金融英语U3_听力

Unit 3

Short Dialogues

Task 1 Multiple Choice

Scripts & Answers

Dialog 1 M: Hi, Xiaohong. There is news about bankruptcies of some U.S. banks. It

seems the banks are subject to some risks in their operation.

W: Yes. Excessive interest rate risk can pose a significant threat to a bank’s earnings and capital base. M: Do you know the exact meaning of the interest rate risk? W: It is difficult to explain it in a few words. Let me see, eh… Generally speaking, interest rate risk is the risk arising from the change in value of

an interest-bearing asset, such as a loan or a bond, due to fluctuation in

interest rates. As rates rise, the price of a fixed rate bond will fall. As rates

fall, the price of the bond will rise.

M: So the task of control over the interest rate risk would be critical to banks,

because the change in interest rates will affect the value of a bank’s

interest-bearing assets.

W: Right, but sometimes it is beyond the control of one bank.

Question: What is usually considered the cause of interest rate risk according to the woman? (D)

译文

男： 嗨，晓红。有些关于美国银行破产的新闻。银行的经营似乎容易受到某些风 险的影响。

女： 是。过度的利率风险会威胁到银行的收益和资本基础。

男： 你知道利率风险的准确含义吗？

女： 几句话很难说清楚。让我想想，嗯⋯⋯。一般来说，利率风险产生于附息资 产，如贷款或债券的价格变化，其价格因利率的上下浮动而变化。当利率上

升时，固定利率债券的价格就下跌。当利率下跌时，这些债券的价格就上涨。 男： 所以对于银行来说，控制利率风险的仸务是至关重要的，因为利率的变化会 影响到银行的附息资产的价值。

女： 对。但有时不是一家银行可以控制局面的。

Dialog 2

M: Professor Wang, would you tell me what would happen if a bank had

inadequate liquidity? W: There will be dire consequences, I think. You know that liquidity is a

prime concern in banking operation and a shortage of liquidity has often

been a trigger for bank failures. However, holding assets in a highly liquid

form tends to reduce the income from that asset.

M: It is known that cash is the most liquid asset.

W: Exactly. Cash is liquid but pays no interest. So banks usually try to reduce

liquid assets as far as possible. Without sufficient liquidity to meet the demands of their depositors, nevertheless, a bank would experience the

risk of a bank run.

Question: Which of the following is the key reason that liquidity is a prime concern in banking operation according to the conversation? (B)

译文

男： 王教授，请问假如银行流动资产不足，会怎么样呢？

女： 我认为后果会很严重。你知道资产变现能力是银行经营重点关注的问题，流 动资产匮乏往往是银行倒闭的导火索。但是，持有流动性过高的资产可能减

少资产的收入。

男： 众所周知，现金是流动性最高的资产。

女： 确实如此。现金的流动性高但不获利。所以银行会尽可能地减少流动资产的 持有量。但是，如果银行没有足够的流动资产去满足储户的要求，就会遭受

储户挤兑的风险。

Dialog 3 M: Lin, our teacher told us today that all the loans made by a commercial

bank will be classified into five catalogs: normal, observational, inferior,

questionable, and losing. Now, I want to know how to determine which

catalog one loan goes to. Would you tell me about it?

W: Well, it is not an easy job. But it is necessary for the credit risk analysis. As

far as I know, the credit risk classification is made according to the repayment

capacity of the borrower. If a loan is classified as inferior, questionable or

losing, it is said to be a bad loan. The bank will be required to prepare bad loan

reserve and the banking regulators will do something for the loan.

M: I see that it is a measure to prevent credit risk.

Question: What is implied if a loan is classified as an observational one? (D)

译文

男： 林，老师今天告诉我们说商业银行的贷款都会分为五类：正常、关注、次级、 可疑和损失。现在我想知道如何确定一笔贷款的类别。你能给我讲讲吗？

女： 哦，这不是个简单的事情。但对于信用风险分析是必要的。据我所知，信用 风险分类是按照借款人的还款能力确定的。假如一笔贷款被确定为次级、可

疑或损失，那么就属于不良贷款。银行就要预备一笔不良贷款准备金，银行

管理人员就有事可做了。

男： 我知道，这是防范信用风险的措施。

Dialog 4

M: Diana, what do you think of the subprime mess in the United States?

