

第一步:酝酿
美国吹起一个一个泡泡
在美国,有相当数量的低收入者或金融信用不高的人群。按美国房屋贷款原来的严格审查程序,他们是
不太可能获得购房贷款的。但低收入者的住房,是一个巨大的市场,只要降低贷款的门槛,购房的需求
就会释放出来。
于是,从上世纪80年代开始,美国一些从事房屋信贷的机构,开始了降低贷款门槛的行动,不仅将贷款
人的收入标准调低,甚至没有资产抵押也可得到贷款买房,进而形成了比以往信用标准低的购房贷款,
“次贷”也因此得名。
放 贷机构可不是慈善家,他们不是提供“经济适用房”。获贷人“零首付”轻而易举地跨进了买房的门
槛,过去没能力买房的人群一下就有了买房的条件,当然,与优 质贷款人的固定利率、较低的贷款利息
等相比,你肯定要付出更高的利息,贷款的利率也要“随行就市”浮动。对放贷机构来说,它可以从中
获得比带给优质贷款人 固定利率、较低贷款利息更高的收益。可谓“两头乐的好事”。然而,这一“设
计”构建在了一个贷款人信用低的基础平台上,一旦贷款人无力如期付息还本,放贷 机构烂账砸锅无疑
,风险甚大。
上世纪末期,美国经济的景气,似乎淹没了这一风险。进入21世纪后,次贷风行美国。尤其是在新经济
泡沫破裂和“9·11”事件后,美国实行了宽松的货币政策,从2000年到2004年,连续25次降息,联邦基
金利率从6.5%一路降到1%,并从2003年6月26日到2004年6月30日期间保持了一年多的时间。这一切如同
为消费市场打了“激素”。
利率低到了1%,贷款买房又无需担保、无需首付,且房价一路攀升,房地产市场日益活跃。有位在美国
的朋友告诉说,他1999年花160万美元买了一栋别墅,2003年出手时卖到了320万美元,“这样的投资机
会放在眼前,不买房子简直就是白痴”。
美联储储蓄低利率和房产价格一路飙升,编织出一幅美好的前景,巨大的诱惑驱使着次贷在美国的欣欣
向荣。有数据显示,次贷发展最快的时期是2003~2006年,这几年恰恰是利率最低的一段时期。放贷机构
坐收超常利润,贷款人赢得房产“升值”,
50万美元买了一套房子,2年后价格升到60万美元,贷款人将房子做为抵押再贷出钱,也就会买几处房子
,坐收房地产价格上涨的渔利,一切感觉良好。到2006年末,次贷已经涉及到了500万个美国家庭,目前
已知的次贷规模达到1.1万亿至1.2万亿美元。
假如美国的房地产价格可以一直上升,假如利率持续维持超低的水平,次贷危机也许就不会发生。然而
,这只是格林斯潘“吹出来的连环泡泡”。利率不会永远处于降息周期,经济周期更意味着不会总是无
限增长。为防止市场消费过热,2005年到2006年,美联储先后加息17次,利率从1%提高到5.25%。由于利
率传导到市场往往滞后一些,2006年美国次贷仍有上升。但加息效应逐渐显现,房地产泡沫开始破灭,
那套60万的房子又回到了50万,然后迅速跌到40万,抵押品贬值了,还是那套房子能从银行贷出的钱减
少了,而储蓄利率上升了,贷款利率也相应上升,次贷是浮动利率,于是要还的钱增加了。
本来次贷贷款人就是低收入者,这时候,他会怎么办,还不了贷款,只好不要房子了。贷款机构收不回
贷款,只能收回贷款人的房子,可收回的房子不仅卖不掉,而且还不断贬值缩水,于是不要说什么盈利
,就连资金都转不起来了。从2007年2、3月开始,美国一些次级抵押贷款企业开始暴露出问题,首先是
新世纪金融公司因频临破产被纽约证交所停牌。
第二步:扩散
美国式危机的逻辑轨迹:一个也躲不了
如果只是美国的次级抵押贷款企业出了问题,并不一定导致一场牵动金融全局的次贷危机,因为次贷本
身的规模是可以确定的。据国际货币基金组织(IMF)的统计数据:美国次贷占美国整个房地产贷款的
14.1%,大约在1.1万亿到1.2万亿美元,而其中的坏账,据高盛的测算是4000亿美元。2006年,美国的
GDP为15万亿美元,一个可以确知的危险并没有那么可怕。
次贷之所以酿成危机,是因为次贷早已经通过美国金融创新工具——资产证券化放大成为次级债券,弥
漫到了整个美国乃至全球的金融领域。
