評論
打印
Finance and economics
財經商業
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
房利美與房地美
Deconstruction delays
關閉計劃或擱淺
A flawed reform of America's housing-finance market
存在缺陷的美國房屋金融市場改革
A RARE area of agreement about the financial crisis of 2008 is that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were at the core of the meltdown and are in urgent need of reform.
關于2008年金融危機，幾個少有的一致觀點中就包括：房利美和房地美是這次災難的主要原因，亟需整改。
On March 16th the leading Republican and Democratic members of thekey Senate Banking Committee belatedly released a plan,
在3月16日，參議院銀行委員會中幾位主要的共和黨和民主黨議員發布了一份遲來的計劃，
for restructuring the two publicly traded mortgage giants.
內容是整改這兩家公開交易的抵押貸款巨頭。
The plan has received widespread attention in part because it appears to address the most evident problems of Fannie and Freddie,
這份計劃受到廣泛關注的原因部分在于它或將解決兩房最為顯著的問題，
and because it is deemed likely to be approved by Congress.
部分則是普遍認為這份計劃會在國會通過。
Yet neither of these assumptions, on deeper examination, seems to be true.
然而仔細一想，這兩個假設似乎都很難實現。
To satisfy those who want low-priced mortgages on terms that private markets would never endorse,
那些需要私有資本市場不會批準的低成本抵押貸款的民眾應感到滿足，
the plan makes explicit the government guarantee on debt which had been implicit for Fannie and Freddie.
因為這份計劃明確表示政府將會對這些債務做出擔保，而這曾是兩房的潛在規則。
This would lower the interest rate on high-risk loans, while obscuring the cost of the subsidy.
這一規定將降低高風險貸款的利率，同時使補貼成本難以計算。
To placate those who worry that this in turn would leave the government stuck with mountains of dud loans,
那些擔心政府會因此接受大量不良貸款的人也不必緊張，
a 10% capital cushion must be provided by investors to absorb initial losses.
因為計劃規定投資者們需要提供10%的資本緩沖來承擔首次損失。
A fee of 0.1% would be charged on all mortgage-backed bonds, with the proceeds going to three funds, two pre-existing, that will provide subsidies for housing.
所有抵押保證債券將會收取0.1%的費用，這筆收費將交由三家提供房屋補貼的基金，其中兩家已經存在。
An as-yet undetermined insurance charge will be levied on top.
另外還要征收一項保險費，其數額尚未確定。
The result, said Mike Crapo, the ranking Republican senator on the committee, would be a strong step forward to fixing our flawed housing system.
委員會中的資深資深共和黨參議員Mike Crapo認為，這個結果將是改善我們充滿缺點的住房體系的重要進步。
If only, say critics, who include investors and both friends and foes of Fannie and Freddie.
批評者，包括投資者以及兩房的敵友機構認為，哪怕計劃得以通過，也會帶來很多問題。
The first objection is that the law would create an unwieldy bureaucracy,
第一個障礙就是該法規將催生一個運作遲緩的官僚體系，
with a regulator atop other entities devoted to overseeing functions such assyndicating loans or bundling the loans of small banks.
用一個監管機構來監督實體機構行使某些職能，比如銀團貸款和捆綁小型銀行的貸款。
When the plan was announced, the price of shares in Fannie and Freddie, which account for about two-thirds of the mortgage market, did not budge at first.
當這個計劃被宣布時，擁有抵押貸款市場三分之二份額的房利美和房地美的股價并沒有立刻發生變化。
Then they tanked—presumably because investors reached page 387 of the 442-page text,
之后卻狂跌不止，或許是因為投資者終于把442頁的文本翻到了387頁，
and found enshrined in legislation an earlier 2012 order by the Treasury that expropriated from private investors all profits made by Fannie and Freddie.
發現了法律中深藏的一項財政部于2012年下達的命令：沒收私人投資者從兩房獲得的利潤。
The move is unlikely to help attract the private money needed to supply the 10% in equity underpinning bonds issued under the new plan.
這個命令可不會幫助吸引私人資本為新計劃將發行的用以支持股票的債券提供10%的資金。
Opponents of Fannie and Freddie contend that the two played a key role in the crisis,
兩房的競爭對手們認為，這兩家利用好聽的經濟適用房的授權，
by encouraging the issuance of loans with tiny downpayments through a benign-sounding affordable housing mandate.
鼓勵發行首付極低的住房貸款，從而對金融危機負有很大責任。
Nothing much has changed. Under the new plan, downpayments of as little as 3.5% of the loan value would be permitted.
但在這方面卻沒有太大改變。新計劃中，首付款可低至貸款的3.5%。
Strewn through the proposed law are words such as affordable, equal access and underserved communities,
該項被提議的法規中充斥著經濟適用，同樣途徑和弱勢群體這類詞語，
which suggest that lending decisions will be based on political rather than credit criteria.
表明關于貸款的決定將取決于政治因素而不是信用標準。
The result, says Edward Pinto of the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank, will be risky lending for those least able to cope.
智囊團美國企業協會的Edward Pinto表示，貸款給無法償還者非常危險。
The underlying problem with the new plan is that, like Fannie and Freddie before it, it tries to reconcile two conflicting goals:
新計劃的潛在問題和這份計劃之前兩房的行為一樣，想要同時完成兩個相沖突的目標：
protecting the financial system and providing low-cost housing loans to favoured groups. A better approach would be to handle these goals separately and explicitly.
即保護金融體系，又想為特殊群體提供低花費的房屋貸款。將兩個目前獨立而明確地處理會是一個更好的方式。