W: I’ve heard of the word hundreds of times these days. As far as I know, it is

one of the huge risks caused by hedge funds, and the conflicts of interest

have led a lot of banks and companies, especially investment banks into

trouble. They are all the consequences of financial deregulation. Some people

commented that they would reverse field in time to prevent another 1929.

M: Some economic strategy has attracted a lot of criticism recently. They have

come into force in the name of free-market efficiency. People criticized

that some policies have replaced real productive innovation with financial

engineering and shifted wealth from families to corporations, and put the

entire American economy at ever greater risk. Question: What are they talking about? (B)

译文

男： 黛安娜，对于美国的次贷危机你怎么看？

女： 这些天我已经数百次听到这个词了。据我所知，这是对冲基金惹的一场大祸。 各种利益的冲突导致许多银行和企业，尤其是投资银行陷入困境。这是撤销

金融管制产生的后果。有人评论说他们将及时调整方向，以免重复1929 年

的悲剧。 男： 最近有些经济战略受到许多批评。这些政策是以提高自由市场效率的名义实 施的。有人批评说某些政策用金融操控手段取代了真正富有成效的革新，把

财富仍家庭转移到公司，从而使整个美国经济处于高度风险之中。

Task 2 Short Answer Questions

Scripts & Answers

Dialog 1

M: Good news, guys. I’ve got my loan proposal granted.

W: Congratulations. But be sure that you can get enough money to repay the

loan when it is due.

M: What will happen if I could not repay the loan?

W: The bank will sell your mortgaged house and the payment will be used to

repay the loan.

M: Oh, it is terrible. I’ll of course repay it on time because I have a very

rational repayment plan and a good job.

Question: What will happen if a borrower could not repay the loan to the lending bank?

The bank will sell the mortgaged house and the payment will be used to repay

the loan.

译文

男： 好消息，伙计们。我的贷款申请通过了。 女： 祝贺你。但你要保证你有足够的钱偿还到期贷款。

男： 如果还不上会怎么样？

女： 银行会把你抵押的房子卖掉，所得的房款用来归还贷款。

男： 哦，太可怕了。我肯定会按时还款，因为我有很合理的还款计划和很好的工作。

Dialog 2

W: Hey, do you member that the teacher told us that there are 5 Ps to be

considered while handling a loan proposal?

M: Yes, they are critical factors for a manager of the credit department to make correct assessment of the credit risks.

W: What are the 5 Ps? People, Purpose, Payment, and …?

M: And Protection and Perspective.

W: Right. It is easy to get the meaning of the first three Ps, but the last two Ps

are difficult to understand.

Question: What are the 5 Ps?

People, Purpose, Payment, Protection and Perspective.

译文

女： 嗨，你记得老师说过收到贷款申请后，必须考虑5 个P 么？

男： 对。这是信贷部经理进行正确的信贷风险评估时要考虑的关键因素。

女： 什么是5 个P? 借款人、借款用途、还款计划、还有⋯⋯？

男： 还有还款保障和还款风险预测。 女： 对了。前3 个P 很容易理解，后两个比较费解。

Dialog 3

W: Excuse me, would you please tell me how many types of personal housing loans are offered by your bank CCB?

M: It is a pleasure. CCB offers many types of personal housing loans,

including personal second-hand housing loans, personal commercial space

purchase loans, individual housing loans at fixed interest rates, personal

housing mixed loans, individual housing provident fund loans and personal mortgage loans.

W: What is an individual housing provident fund loan? I don’t understand the

meaning of “housing provident fund”.

M: It’s a special type of personal housing loan designed for those who

have deposited a percentage of their income in their individual housing

provident fund account, and when they need money to buy a house, they

can apply for it at a prime rate of interest.