美 国的抵押贷款企业,显然知道次贷高回报的背后是高风险,他们不仅需要防范风险,更需要找到不断
扩展自身资金的新来源,以“抓住机遇”支撑更大规模的放贷, 来获取更多的市场收益。一些具有“金
融创新”工具的金融机构,恰好为他们创造了机缘:将一个个单体的次贷整合“打包”,制作成各种名
字的债券,给出相当诱 人的固定收益,再卖出去。于是,银行、资产管理公司、对冲基金、保险公司、
养老基金等金融机构,面对这样的“稳定而高回报的产品”,自然眼睛发亮,产生慷 慨解囊的冲动,抵
押贷款企业于是有了新的源源不断的融资渠道,制造出快速增长的新的次贷。
这些债券本来是从一些低质资产发展而来,“金融创新”则使这些低质资产通过获得信用评级公司的评
级获得了AAA的高等级标号,以光鲜亮丽的外表出现在债券市场上。北京大学中国信用研究中心教授章政
对《环球》杂志记者表示:“经过一系列操作,原本高风险的次级债,仍可分割出一部分评为AAA级,从
而成为了投资者的一种选择。”
当 时,它们确实有着格外的诱惑力——高额回报率。重利之下必有愿者。中国现代国际关系研究院世界
经济研究中心主任陈凤英在接受《环球》杂志记者采访时说, “在‘打包’时,次级贷款的债券被分为
三档:优先产品、中间产品和股权产品。优先档是其中质量比较好的,利率低。股权档的利率最高,高
到50%~100%甚至可以到两倍的回报率”。正是如此之高的回报,吸引了投资者,比如对冲基金。投行贝
尔斯登就买了这些次级债的股权产品。
目前,美国这些次级债券基本分散在五类金融机构手中,包括银行(31%)、资产管理公司(22%)、对冲基
金(10%)、保险公司(19%)和养老基金(18%)。
次 级债进入债券交易市场后一度“不俗的表现”使投资者淡忘了它的风险。但是,当房地产泡沫破裂、
次贷贷款人还不起贷时,不仅抵押贷款企业陷入亏损困境,无力 向那些购买次级债的金融机构支付固定
回报,而且那些买了次贷衍生品的投资者,也因债券市场价格下跌,失去了高额回报,同样掉进了流动
性短缺和亏损的困境。
那些购买了房地产次级债的金融机构损失惨重。自去年3季度开始,金融机构开始报告大额损失,反映了
抵押贷款和其他资产的价值大幅下跌。截至2008年1月底,花旗、汇丰、UBS、美林、摩根斯坦利等大型
银行和证券公司,已对900亿美元以上次贷相关资产损失进行了撇账处理。这个名单里还有法国的兴业银
行、巴黎银行,英国的北岩,瑞士的瑞银,其后大概还有买了不少债券的德国银行。总的来说,现在的
损失就已经超过1000亿美元。
陈凤英认为,是资产证券化使次贷危机成为一个黑洞。她分析说:“证券化是个谜,分成上述三种债券
后,谁购买了哪种类型,买了多少是不清楚的,每个月的坏账和对冲是多少又不清楚。”
美 国的金融产品、金融衍生产品和金融创新是全世界最先进的,次贷这样一种创新使美国不够住房抵押
贷款标准的居民买到了房子,同时通过资产证券化变成次级债, 将高风险加载在高回报中,发散到了全
世界,当风险冒出来,就脱不开“连带责任”,从这个意义上说,凡是买了美国次级债的国家,就要被
迫为美国的次贷危机 “埋单”。
正 如沃伦·巴菲特所警告的,投资者已从美国次级抵押贷款市场发生的事情中认识到,这些证券可能是
“金融大规模杀伤性武器”,如同弗朗肯斯坦创造的怪物。是 的,美国创新了一个怪物,美国人住上了
房子,还不起钱就跑了;美国的债券却卖到了全世界,这些银行、基金等无处可跑,于是各国“央行直
升机群”来了,向美 国银行大把撒钱。美国人不说主权基金不好了,他们欢迎这些钱进来挽救美国,但
是他们其实不会把任何一家哪怕危机累累的银行贱卖给你。这就是美国式危机的表 现和逻辑。
Rising Rates to Worsen Subprime Mess
提高利率使次贷危机更加糟糕
Interest Payments Set
To Grow on $362 Billion
In Mortgages in 2008
By RUTH SIMON
November 24, 2007
The subprime mortgage crisis is poised to get much worse.
