US Seeks To Stem Bank Fears
虽然白宫试图打消政府准备国有化几家美国大银行的传言，但一些银行业人士抱怨说，奥巴马政府需要更积极地采取措施，提振人们对饱受打击的金融机构的信心。白宫发言人罗伯特•吉布斯(Robert Gibbs)上周五下午说，上任已一个月的奥巴马政府仍坚定地认为，私有银行系统是正确的道路。这番讲话扭转了美国股市的普遍跌势，当时道琼斯工业股票平均价格指数一度逼近了1997年时的水平。尽管如此，道指上周五收盘仍下跌了100.28点，收于7365.67点，跌幅1.3%，创出了本轮熊市的收盘新低。上周五的大跌令道指创出了四个月来的最大单周跌幅。上周五黄金价格突破了每盎司1,000美元，创下近一年来新高，这也折射出投资者信心的低迷。在遭受不良贷款和经济衰退双重冲击的银行中，花旗集团(Citigroup Inc.)暴跌了22% ，而美国银行(Bank of America Corp.)下跌3.6%。上周五的下跌让首批获得政府注资的八家金融机构总市值蒸发了4.9%。其中，富国银行(Wells Fargo)跌了9.2%，摩根大通(J.P. Morgan Chase)下跌3.4%。股市的普跌表明，投资者正在努力理清政府扩大在银行体系作用将带来怎样的影响。政府所采取的措施之一就是持有部分银行的优先股，如今政府手中一些银行优先股的价值已经超过了私人所持普通股的总价。联邦官员正在考虑是否将其持股变为能够转换为普通股的证券，这实际上将使政府能够控制美国最大的一些金融机构。上周五的大幅波动凸显出，人们越来越担心，虽然这几个月来布什和奥巴马政府为给美国银行体系的方方面面构筑支撑而付出了前所未有的努力，但这可能仍不足以让一些最为困难的机构摆脱被国有化的命运。政府高级官员仍非常抵制银行国有化的想法，担心这可能延长，甚至深化金融危机。此外，一些官员认为，奥巴马政府无法充分管理国有化了的银行。联邦即使接管少数机构也可能加大吸引私人资本的难度，因为这些投资者会担心政府最终可能稀释他们的股份，甚至将其化为乌有。在花旗集团内部，银行管理人员越来越感气恼的是，在他们看来，奥巴马政府未能更明确地阐述，国有化并非近在眼前，而且最新金融救助方案中宣布的“压力测试”也不是接管银行让普通股一名不文的幌子。预计该测试将从下周开始，所有存款超过1,000亿美元的银行都被要求参与其中。政府接管可能会让这些银行的普通股变成废纸一张。美国银行董事长兼首席执行长肯尼思•刘易斯(Kenneth Lewis)在致员工的备忘录中坚持称没有必要对银行实行国有化。他说，我们认为毫无理由去考虑将一家仍然盈利，有着强大资本和流动资金，并在继续积极放贷的银行进行国有化；对国有化的猜测是在对我行财务状况一知半解对我们的客户和整体经济因此所受冲击认识不足的基础上做出的。奥巴马政府面临的一个巨大挑战是它的安抚措施遭遇了失业率上升房屋止赎代价高昂信贷市场吃紧和消费支出锐减的冲击。预计美国银行业第四季度将出现1990年以来的首次季度亏损。许多银行的财务状况还在持续恶化，尤其是那些拥有大量信用卡贷款和商业房地产贷款投资组合的银行，这两大领域在经济衰退中都受到了沉重打击。即使是以大规模收购被低估资产而闻名的私人资本运营投资者也因政府在金融机构中所发挥作用仍充满不确定性而对向银行业注资的问题格外小心。主要投资于小型金融服务公司的FSI Group Inc.的总裁约翰•斯坦(John Stein)说，只有在看到金融业具备一定的稳定和可信度之后，我们才能做出合理的投资决策。美国财政部部长盖特纳(Timothy Geithner)最近宣布了一项计划，以刺激更多资金流入银行，并尽力重新启动信贷市场，但政府官员一直未能平息对人们对银行业状况的担忧。分析师预计，今后三至五年内可能会有约1,000家银行破产。虽然银行类股的下跌加大了奥巴马政府肩上的压力，但这并不会直接影响到银行的整体财务状况。银行的软肋是存款，任何存款的大量外流都会引发资金危机，迫使政府采取强有力行动，接管银行就是可能性之一。联邦存款保险公司(Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)提高存款保险的做法已经缓解了一些银行客户的紧张情绪，但对国有化担忧的升温可能会令一些人选择远遁，以避免一旦政府接管可能带来的纷争。Damian Paletta / David Enrich / Dan Fitzpatrick相关阅读美国政府与花旗就扩大政府持股展开谈判 2009-02-23美国政府将加大对花旗集团的掌控力度 2009-02-23 本文涉及股票或公司document.write (truthmeter('2009年02月23日16:21', 'WFC'));富国银行英文名称：Wells Fargo & Co.总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：WFCdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月23日16:21', 'JPM'));摩根大通公司英文名称：JPMorgan Chase & Co.总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：JPMdocument.write (truthmeter('2009年02月23日16:21', 'BAC'));美国银行英文名称：Bank of America Corp.总部地点：美国上市地点：纽约证交所股票代码：BAC
The White House tried to knock down speculation that the government is preparing to nationalize several large U.S. banks, but some bankers complained that the Obama administration needs to act even more aggressively to shore up confidence in battered financial institutions.Robert Gibbs, a White House spokesman, said Friday afternoon that the month-old Obama administration 'continues to strongly believe that a privately held banking system is the correct way to go.'The comments reversed a broader decline by U.S. stocks that at one point pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average close to 1997 levels. Still, the Dow finished down 100.28 points, or 1.3%, to 7365.67, a new low for the current bear market. Friday's decline left the Dow with its worst weekly drop in four months.In another sign of flagging investor confidence, gold topped $1,000 an ounce Friday, its highest price in nearly a year.Among banks with huge exposure to souring loans and the recession, Citigroup Inc. tumbled 22%, while Bank of America Corp. slipped 3.6%.Friday's slide subtracted 4.9% from the combined capitalization of the eight financial institutions that were the first to get capital infusions from the government. Among them, Wells Fargo & Co. fell 9.2%, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. was down 3.4%.The broad declines show that investors are struggling to sort out the impact of the government's moves already to expand its role in the banking system. Those steps include owning preferred stakes that now exceed the value of all the privately held common shares in some banks. Federal officials are weighing whether to change their ownership into securities that could be converted to common stock, essentially giving the government control of some of the nation's largest financial institutions.Friday's tumult underscored deepening worries that months of unprecedented efforts by the Bush and Obama administrations to backstop nearly every corner of the U.S. banking system may not be enough to prevent the nationalization of some of the most wounded institutions.Top government officials remain highly resistant to the idea of nationalizing banks, fearing that it could prolong or