Question: How many types of personal housing loans are mentioned in the conversation and what are they?

Six types. They are personal second-hand housing loans, personal commercial

space purchase loans, individual housing loans at fixed interest rates, personal

housing mixed loans, individual housing provident fund loans and personal

mortgage loans.

译文 女： 打扰一下，你能告诉我你们建行提供的个人住房贷款有几种么？

男： 很乐意。建行提供多种个人住房贷款，包括个人二手房贷款、个人商用房屋贷

款、个人固定利率房屋贷款、个人房屋混合贷款、个人公积金购房贷款、个人 房屋抵押贷款。

女： 什么叫个人住房公积金贷款？我不明白“住房公积金”是什么意思。

男： 这是一种特殊形式的个人住房贷款。人们首先把收入的一部分存入其个人公 积金账户，当他们需要贷款买房时，可以按优惠利率申请这种贷款。

Task 3 Listening and Simulating

Scripts & Answers

Dialog 1

M: Morning, Madam. I’m going to apply for a loan. I don’t know the

conditions for a loan and the documents to be prepared for the application.

W: Could you tell me your purpose of the loan?

M: I want to buy a car.

W: Oh, well, you’d better apply for an auto loan. I think you’re satisfied with

the loan conditions because you have a good social status and make a good salary. You just bring with you the documents such as your ID card,

a certificate of employment, a certificate of income and make a credible

repayment plan.

译文

男： 早上好，女士。我准备申请贷款。不知道申请贷款要什么条件和应该准备哪 些文件？

女： 你能告诉我你为什么申请贷款吗？

男： 我想买车。

女： 哦，你最好申请汽车贷款。我觉得你符合贷款条件，因为你有很好的社会地 位和高薪工作。你只需带上身份证、工作证、收入证明，做一份可信的还款

计划就可以了。

Dialog 2

M: Ah, I understand that banks face many types of risk. The U.S. subprime

crisis is an example.

W: You are right. The major type of risk is called credit risk.

M: I see eye to eye with you on it. Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a

debtor’s non-payment of a loan or other lines of credit. If a bank was

involved in the credit risk, it could not get back the loans from some

clients. Some people may not have sound creditworthiness or they are

really in trouble and not able to repay the money.

W: So banks must have some measures to prevent the risks.

译文

男： 嗯，我明白银行面临着很多风险。美国的次贷危机就是例子。

女： 你说得对。主要的风险是信用风险。

男： 我完全同意。信用风险就是因为债务人拒绝偿还贷款或别的信用额度而产生 损失的风险。假如银行遭遇信用风险，他们就无法仍某些客户那里收回贷

款。可能有些人的信用度不高，或者他们真的有困难，不能还款。

女： 所以银行必须有防范风险的措施。

Dialog 3 W: Excuse me, I am told that your bank provides personal consumer durables

loans for those who are prepared to buy some expensive domestic fixtures,

such as computers, washing machines, fridges, air conditions, and so on.

Would you please tell me the qualification for such a loan?

M: It is my pleasure. Our target clients for the personal consumer durables

loans are Chinese citizens aged between 18 and 60 years with full legal

capability.

W: Well, I think I’m qualified for the loan, but how to apply for it?

M: Frankly speaking, it is very simple to apply for a personal consumer durables

loan. Here is the leaflet on step-by-step guide of the loan application. Please

read it and prepare all the documents required and fill in the application form.

译文

女： 打扰一下，听说你们银行为那些打算购买贵重家电的人提供个人耐用品贷款， 比如买计算机、洗衣机、冰箱、空调等，你能告诉我这种贷款的申请资格吗？ 男： 很乐意。我们的目标客户是凡年满18 周岁至60 周岁，并且具有完全法律行 为能力的中国公民。

女： 哦，我想，我有资格申请。但怎么申请呢？

男： 坦率地说，申请个人耐用消费品贷款很简单。这是有关贷款申请步骤的宣传 单。请阅读后，按要求准备好需要的文件，并填写这份申请表。

Long Conversations

Conversation 1 Apply for an Auto Loan

Scripts & Answers

W: Hello, Mr. Smith. Please have a seat. What can I do for you today?