次贷危机正朝更糟糕的局面发展.
Next year, interest rates are set to rise -- or "reset" -- on $362 billion worth of
adjustable-rate subprime mortgages, according to data calculated by Bank of America Corp.
根据美洲银行(Bank of America Corp)的计算数据, 明年, 涉及3620亿USD的可调整利率次贷的利率将被
提高或调整.
While many accounts portray resetting rates as the big factor behind the surge in home-loan
defaults and foreclosures this year, that isn't quite the case. Many of the subprime
mortgages that have driven up the default rate went bad in their first year or so, well
before their interest rate had a chance to go higher. Some of these mortgages went to
speculators who planned to flip their houses, others to borrowers who had stretched too far
to make their payments, and still others had some element of fraud.
在今年涌现的房贷无法偿还和丧失抵押赎回权的背后,很多帐户还被描述成调整利率是主要的工作, 这远
非整个局面的全貌. 许多使房贷无法偿还的次贷抵押在他们的第一年已经变得更差,或者在不久前它们
的利率已经有机会变得更高. 这些次贷抵押一部分在准备计划抛售他们的房子的投机者手里, 一部分在
已经承受很高支付压力的借贷人手中, 还有一部分具有欺诈因素.
Now the real crest of the reset wave is coming, and that promises more pain for borrowers,
lenders and Wall Street. Already, many subprime lenders, who focused on people with poor
credit, have gone bust. Big banks and investors who made subprime loans or bought
securities backed by them are reporting billions of dollars in losses.
如今利率调整潮的真正高峰已经来临, 这势必给借贷者,出贷方以及华尔街更大的痛苦.很多专注于给信
用不足的人群发放次贷的出贷方已经陷入濒临破产的边缘. 许多发放次贷或者从这些出贷方购买投资证
券的大银行和投资者正在报告上十亿美金的损失.
The reset peak will likely add to political pressure to help borrowers who can't afford to
pay the higher interest rates. The housing slowdown is emerging as an issue in both the
presidential and congressional races for 2008, and the Bush administration is pushing
lenders to loosen terms and keep people from losing their homes.
调整高峰似正帮助不能支付更高利息的借贷者施加政治压力. 对2008年的总统选举和国会选举来说, 住
房供给减速将成为一个问题. 布什政府已经逼出贷方放松贷款条件, 以保证人们不会失去他们的房子.
Banc of America Securities, a unit of the big Charlotte, N.C., bank, estimates that $85
billion in subprime mortgages are resetting during the current quarter, and the same amount
will reset in the first quarter of 2008. That will rise to a peak of $101 billion in the
second quarter. The estimates include loans packaged into securities and held in bank
portfolios.
Charlotte, N.C., bank的分部Banc of America Securities 本季度将有850亿USD的次贷利率需要调整.
2008年第一季度也将有同样数量的次贷利率需要调整, 第二季度将达到峰值的1010亿USD. 这个估计包
括借贷打包证券和银行持有的投资组合.
Larry Litton Jr., chief executive of Litton Loan Servicing, says resetting of adjustable-
rate mortgages, or ARMs, has recently emerged as a bigger driver of defaults. "The initial
wave was largely driven by a higher frequency of fraudulent loans...and loose
underwriting," says Mr. Litton, whose company services 340,000 loans nationwide. "A much
larger percentage of the defaults we're seeing right now are the result of ARM resets."
Litton Loan Servicing的CEO Larry Litton Jr. 说, ARM利率的调整将是近期房贷无法偿还比率变大的
一个比较大的驱动因素.” 最初的冲击波将很大程度上来自更高频率的贷款欺诈和宽松保险的驱动.”
Litton 先生说. 他的公司在全国范围内服务340,000宗借贷.”我们现金看到的一个更大的房贷无法偿还
比率是ARM利率的调整的结果.”
More than half of the subprime delinquencies and foreclosures this year involved loans that
hadn't yet reset, and thus were due to factors such as weak underwriting and falling home
prices, according to Rod Dubitsky, an analyst with Credit Suisse.