even worsen the financial crisis. In addition, some Obama administration officials believe the government wouldn't be able to sufficiently manage nationalized banks. A federal takeover of even a few institutions also could make it harder to attract private capital, since such investors would worry that the government might eventually dilute or wipe out their stakes.Inside Citigroup, bank executives are growing increasingly exasperated with what they view as the Obama administration's failure to state even more explicitly that nationalization isn't imminent and that 'stress tests' announced as part of the latest financial-rescue package aren't a guise for government takeovers that likely would make their common shares worthless. The tests, expected to begin next week, will be required for any bank with more than $100 billion in deposits. Government takeovers likely would make common shares of those banks worthless.Kenneth Lewis, the chairman and chief executive of Bank of America, insisted in a memo to employees that there is no need to nationalize the bank. 'We see no reason why a company that is profitable with strong levels of capital and liquidity and that continues to lend actively should be considered for nationalization,' Mr. Lewis said. 'Speculation about nationalization is based on a lack of understanding of our bank's financial position as well as a lack of appreciation for the adverse ramifications for our customers and the economy.'One huge challenge for the Obama administration is that its assurances are colliding with rising unemployment, costly home foreclosures, tight credit markets and the steep drop in consumer spending. The U.S. banking industry is expected to record a quarterly loss in the fourth quarter for the first time since 1990.The financial conditions of many banks are continuing to weaken, especially at those with large portfolios of credit-card loans and commercial real-estate loans that are being hit increasingly hard by the recession.Even private-equity investors, well-known for scooping up assets that are considered to be undervalued, are wary about pouring money into the sector due to ongoing uncertainty about the government's role in financial institutions. 'There has to be some level of stability and confidence in what the playing field is going to look like in order to make a reasonable investment decision,' says John Stein, president of FSI Group Inc., which invests in small financial-services companies.Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner recently announced plans to pump more capital into banks and try to jumpstart credit markets, but government officials haven't quelled fears about the state of the banking sector. Analysts expect that roughly 1,000 banks might fail over the next three to five years.While plunging bank-stock prices are putting more pressure on the Obama administration, they don't have a direct impact on a bank's overall financial health. A bank's Achilles heel is deposits, and any exodus would trigger a funding crisis that forces the government to take drastic action, possibly by seizing the bank.Increased deposit-insurance limits by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have soothed some jitters among bank customers, but the heightened specter of nationalization could cause some to flee just to avoid the possibility of hassles in the case of a government takeover.Damian Paletta / David Enrich / Dan Fitzpatrick
The White House tried to knock down speculation that the government is preparing to nationalize several large U.S. banks, but some bankers complained that the Obama administration needs to act even more aggressively to shore up confidence in battered financial institutions.Robert Gibbs, a White House spokesman, said Friday afternoon that the month-old Obama administration 'continues to strongly believe that a privately held banking system is the correct way to go.'The comments reversed a broader decline by U.S. stocks that at one point pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average close to 1997 levels. Still, the Dow finished down 100.28 points, or 1.3%, to 7365.67, a new low for the current bear market. Friday's decline left the Dow with its worst weekly drop in four months.In another sign of flagging investor confidence, gold topped $1,000 an ounce Friday, its highest price in nearly a year.Among banks with huge exposure to souring loans and the recession, Citigroup Inc. tumbled 22%, while Bank of America Corp. slipped 3.6%.Friday's slide subtracted 4.9% from the combined