M: I want to borrow some money to buy a car. A friend of mine, Jack Richardson, bought a new car last week. He told me that he got his loan here.

W: Oh, yes. I remember him. I was the loan officer who attended to the business for him. M: He said that you were very helpful. I know very little about loans and I hope you can introduce them to me.

W: No problem. What questions do you have?

M: First, I want to know if loans for buying cars are commercial loans or personal loans. W: Neither, Mr. Smith, they’re auto loans. Commercial loans are the loans extended to businesses. Personal loans are made to individuals, but not for buying cars.

M: Thank you! Got it. But how much money can I get for an auto loan?

W: I’m afraid you should tell me your use of the car first.

M: For personal use. Is there any difference?

W: Yes. If you use the loan to purchase automobiles for personal use, you may borrow up to 80% of the purchase price.

M: Wonderful. What about the interest rate?

W: The current rate is 6.78% per annum. It is a floating rate, you know.

M: What’s the term of the loan? W: The term of the loan shall not exceed 3 years. How do you plan to repay the loan, by instalments or in a lump sum?

M: I want to repay the loan by monthly instalments, equally, of course.

W: OK. How much money do you need for the loan?

M: 80% of the purchase price of the car, er…, that is RMB 80,000 yuan . But do you need any guarantee for the loan? W: That is exactly what I’m going to tell you. To apply for personal auto loans, you need to provide guarantee, such as pledge-backed property, mortgaged autos that you purchase, mortgaged houses, or third-party guarantees.

M: Third-party guarantee?

W: Absolutely. Besides, we’ll also check your credit record to make sure that you always paid back your loans in the past. Excuse me, do you have any current account with our bank? M: Yes, we have a RMB current account as well as a USD time deposit with your bank. W: What is the average balance of your current account?

M: About a 4-digit number. Oh, yes, I want to use my USD time deposit as the collateral. The account balance is $20,000 and the term is 5 years. The money is saved for my

daughter. I’ll send her to study abroad. Is it all right?

W: That’s very good. I think there will be no problem. But I have to tell you that the

account would be frozen during the period of the loan. Is there any problem?

M: No problem.

W: All right. Now what you need to do is to fill out this application form and prepare your documents.

M: Thank you very much. I’ll start right now.

译文

女： 你好！史密斯先生。请坐。今天要办什么业务？

男： 我要贷款买辆车。我的朊友杰克·理查森上周买了新车。他告诉我是在你这 里办的贷款。

女： 哦，是的。我记得他。我就是负责处理这笔贷款的工作人员。

男： 他说你给予了很大的帮助。关于贷款我知道得很少。希望你能够给我介绍一下。 女： 没问题。你有些什么问题？

男： 首先，我想知道买车的贷款属于商业贷款还是个人贷款？

女： 都不是，史密斯先生，是汽车贷款。商业贷款指为企业提供的贷款。个人贷 款是对针对个人的，但不是用来买车的。

男： 谢谢！我懂了。我能借多少钱作为汽车贷款呢？

女： 恐怕你要先告诉我买车的用途。

男： 我个人使用。有区别吗？

女： 有。如果你因个人使用而贷款购买汽车，你可以最高借到车款的80%。

男： 太好了。利率是多少呢？

女： 目前的年利率是6.78%。你知道，这是浮动利率。

男： 贷款期限是多长？

女： 贷款期限不能超过3 年。你打算怎么偿还贷款？分期付款还是一次性付清？ 男： 我想按月分期付款。当然是每月等额。

女： 行。你需要多少？

男： 购车款的80%，嗯⋯⋯。那就是8 万元人民币。可是，你们需要贷款担保吗？ 女： 我正要告诉你这个。申请个人汽车贷款时，需要提供担保，比如质押财产、 抵押你购买的汽车、抵押房屋，或者第三方担保。

