海外之声 | 危机之下银行体系将充当强大力量源泉

导读

当下的这场COVID-19危机对于美国金融体系和经济产生了极其深远的影响，金融系统充斥着不确定性。为应对当前经济收缩带来的经济和金融挑战，美联储在支持国家经济、维持信贷供应和降低疫情期间各种限制措施的经济影响方面，做出了大量努力。在过去的两个月里，美联储已采取了30多项措施，例如鼓励机构提供小额信贷、减轻银行运营负担、将准备金率降至零等，以确保金融机构能抵御严重衰退并继续放贷，支持消费者、家庭和企业的生存。由于这些措施以及它们赖以建立的坚实基础，银行性金融机构将完全有能力在当前危机中充当足够强大的力量源泉，而不是压力的来源。从2008年金融危机之后，国会、金融机构和监管机构一直致力于提高银行资本的数量和质量，建立更高水平的流动性。虽然大流行控制措施的严重经济破坏依然存在，但是由于国会、执行机构、中央银行以及世界各地其他公私机构的积极行动，金融市场的压力已经有所缓解。它们帮助稳定了金融体系，恢复了市场功能，构建起这场危机与经济完全复苏之间的桥梁。在过去两个月内，这一金融体系已经显现出了强劲的韧性。银行机构已利用其资本缓冲来支持贷款的大幅增加；8项存款的增长速度更快，显示出对银行安全的信心；9家中央银行和监管机构已通过金融稳定委员会和其他论坛进行合作，以协调他们的反应；第一波严重的财政压力已经开始消退。

作者 | 兰德尔·K·夸尔斯，美联储理事、监管副主席

英文原文如下：

Statement before the Committee onBanking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of U.S. Senate

Randal K. Quarles, Vice Chair for Supervision, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate,12 May 2020

Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Brown, members of the Committee, thankyou for the opportunity to testify today. The past two months have been a timeof exceptional economic hardship. The Congress has displayed an extraordinarywillingness to act, in concert and at speed, to address this hardship and itswide-ranging consequences. I appreciate your dedication to continuing ourcommon work, as well as the chance to appear.The report accompanying my testimony reviews supervisory and regulatorysteps the Federal Reserve has taken to address the economic and financialchallenges of the current economic contraction.[1] I do not plan to repeat those steps here, although I am happy to answer questionsabout them in detail. Instead, I will briefly outline the Federal Reserve’sapproach to supporting the nation’s economy, maintaining the supply of credit,and reducing the economic impact of the various containment measures taken inresponse to public health concerns. This approach applies, not only to ourefforts thus far, but also to the efforts that we—and the financial sector—willmake to support households and businesses in the months ahead.It is worth a moment to acknowledge theprofound effects of this crisis on the nation’s financial system and economy.The measures adopted to contain the pandemic triggered a deep, abrupt, andglobal financial shock. Uncertainty cascaded across the financial system.Savers and investors, consumers and companies, took part in a flight to safety,seeking the stability of cash over the volatility of the markets. No port wassafe from the storm that followed, visiting asset classes from commercial paperto Treasury securities. The strain it caused was widespread, as families andbusinesses struggled to pay their bills, meet their expenses, and sustain theirdaily lives.More than a decade ago, U.S. banking organizations faced a differentcrisis, in which their structural weaknesses catalyzed and compounded theongoing stress. Twelve years of work—by Congress, financial institutions, andthe regulatory agencies—went toward ensuring that this dynamic would not occuragain. Reforms, and other measures taken by the industry, raised the quantityand quality of bank capital, so banks could withstand a severe downturn andcontinue lending. They established higher levels of liquidity, so banks couldmeet customer and counterparty demands. They required improvements in riskmanagement, so banks could avoid unexpected losses lurking in their books. Theyimproved operational resiliency, so banks could keep their doors open and theirlights on after a shock. As a result, banks entered this crisis in a positionof strength.Over the past two months, the Federal Reserve took more than 30supervisory and regulatory actions to ensure financial institutions could usethis strength to support consumers, households, and businesses.[2]

