Swiss rage about the demise of Credit Suisse
原文发布时间:5 Apr. 2023
The Swiss rage about the demise of Credit Suisse
When Swiss regulators announced that UBS would rescue Credit Suisse from the brink of collapse on March 19th, the troubled bank's shareholders seemed lucky to avoid a total loss on their investment. Yet if any of the 1,700 who entered Zurich's Hallenstadion on April 4th for the firm's final annual general meeting were relieved, they did not show it. Tickets to the historic event were cheap: the terms of the rescue deal, which was agreed without a shareholder vote, valued Credit Suisse's shares at a mere SFr0.76 ($0.84).
Opening eulogies were delivered by Axel Lehmann, the firm's chairman, and Ulrich Körner, its chief executive. Votes to award bosses extra pay and absolve them of blame for actions taken during the past financial year were scrapped, along with the bank's dividend. Five members of the board did not seek re-election. The remaining seven have the unenviable task of guiding the bank through its twilight months before the deal closes later this year. Although Glass Lewis, a proxy adviser, and Norges Bank, a big shareholder, opposed Mr Lehmann's re-election, he was spared the boot in the shareholder vote.
The arena transformed into a court when shareholders took their turn to speak. Some counselled Mr Lehmann on the many failures of his bank's recent history. Others were inconsolable. One joked that he had not brought his gun to the meeting. Another wondered if the firm's bosses might have been crucified for their actions in the Middle Ages.
瑞士人对瑞士信贷倒闭的愤怒

精听党背景导读
瑞士信贷被竞争对手瑞银集团收购,这一金融界的“地震级操作”并没有让瑞士人信服。根据瑞士广播电视集团的民意调查,大多数受访者倾向于由国家暂时接管瑞士第二大银行的选项。这一“民意所向”意味着:社会民主党可能因此在今年的联邦大选中受益。
瑞士第一大银行瑞银收购瑞士信贷一周后,瑞士民众普遍感到愤怒和不安。为了拯救瑞信,政府动用《紧急法》给与重要担保。但是,在政府采取这一举措的同时,民主辩论也失去了发挥作用的机会。
文本选自:The Economist(经济学人)作者:Unknown原文标题:The Swiss rage about the demise of Credit Suisse原文发布时间:5 Apr. 2023关键词:瑞信 银行 破产
精听党带着问题听
1.“年度体检”用英语可以如何表达?2. 在达成的救助协议的条款中,对瑞士信贷股票的估值为多少?3. 如何理解第二段的“boot”?
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
The Swiss rage about the demise of Credit Suisse
瑞士人对瑞士信贷倒闭的愤怒
demise n. 倒闭,败落;死亡,逝世;
Credit Suisse 瑞士信贷银行;瑞士信贷;瑞士信贷集团;
段一
When Swiss regulators announced that UBS would rescue Credit Suisse from the brink of collapse on March 19th, the troubled bank’s shareholders seemed lucky to avoid a total loss on their investment. Yet if any of the 1,700 who entered Zurich’s Hallenstadion on April 4th for the firm’s final annual general meeting were relieved, they did not show it. Tickets to the historic event were cheap: the terms of the rescue deal, which was agreed without a shareholder vote, valued Credit Suisse’s shares at a mere SFr0.76 ($0.84).
UBS abbr. 瑞士联合银行(United Bank of Switzerland);
rescue… from… 从…中援救…;从…中营救…;
brink n. 边缘;1. Their economy is teetering on the brink of collapse. 他们的经济在崩溃的边缘摇摇欲坠。
collapse n. 倒塌,塌陷;突然失败,崩溃;1. The system is in imminent danger of collapse. 这个体制面临着崩溃的危险。
troubled adj. 动乱的,不安的;混乱的;困惑的;陷入麻烦的;1. trouble v. 麻烦;给…造成麻烦(困难);折磨,使疼痛;
Never trouble troubles till troubles trouble you. 麻烦不来找你,就不要自找麻烦。
shareholder n. 股东,股票持有者;
annual general meeting 股东周年大会,年度股东大会,股东年会;1. annual adj. 一年一度的;年度的;
annual bonus 年终分红;年终奖;annual checkup/annual physical examination 年度体检;
relieve vt. 缓解(疼痛或不快的感觉);减轻(问题的严重性);1. be relieved 如释重负;松了一口气;
terms n.(协议、合同等的)条件,条款;1. They failed to agree on the terms of a settlement. 他们未能就和解的条件达成协议。
rescue deal 救助方案;救助协议;
参考译文
3月19日,当瑞士监管机构宣布瑞士联合银行(UBS)将把瑞士信贷(Credit Suisse)从崩溃的边缘拯救出来时,陷入困境的银行股东似乎幸运地避免了投资的全部损失。然而,在4月4日进入苏黎世哈伦体育场参加该公司最后一次年度股东大会的1700人中,即使有谁松了一口气,他们也没有表现出来。这一历史性事件的门票很便宜:根据在没有股东投票的情况下达成的救助协议的条款,对瑞士信贷股票的估值仅为0.76瑞士法郎(0.84美元)。
段二
Opening eulogies were delivered by Axel Lehmann, the firm’s chairman, and Ulrich Körner, its chief executive. Votes to award bosses extra pay and absolve them of blame for actions taken during the past financial year were scrapped, along with the bank’s dividend. Five members of the board did not seek re-election. The remaining seven have the unenviable task of guiding the bank through its twilight months before the deal closes later this year. Although Glass Lewis, a proxy adviser, and Norges Bank, a big shareholder, opposed Mr Lehmann’s re-election, he was spared the boot in the shareholder vote.
