China’s huge shadow banking sector is facing its toughest test after ICBC, the world’s biggest bank by assets, whose branches sell many of these wealth products, refused to bail out investors in a dud $500m issue.
中国庞大的影子银行业面临着最严峻的考验。此前，中国工商银行(ICBC)拒绝为一只陷入困境的5亿美元信托的投资者兜底。工行是全球资产规模最大的银行，该行的分行销售许多此类理财产品。
The enormous growth of poorly regulated financing outside the formal banking sector in China and the potential for a panicked run on these shadowy products and institutions pose one of the biggest risks to the global economy this year.
中国正规银行部门以外监管薄弱的融资的巨大增长，以及投资者在恐慌之下逃离影子产品和影子机构的潜在可能性，构成今年全球经济的最大风险之一。
Shadow banking worries extend far beyond China. Paul Tucker, a former Bank of England deputy governor, said yesterday that global regulators were struggling to keep up with the pace of change in the “shape-shifting” non-bank sector. He warned of “faltering vigour” in oversight of markets.
对影子银行感到担忧的绝不止是中国。英国央行(Bank of England)前副行长保罗•塔克(Paul Tucker)昨日表示，全球监管机构难以跟上“不断变形的”非银行部门的变化步伐。他警告称，有关当局对市场的监督“力度在减弱”。
In China, investment trusts and other wealth management products have become a vital source of off-balance sheet funding, and account for almost a third of credit in the world’s second-largest economy, up from less than a quarter in 2012. Many have warned of the systemic risks posed by these products, including China’s state council or cabinet.
在中国，投资信托及其他理财产品已成为表外融资的重要来源，几乎占全球第二大经济体信贷总量的三分之一，远高于2012年的不到四分之一。包括中国国务院在内的许多方面都已经对此类产品构成的系统性风险发出了警告。
The funds are often invested in more troubled sectors of China’s economy and they have been snapped up by retail investors seeking better returns than those afforded by bank savings.
这些基金往往投资于中国经济中麻烦较多的部门，而散户投资者为了得到高于银行存款利息的回报，对此类产品趋之若鹜。
Most wealth management products are sold with some form of bank guarantee, leading many investors to believe that the products are in effect risk-free, despite the often high promised yield.
多数理财产品在销售时都有某种形式的银行担保，导致许多投资者以为这些产品实际上是无风险的，尽管其承诺的收益率往往较高。
But, in an unprecedented move, ICBC said it would not stand behind the Rmb3bn ($495m) investment product it distributed through its branches in 2010, according to people familiar with the situation. The fund matures at the end of this month.
但据知情人士透露，近日发生一件空前的事：工行表示，该行不会为其分行在2010年经销的一只30亿元人民币（合4.95亿美元）的投资产品兜底。这只基金将在本月底到期。
Zhang Zhiwei, China economist at Nomura, said a default in the shadow banking sector could trigger a ripple effect across the financial system.
野村(Nomura)的中国经济学家张智威表示，影子银行业发生违约，可能引发波及整个金融体系的连锁反应。
“In the past we’ve had several examples of trust companies bailing out investors. I don’t think we’ve had a situation where investors have lost money,” said Mr Zhang. “I think it’s going to change the expectations for some investors for the potential credit risk, and have some risks for the rolling over of a lot of these trust products.”
“以往我们看到过若干信托公司对投资者刚性兑付的例子。我不记得有投资者赔钱的先例。”张智威表示，“我认为这将改变一些投资者对潜在信贷风险的预期，并给很多此类信托产品的滚转带来一些风险。”
In a paper published by the Brookings Institution, Mr Tucker said regulators needed to display greater flexibility to cope with “endemic regulatory arbitrage and the shape-shifting dynamic of finance”, pointing to problems in both advanced and emerging market economies.
塔克在布鲁金斯学会(Brookings Institution)发表的一篇论文中表示，监管机构需要展现出更大的灵活性，以应对“当前盛行的监管套利和不断变形的金融业格局”。他指出，发达经济体和新兴市场经济体都存在问题。
Globally, shadow banking is worth $71.2tn according to the Financial Stability Board, with its estimate of China’s sector exceeding $2.1tn.
根据金融稳定委员会(Financial Stability Board)的数据，全球影子银行业的价值达到71.2万亿美元，其中中国影子银行业的价值估计超过2.1万亿美元。
The product that ICBC is refusing to guarantee offered investors a 10 per cent yield, compared with the benchmark deposit rate of just 3 per cent.
工行拒绝兜底的那只产品当初向投资者提供10%的收益率，相比之下，基准存款利率只有3%。