• We advised institutions thatworking constructively with customers, offering them responsible loanmodifications and small-dollar credit, is a safe and sound banking practicemore than appropriate to this extraordinary time.[3]
• We made practical adjustments to certaindocumentation and compliance requirements to ensure the continuing flow ofcredit, while maintaining critical consumer protections.[4]
• We delayed implementation of new regulatorymeasures, and temporarily shifted supervisory activities from on-siteexaminations to off-site monitoring, to reduce operational burden and let firmsconcentrate on customer needs.[5]
• We made targeted—and, whereappropriate, temporary—changes to capital requirements, so firms could moreeffectively use their balance sheets to support customers and the functioningof financial markets.[6]
• We supported banks’ ability to meet customerrequests by reducing reserve requirements to zero, and we took steps toincrease the availability of the discount window to meet liquidity needs.[7]

Because of these measures, and the strong foundations on which they werebuilt, banking organizations are well-positioned to serve as a source ofstrength, not strain, in the current crisis. They have been able to lend tocreditworthy firms, which were suddenly without access to capital markets, orwhich simply sought to keep more cash on hand. They have been able to absorbnew deposits from households and businesses preparing for the difficult roadahead. They have been able to process a flood of transactions from investorsresponding to higher volatility. And as a conduit for official-sector support,they have helped stabilize the financial system and restore market function.The strain in financial markets has eased, thanks to the actions ofCongress, Executive agencies, central banks, and other private and publicinstitutions around the world. The profound economic disruption of the pandemiccontainment measures persists, and households and businesses are still deeplyaffected. Financial institutions now have an essential part to play inaddressing that disruption—as a bridge between the start of this crisis and thecompletion of our economic recovery.There are many differences between the current crisis and the one wefaced a decade ago. The most fundamental, however, is the origin of the stress.The year 2008 marked the peak of a financial panic—incubated in the financialsector, unleashed by volatility in financial markets, compounded by weaknessesin financial institutions, and carried to the real economy through financialchannels. The uncertainty that fueled that panic was born in the financialsystem, and policies aimed at the financial system could address it directly.Today’s uncertainty is different. The financial sector has felt itseffects, and financial policy has helped limit the damage. However, its rootslie elsewhere and have burrowed deep into the marrow of the real economy. Theyare anchored in urgent questions with no ready answers: When will concern overthe outbreak pass? What will the world look like when it does? How do we returnto normal?None of us can answer these questions with certainty. But we can affirmour commitment to support those who bear the heaviest burdens of the currentcrisis, and to help them carry the load, by ensuring the banking sector isstrong and resilient enough to address the nation’s current economic needs.That system has shown resilience over the past two months. Bankingorganizations have used their capital buffers to support a sharp increase inlending, especially through the standing credit lines of their customers.[8] Deposits have increased faster still, a sign of confidence in bank safety.[9] Central banks and supervisors have worked collaboratively through the FinancialStability Board and other fora to coordinate their response. A first wave ofacute financial stress has begun to ebb.The storm, however, is not over. Banking organizations must continue towork constructively with borrowers, offering them the flexibility to weather ahardship they could not expect and did not create. Banks must still manage thechallenges of operating during a public health emergency. And ultimately,banking organizations can only be as robust as the economiesthey serve. As the response to these publichealth concerns continues to unfold, the strength of the U.S. financial sectorwill reflect and depend on the strength of the U.S. economy. That strength, inturn, will depend on the calibration and effectiveness of our public healthresponse.We at the Federal Reserve are seeking to play our role responsibly andeffectively. The tools we have are ones no country should ever hope to need;the hour of their use is one no country should ever hope to face. More may berequired of us before the current crisis ends. We can only pledge to do whatthis moment demands.Thank you for your time. I look forward toanswering your questions.

Notes[1]Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Supervisionand Regulation Report, May 2020 (Washington: Board of Governors, May 2020),https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/202005-supervision-and-regulation-report.pdf.