eulogy n. 悼词;颂词;颂扬;赞词;1. deliver the eulogy 致词;
absolve vt. 免除;赦免;宣告…无罪;1. absolve sb. (from/of sth.) 宣告…无罪;判定…无责;
scrap vt.(因不切实际而)放弃,抛弃(计划、体系);把(旧机器、旧汽车等当)作废料处理,报废;1. President Hussein called on all countries in the Middle East to scrap nuclear or chemical weapons. 侯赛因总统呼吁中东所有国家放弃核武器和化学武器。
dividend n. 红利,股息;好处,回报;1. The first quarter dividend has been increased by nearly 4 percent. 第一季度的股息增加了近4%。
board n. 板,木板;黑板,告示牌;董事会,理事会;
unenviable adj. 不值得羡慕的,不值得嫉妒的;
twilight n. 黄昏,薄暮时分;暮光,暮色;衰退期;晚期;
proxy n. 代理权,代表权;代理人,代表;
spare vt. 抽出,拿出(时间、金钱等);饶恕,赦免;
boot n. 解雇;
参考译文
公司董事长阿克塞尔·莱曼(Axel Lehmann)和首席执行官乌尔里希·科尔纳(Ulrich Körner)致了开幕词。投票给老板们额外的报酬,免除他们在过去的财政年度所做的行为的责任,连同银行的股息都被取消了。董事会中有五名成员没有寻求连任。剩下的七个人有一个不值得羡慕的任务,那就是在今年晚些时候交易完成之前,带领该行度过最后几个月。尽管代理顾问格拉斯·刘易斯(Glass Lewis)和大股东挪威银行(Norges Bank)反对莱曼连任,但他在股东投票中幸免于难。
段三
The arena transformed into a court when shareholders took their turn to speak. Some counselled Mr Lehmann on the many failures of his bank’s recent history. Others were inconsolable. One joked that he had not brought his gun to the meeting. Another wondered if the firm’s bosses might have been crucified for their actions in the Middle Ages.
arena n. 竞技场,圆形剧场;斗争场所,活动舞台;
court n. 法院,法庭;球场;王宫,宫廷;1. Supreme Court 最高法院;高等法院;
counsel vt. 建议,劝告(做…);为…提供咨询,给…提供建议;1. My advisers counselled me to do nothing. 我的顾问们建议我什么都不要做。
inconsolable adj. 无法安慰的(名词 inconsolability, 副词 inconsolably);极为伤心的;1. console v. 安慰,慰藉;
Nothing could console him when his wife died. 他妻子去世后,什么都不能宽慰他。
crucify vt. 折磨;十字架上钉死;克制;
参考译文
当股东们轮流发言时,会场变成了法庭。一些人就莱曼(Lehmann)近期的多次失败向他提出了建议。其他人则伤心欲绝。其中一人开玩笑说,他没有带枪参加会议。另一个人想知道公司的老板们是否会因为他们的行为而在中世纪被钉上十字架。
精听党每日单词
demise
 /dɪˈmaɪz/ n. 倒闭,败落;死亡,逝世;
Credit Suisse
 瑞士信贷银行;瑞士信贷;瑞士信贷集团;
UBS
 abbr. 瑞士联合银行(United Bank of Switzerland);
rescue… from…
 从…中援救…;从…中营救…;
brink