男： 第三方担保？

女： 对。另外，我们还要审核你的信用记录，确保你以前一直按时偿还贷款。请 问，你在我们银行有活期账户吗？

男： 有啊。我们在你们银行有一个人民币活期账户，还有一笔美元定期存款。 女： 活期账户的平均余额是多少？

男： 大约4 位数吧。哦，对了。我打算用我的美元定期存款做担保。账户余额是2 万美元，期限5 年。这笔钱是为我女儿存的。我准备送她去外国读书。行吗？ 女： 非常好。我想可以了。但我必须告诉你，在贷款期间，我们要冻结你的美元 账户。有没有问题？

男： 没问题。

女： 好。那您现在需要做的就是填写申请表和准备文件。

男： 非常感谢。我马上做。

Conversation 2 Personal Consumer Durables Loans

Task 2 Short Answer Questions Scripts & Answers for Reference M: Morning, Ms. Edwards! Would you please have a seat? Is there anything I can do for you? W: Thank you. I would like to apply for a loan to buy some new living room furniture. M: Do you have a savings account or a checking account with our bank?

W: Yeah, I do. Is there anything wrong with my accounts? M: No, I only want to know your account balance and your credit record. If you have a sound credit record, you can get our personal consumer durables loans backed on your creditworthiness.

W: Are there any conditions for personal consumer durables loans? I think I have a very good credit record and I never overdraw my account. My account balance always

maintains 4 digits. Oh, yeah. I have a time deposit of RMB 30,000 yuan with your bank, but it is not due. I don’t want to lose any interest. I’m told I can borrow money against my passbook of the time deposit. Is it OK? I’m positive I will repay the loan as soon as my time deposit falls due in 8 months.

M: Er, yes, it will be much easier if you have a bank deposit as the collateral. OK, how much money do you want? The credit line of our personal consumer durables loans is RMB 3,000 yuan at minimum and RMB 50,000 yuan at maximum.

W: RMB 26,000 yuan is enough.

M: I have to tell you that if your time deposit is used as the collateral for the loan, we will freeze your account until the loan is paid off.

W: Exactly. What else should I do now? Oh, what about the interest rate? I am going to repay the loan by monthly instalments. Equaly, I think.

M: All right. How long? Six months? W: Well, let me see. OK, six months.

M: The rate is 4.73% per annum. Now let’s calculate how much will be repaid each month. The principal is RMB 26,000 yuan , the rate is 4.73% and the time is 1/2 year. So 26,000 times 4.73 over 100 and then times 1/2, we can get 614.9. This is the interest to be paid. The principal 26,000 plus interest 614.9 and then divided by 6 months, we get 4,435.817. So every month you should repay RMB 4,435.817 yuan .

W: Oh, it is a great burden. I’m afraid I can’t bear it. Shall I have a longer credit term? One year, one year would be better, I believe.

M: Have you decided?

W: Yeah. Absolutely, I’ve decided. One year. I don’t want to change everything because of the loan.

M: All right. Let’s do it again. 26,000 times 4.73 over 100 and then times 1, we can get 1,229.8. This is the interest on the principal. Then 26,000 plus 1,229.8 and then divided by 12, the number of the months, we get 2,269.15. So during the period of the loan you should repay RMB 27,229.8 yuan , that is the total amount of principal plus interest, by 12 equal installments. Each month you should deposit RMB 2,269.15 yuan to a special account at the specified time. Any problem?

W: No problem. 2269.15 yuan is not a large amount. It is acceptable.

M: Now, if you’d kindly fill out the application form and hand in all the documents

required, we can begin to process your application.

W: All right. I’ve brought all my documents with me. Here they are. This is the application form. M: Thank you. Oh, Ms. Edwards. Would you please sign here?

W: Sorry, I forgot it. Is it all right?

M: OK, Ms. Edwards. We’ll inform you once it’s approved. W: Thank you, Manager. I appreciate all your help.