[2]See Board of Governors of the Federal ReserveSystem, “Supervisory and Regulatory Actions in Response toCOVID-19,” at 

https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisory-regulatory-action-response-covid-19.htm. For a full list of Federal Reserve COVID-19  resources, see Board of Governors ofthe Federal Reserve System, “Coronavirus Disease2019 (COVID-19),” athttps://www.federalreserve.gov/covid-19.htm.[3]See, e.g., Board of Governors of the FederalReserve System, Conference of State Bank Supervisors, Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit UnionAdministration, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, “Agencies provide additional information to encouragefinancial institutions to work with borrowers affected byCOVID-19,” news release, March 22, 2020 (revised April 7, 2020),https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200322a.htm; Board of Governors of theFederal ReserveSystem, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal DepositInsurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, and Office of theComptroller of the Currency, “Federal agencies encourage banks, savings associationsand credit unions to offerresponsible small-dollar loans to consumers and smallbusinesses affected by COVID-19,” news release, March 26,2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200326a.htm; Board of Governors of theFederal ReserveSystem, Conference of State Bank Supervisors, Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit UnionAdministration, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, “Federal agencies encourage mortgageservicers to work with struggling homeowners affected byCOVID-19,” https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200403a.htm.[4]See, e.g., Board of Governors of the FederalReserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of theComptroller of the Currency, National Credit Union Administration, and ConsumerFinancial Protection Bureau, “Federal banking agencies todefer appraisals and evaluations for real estatetransactions affected by COVID-19,” news release, April 14, 2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200414a.htm; Board of Governors of theFederal ReserveSystem, “Federal Reserve offers regulatory reporting relief tosmall financial institutions affected by the coronavirus,” news release, March 26,2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200326b.htm.[5]See, e.g., Board of Governors of the FederalReserve System, “SR 20-4 / CA 20-3: Supervisory Practices RegardingFinancialInstitutions Affected by Coronavirus,” March 13, 2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/srletters/SR2004.htm; Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “Federal Reserve provides additional information tofinancial institutions onhow its supervisory approach is adjusting in light ofthe coronavirus,” news release, March 24, 2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200324a.htm; Board of Governors of theFederal ReserveSystem, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of theComptroller of the Currency, “Agencies announce two actionsto support lending to households and businesses,” news release, March 27,2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200327a.htm; Board of Governors of the FederalReserveSystem, “Federal Reserve Board announces it will delay by sixmonths the effective date for its revised control framework,” news release, March 31,2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200331a.htm; Board of Governors of the Federal ReserveSystem, SR 20-9: “Joint Statement on Interaction of the Regulatory CapitalRule: RevisedTransition of the CECL Methodology for Allowances withSection 4014 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic SecurityAct,” March 31, 2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/srletters/SR2009.htm; Board of Governors of the Federal ReserveSystem, “Federal Reserve Board finalizes rule to extend by 18months the initial compliance dates for certain parts of itssingle-counterparty credit limit rule,” news release, May 1, 2020,https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200501a.htm.[6]See, e.g., Board of Governors of the FederalReserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of theComptroller of the Currency, “Federal banking agencies provide banks additionalflexibility to support households andbusinesses,” March 17, 2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200317a.htm; Board of Governors of the FederalReserve System, “Federal Reserve Board announces technical change tosupport the U.S. economy andallow banks to continue lending to creditworthyhouseholds and businesses,” news release, March 23, 2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200323a.htm; Board of Governors of theFederal ReserveSystem, “Federal Reserve Board announces temporary change to itssupplementary leverage ratio rule to ease strains in theTreasury market resulting from the coronavirus andincrease banking organizations’ ability to provide credit to households andbusinesses,” news release, April 1,2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200401a.htm; Board of Governors of the Federal ReserveSystem, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of the Comptroller ofthe Currency, “Agencies announce changes to the community bank leverageratio,” news release, April 6, 2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200406a.htm.[7]See Board of Governors of the Federal ReserveSystem, “Federal Reserve Actions to Support the Flow ofCredit to Householdsand Businesses,” news release, March 15, 2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20200315b.htm.[8]See, e.g., Board of Governors of the FederalReserve System, “Assets and Liabilities of Commercial Banks in theUnited States-H.8,” updated May 1, 2020, https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h8/current/default.htm.[9]Id.

编译  郭旗

编辑  李锦璇

来源  BIS

审校  金天、蒋旭

监制  董熙君、安然、魏唯

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