 /brɪŋk/ n. 边缘;
collapse
 /kəˈlæps/ n. 倒塌,塌陷;突然失败,崩溃;
troubled
 /ˈtrʌbld/ adj. 动乱的,不安的;混乱的;困惑的;陷入麻烦的;
shareholder
 /ˈʃerhoʊldər/ n. 股东,股票持有者;
annual general meeting
 股东周年大会,年度股东大会,股东年会;
relieve
 /rɪˈliːv/ vt. 缓解(疼痛或不快的感觉);减轻(问题的严重性);
terms
 /tɜːrmz/ n.(协议、合同等的)条件,条款;
rescue deal
 救助方案;救助协议;
eulogy
 /ˈjuːlədʒi/ n. 悼词;颂词;颂扬;赞词;
absolve
 /əbˈzɑːlv/ vt. 免除;赦免;宣告…无罪;
scrap
 /skræp/ vt.(因不切实际而)放弃,抛弃(计划、体系);把(旧机器、旧汽车等当)作废料处理,报废;
dividend
 /ˈdɪvɪdend/ n. 红利,股息;好处,回报;
board
 /bɔːrd/ n. 板,木板;黑板,告示牌;董事会,理事会;
unenviable
 /ʌnˈenviəbl/ adj. 不值得羡慕的,不值得嫉妒的;
twilight
 /ˈtwaɪlaɪt/ n. 黄昏,薄暮时分;暮光,暮色;衰退期;晚期;
proxy
 /ˈprɑːksi/ n. 代理权,代表权;代理人,代表;
spare
 /sper/ vt. 抽出,拿出(时间、金钱等);饶恕,赦免;
boot
 /buːt/ n. 解雇;
arena
 /əˈriːnə/ n. 竞技场,圆形剧场;斗争场所,活动舞台;
court
 /kɔːrt/ n. 法院,法庭;球场;王宫,宫廷;
counsel
 /ˈkaʊns(ə)l/ vt. 建议,劝告(做…);为…提供咨询,给…提供建议;
inconsolable
 /ˌɪnkənˈsoʊləb(ə)l/ adj. 无法安慰的(名词 inconsolability, 副词 inconsolably);极为伤心的;
crucify
 /ˈkruːsɪfaɪ/ vt. 折磨;十字架上钉死;克制;
精听党文化拓展
瑞士国家银行(即瑞士央行)3月19日发表声明宣布,可以向瑞银提供1000亿瑞士法郎的流动性援助,以帮助达成这笔交易。交易宣布后,美联储主席、美国财政部长、英国金融大臣等人纷纷对这一“稳定金融市场”的举措表示欢迎。
瑞信的第一大股东沙特国家银行3月20日发表声明表示:“瑞信投资估值的变化对沙特国家银行的增长计划和2023年的前瞻性指导没有影响。”据法新社报道,沙特国家银行去年11月投资55亿沙特里亚尔(约15亿美元)获得瑞信9.88%的股份。同年12月,沙特国家银行披露,对瑞信的投资不到其总资产的0.5%。目前,沙特国家银行的总资产超过2510亿美元。按照19日达成的32.4亿美元的收购价格,沙特国家银行所持9.88%的瑞信股份市值还剩大约3.2亿美元,短短几个月时间,损失近12亿美元。
与财大气粗的沙特国家银行以及其他瑞信股东们相比,还有损失更惨的,他们的投资可以说是“一下归零”——160亿瑞士法郎(约合173亿美元、1185亿元人民币)瑞信高风险债券的持有人。
综合《华尔街日报》等媒体报道,作为瑞银救助合并瑞信的一部分,瑞士当局要求瑞信将160亿瑞士法郎的“额外一级资本债”(AT1)全部减记,也就是全部清零。据报道,“额外一级资本债”也被称为应急可转债,昵称为“可可债”(CoCo Bond),在2008年金融危机后被引入。它是银行债务中的最低级别债券,在好的环境下,能产生高收益,在糟糕情况下,则首先受到冲击。这一决定引发债券持有人的震怒,他们认为,通常在破产程序中股票的偿还优先级低于债券,现在股东们尚能获得32.4亿美元,而“额外一级资本债”却一无所有。
《华尔街日报》等媒体强调,这次交易将使瑞信风险最高的债券价值化为乌有,这令规模达2500亿美元的欧洲银行债务市场的投资者大为震惊,也让今后“额外一级资本债”的发行变得困难。

精听党每日美句
Care and diligence bring luck.
谨慎和勤奋带来好运。
到顶部