译文 男： 早上好！爱德华兹女士。请坐。需要我为您效劳吗？

女： 谢谢。我来是想申请贷款购买新家具。

男： 您在我们银行开有储蓄账户或支票账户吗？

女： 有啊。有什么问题吗？

男： 不。我只是想了解您的账户余额和您的信用记录。如果您有良好的信用记录， 您可以凭你的信用获得我行的个人耐用品贷款。

女： 需要什么条件才能获得个人耐用品贷款呢？我认为我有非常好的信用记录， 我仍没透支过账户。我的账户一直保持4 位数的余额。哦，对了, 我在你行有

一个3 万元的人民币定期存款账户，但没到期。我不想损失利息。我听说可

以凭我的定期存折做抵押借款。是这样吗？我保证8 个月后我的定期存款到

期，我会立即偿还贷款。

男： 嗯，好。如果您有银行存款作担保，事情就容易多了。这样吧，你要借多少 钱？我们的耐用品贷款的信贷额度是最低3,000 元，最高50,000 元。

女： 26,000 元就够了。

男： 我必须告诉您，如果您的定期存款用作贷款的担保，我们将冻结您的账户， 直到还清贷款为止。

女： 好的。还需要我做什么？哦，利率是多少？我希望以按月等额分期付款的方式 偿还贷款。

男： 好吧。多长时间？6 个月？

女： 嗯，我想想。好的，6 个月。

男： 年利率是4.73%。我们来计算一下每个月需要还款多少。本金是26,000 元， 利率是4.73%，时间是半年。26,000 乘以4.73 除以100 再乘以0.5，结果

是614.9。这是要付的利息。本金26,000 加上614.9，然后除以6 个月，结

果是4,435.817。所以每个月您要偿还4,435.817 元。

女： 哦，负担太重了。恐怕我承担不起。贷款期限能够长一点吗？1 年，我觉得 期限为1 年要好一些。

男： 决定了吗？

女： 对，我决定了。1 年。我不想因贷款而改变我的生活。

男： 好吧。我们重新计算。26,000 乘以4.73 除以100， 再乘以1， 结果是

1,229.8。这是本金的利息。然后把26,000 与1,229.8 相加，除以12，贷款

的月数，我们得到2,269.15。所以贷款期间您要还款27,229.8 元，这是12 个月本金加利息的等额还款总数。每个月您应该在规定的时间存2,269.15 元

到一个特定账户。有问题吗？

女： 没有问题。2,269.15 元不是大数，可以接受的。

男： 那现在请您填写申请表，提交所需的文件，我们开始处理您的贷款申请。 女： 好。我带来了我的所有文件。请看。这是申请表。

男： 谢谢。哦，爱德华兹女士，请在这儿签名，好吗？

女： 不好意思，刚才我忘了。行了吗？

男： 可以了，爱德华兹女士。贷款获批后我们会通知您的。

女： 谢谢你，经理。非常感谢你的帮助。

Lectures or News Reports

A Lecture Lending Business

Scripts & Answers

Well, today, I’d like to introduce the lending business. We all know that lending to commercial customers is more complex than lending to

personal customers. This is because commercial customers are involved in a much wider range of activities. Commercial lending refers to lending services to sole proprietors (sole traders), partnerships, private companies and public limited companies. As the term implies, commercial lending services offered by banks provide financial assistance to business and commercial

sectors. In Hong Kong, the most popular is the trade financing in import-export sectors, followed by building and construction, wholesale and retail business, and of course, manufacturing and production sectors. Depending on the size of the operation, the need for financing in the commercial

sector may range from a few thousand to billions of Hong Kong dollars.

The duration of the commercial loan may be short-term (up to 12 months), medium-term

(1-5 years), or long-term (5 years and more). Thus, a sole trader may require bank finance for his

export bills or a loan (30 days term) against his imports, while a public company may acquire a long-term loan facility for the acquisition of a commercial building. Therefore, the sole trader may request an overdraft on his current account from the bank, while the public company is likely to

ask for a loan for specific purpose with a repayment schedule over a longer period of time. Since commercial lending involves a much wider scope and range of lending criteria and procedures, it deserves a separate discussion next time.

