銀行違約保險價格跌至危機前水平

The cost of insuring against global bank defaults has plunged to its lowest level since the financial crisis in a sign that investors are willing to bet the industry has become safer.

防範全球銀行違約的保險成本已迅速降至金融危機以來的最低水平，這表明投資者願意押注在金融業已變得更安全。

Buyers of bank debt often purchase “credit default swaps,” a type of derivative that helps insure their investments against a default. The price they are paying for that protection is now the lowest since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008.

銀行債券的買家往往會買入“信貸違約互換(CDS)”，這是一種有助於保障他們的投資不受違約影響的金融衍生品。目前，他們買入此類保護工具的價格正處於2008年9月雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)倒閉以來的最低點。

“We’ve gone back to pre-crisis levels,” said Brian Monteleone, analyst at Barclays. “Capital is much higher today than it was pre-crisis. The economic environment is vastly improved. Regulations are in place today that didn’t exist five to 10 years ago that increase confidence that the ability of banks to get too levered is reduced.”

巴克萊銀行(Barclays)分析師布賴恩•蒙泰萊奧內(Brian Monteleone)表示：“我們已重返危機前的水平。比起危機前，如今的資本要充裕得多。經濟環境已大大改善。如今的監管制度在5到10年前還不存在。這些監管制度提高了人們的信心，令他們相信銀行過度槓桿化的能力已經降低。”

The price paid for bank CDS is viewed as a gauge of a financial institution’s perceived riskiness. The premium paid for protection or “spread” widened sharply in 2008 and early 2009, indicating that investors were willing to pay more to insure against a default or to bet against the creditworthiness of a bank.

爲銀行CDS所支付的價格被視爲衡量金融機構已知風險的一種手段。2008年和2009年初，此類保護機制的溢價（或者說“利差”）曾急劇擴大，這顯示投資者願意支付更多成本購買防範違約的保險，或者說他們願意押注於銀行的信譽崩潰。

Since then, regulators have launched wide-ranging efforts to reform the financial system, including requiring banks to raise more long-term capital and remove riskier assets from their balance sheets.

自那以來，監管機構已廣泛採取措施改革金融體系，要求銀行籌集更多長期資本，並從資產負債表中移除風險較高的資產。