capitalization of the eight financial institutions that were the first to get capital infusions from the government. Among them, Wells Fargo & Co. fell 9.2%, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. was down 3.4%.The broad declines show that investors are struggling to sort out the impact of the government's moves already to expand its role in the banking system. Those steps include owning preferred stakes that now exceed the value of all the privately held common shares in some banks. Federal officials are weighing whether to change their ownership into securities that could be converted to common stock, essentially giving the government control of some of the nation's largest financial institutions.Friday's tumult underscored deepening worries that months of unprecedented efforts by the Bush and Obama administrations to backstop nearly every corner of the U.S. banking system may not be enough to prevent the nationalization of some of the most wounded institutions.Top government officials remain highly resistant to the idea of nationalizing banks, fearing that it could prolong or even worsen the financial crisis. In addition, some Obama administration officials believe the government wouldn't be able to sufficiently manage nationalized banks. A federal takeover of even a few institutions also could make it harder to attract private capital, since such investors would worry that the government might eventually dilute or wipe out their stakes.Inside Citigroup, bank executives are growing increasingly exasperated with what they view as the Obama administration's failure to state even more explicitly that nationalization isn't imminent and that 'stress tests' announced as part of the latest financial-rescue package aren't a guise for government takeovers that likely would make their common shares worthless. The tests, expected to begin next week, will be required for any bank with more than $100 billion in deposits. Government takeovers likely would make common shares of those banks worthless.Kenneth Lewis, the chairman and chief executive of Bank of America, insisted in a memo to employees that there is no need to nationalize the bank. 'We see no reason why a company that is profitable with strong levels of capital and liquidity and that continues to lend actively should be considered for nationalization,' Mr. Lewis said. 'Speculation about nationalization is based on a lack of understanding of our bank's financial position as well as a lack of appreciation for the adverse ramifications for our customers and the economy.'One huge challenge for the Obama administration is that its assurances are colliding with rising unemployment, costly home foreclosures, tight credit markets and the steep drop in consumer spending. The U.S. banking industry is expected to record a quarterly loss in the fourth quarter for the first time since 1990.The financial conditions of many banks are continuing to weaken, especially at those with large portfolios of credit-card loans and commercial real-estate loans that are being hit increasingly hard by the recession.Even private-equity investors, well-known for scooping up assets that are considered to be undervalued, are wary about pouring money into the sector due to ongoing uncertainty about the government's role in financial institutions. 'There has to be some level of stability and confidence in what the playing field is going to look like in order to make a reasonable investment decision,' says John Stein, president of FSI Group Inc., which invests in small financial-services companies.Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner recently announced plans to pump more capital into banks and try to jumpstart credit markets, but government officials haven't quelled fears about the state of the banking sector. Analysts expect that roughly 1,000 banks might fail over the next three to five years.While plunging bank-stock prices are putting more pressure on the Obama administration, they don't have a direct impact on a bank's overall financial health. A bank's Achilles heel is deposits, and any exodus would trigger a funding crisis that forces the government to take drastic action, possibly by seizing the bank.Increased deposit-insurance limits by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have soothed some jitters among bank customers, but the heightened specter of nationalization could cause some to flee just to avoid the possibility of hassles in the case of a government takeover.Damian Paletta / David Enrich / Dan Fitzpatrick