译文

今天，我打算介绍一下贷款业务。

我们都知道贷款给商业客户比贷款给个人客户要复杂得多。这是因为商务客户涉及的业务范围广

得多。商业贷款指借款给独资经营者（独资商人）、合股公司、私营有限公司以及上市公司。顾名思

义，银行的商业贷款业务给商贸行业提供财政援助。在香港，进出口业的贸易融资最受欢迎，其次是 建筑业、批发零售业，当然还有生产制造业。依据其经营规模的大小，商贸行业的融资需求少则几千

港元，多则数十亿港元。

商业贷款的期限可以是短期（最长12 个月）、中期（1 至5 年）或长期（5 年以上）。因此，独资

商人可以要求银行为其出口票据融资或需要一笔（期限为30 天的）进口商品质押贷款。而上市公司可

以为其收购某商业大楼而获得长期信贷的特色朋务。所以，独资经营者也许需要对其银行的活期账

户透支，而上市公司则可能需要用于专门用途而且还款期限比较长的贷款。

因为商业贷款涉及的贷款原则规模和范围更广，步骤更复杂，因此需要在下次单独进行讨论。

A News Report News on the Citigroup

Scripts & Answers for Reference

China Radio International. You are listening to China Radio International news program. Citigroup shareholders may have finally gotten what they wanted—the resignation of

Chairman and Chief Executive Charles Prince—but Wall Street’s worries are far from over. At an emergency meeting of the Citi board on Sunday, the nation’s largest bank announced Prince’s widely expected departure, but also estimated it would take additional losses of $8

billion to $11 billion. In the third quarter, it already took a hit of $6.5 billion in asset mark downs and other credit-related losses.

Citigroup’s not alone in its debt problems. When borrowers with poor credit stopped paying their mortgages, many banks not only had to take losses on those subprime mortgages, they also saw instruments in their portfolios backed by mortgages decreased in value. No one knows how much longer home prices will keep falling, and whether problems related to the housing market

will start affecting other types of consumer debt.

Also to be seen is how much longer the credit markets will stay tight, and if the currently strong portions of the economy will be made more difficult by banks’ inability to make loans. “It’s the lending practices,” said Steven Goldman, chief market strategist. “How much is that going to be damaged?”

Prince, 57, became Chief Executive of Citigroup in October 2003. Many shareholders

criticized him openly. Shares closed Friday at $37.73, about 20 percent below where they were when Prince became CEO.

“There’s no change of strategy that we see, actually, going forward,” Bischoff said, noting that the company still plans to focus on international expansion, at least until a new CEO is chosen. 译文

中国国际广播电台。您正在收听的是中国国际广播电台新闻节目。

花旗集团公司股东们或许最终得到了他们希望的结果—花旗集团董事长兼首席执行官查尔斯·普林斯离仸—但华尔街的担忧远胜于此。

本周日花旗董事会召开紧急会议，美国最大的银行宣布了众望所归的普林斯的离仸，但估计该行会额外损失80 至110 亿美元。第三季度，该行遭受了资产缩水以及其他与信贷相关的损失65 亿美元。

不止花旗集团一家身陷债务困境。当信用不良的借款人停止支付按揭贷款时，许多银行不仅要承担次级贷款的损失，还要眼睁睁地看着他们的以按揭贷款为担保的组合资产的票据价值缩水。谁也不知道房屋的价格什么时候停止下跌，也不知道与房地产市场相关的问题是否会影响其他品种的消费债务。

还需要观望的是信贷市场紧缩还要多长时间，而且当前经济的领衔领域是否会因为银行无力发行贷款而更加困难。

斯蒂文·戈德曼，市场战略专家说：“这是贷款惯例，这样下去损失究竟是多少呢？”

普林斯，现年57 岁，2003 年10 月就仸花旗首席执行官。许多股东公开批评他。花旗的股票本周五收市价为37.73 美元，比当初他上仸时下跌了20%。

“实际上目前我们看到公司没有进行仸何战略上的改变，” 比肖夫说。他还强调公司仌然致力于国际扩张，至少新的首席执行官上仸之前是这样。