根据瑞士信贷的分析师Rod Dubitsky先生的观点,由于诸如较弱的保险和房价下跌等这些因素的影响,半
数以上的次贷不良和丧失抵押赎回权的贷款利率没有被调整.
The majority of subprime ARMs due to reset next year are so-called 2-28 loans, which carry
a fixed rate for two years, then adjust annually thereafter. In a speech earlier this
month, Federal Reserve Governor Randall Kroszner explained how a typical 2-28 subprime loan
issued in early 2007 might work. He said the interest rate on the loan would start at 7%,
then jump to 9.5% after two years. For a typical borrower, that would add $350 to the
monthly payment.
大多数明年需要调整的次级ARM即是所谓的2-28贷款.这些贷款的头俩年利率是固定的,随后每年将被调整
. 根据本月初联邦储备官员Randall Kroszner先生的一篇演讲, 他解释了一个发行于20007年出的典型2
-28贷款是如何运作的.他说,贷款利率最初设为7%,两年后将跳升至9.5%. 对一个典型的借贷者来讲,每月
将增加还贷350USD.
Besides the $362 billion of subprime ARMs that are scheduled to reset during 2008, $152
billion of other loans with adjustable rates are set to reset, according to Banc of America
Securities. The other resetting loans include "jumbo" mortgages of more than $417,000 and
Alt-A loans, a category between prime and subprime. The latter category is the riskier, in
part because it includes borrowers who provided little or no documentation of their income
or assets.
根据Banc of America Securities的分析, 除了3620亿次级ARM的利率将在2008年被调整, 另外还有1520
亿其他可变利率贷款也需要调整. 其他需要调整的贷款还包括: 超过417,000USD的 “jumbo”抵押贷款;
ALT-A贷款, 一类介于初级和次级贷款之间的贷款. 更大的风险是后者,因这部分包括了那些只能提供极
少文件来证明他们的收入和财产的贷款者.
The number of borrowers facing higher payments isn't growing merely because the amount of
loans with resets is higher. Another factor is that those with a looming reset now have a
tougher time sidestepping it by refinancing or selling their home. "There is a large amount
of borrowers who are in products that either no longer exist or that they no longer qualify
for," says Banc of America Securities analyst Robert Lacoursiere.
面临更高还款支付的借贷者的数量将不会纯粹上升, 因为可调整贷款的数量更高.另一个因素是那些影子
调整的贷款者只有很紧的时间来重新融资和卖掉房子来回避. “ 相当多借贷者的房子将不复存在或者没
有资格拥有.” Banc of America Securities 的分析师Robert Lacoursiere先生说.
Falling home prices mean that many borrowers have little or no equity in their home, making
it tougher for them to get out from under their loans.
房价下跌意味着许多借贷者拥有极少或甚至没有的房屋资产价值. 这将加剧了他们走出贷款压力的难度.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.,
Sheila Bair, have been pressing lenders to modify terms in a sweeping way, rather than
going through a time-consuming case-by-case evaluation that could end up pushing many
people into foreclosure. Officials at the Federal Reserve and in the Bush administration
have estimated that 150,000 mortgages are resetting a month.
财政部长Henry Paulson 和Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.的Sheila Bair女士 已经大规模地给出贷
方施加压力改变贷款条件,而不用能使更多人陷入丧失抵押赎回权的消耗时间的逐案评估的方式. 联邦储
备官员和布什政府估计每个月将有150000宗抵押能办理调整.
Ms. Bair has proposed that mortgage companies freeze the interest rates on some two million
mortgages at the rate before the reset to help borrowers avoid trouble. "Keep it at the
starter rate," Ms. Bair said at conference last month. "Convert it into a fixed rate. Make
it permanent. And get on with it."
Bair 女士建议抵押公司在调整来临之前冻结部分200万宗抵押的利率, 以帮助贷款者回避困难.” 保持
在最初设定的利率”, 在上个月的会议上Bair 女士说,” 把他们转到固定利率, 把它变成永久的,继续
按这样做.”
Picking up on that theme, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the past week
announced an agreement with four major loan servicers, including Countrywide Financial
Corp., the nation's biggest mortgage lender, to freeze the interest rates on certain ARMs
that are resetting. The freeze would be temporary, rather than for the life of the loan.
The program is aimed at borrowers who are living in their homes and making their mortgage
payments on time, but aren't expected to be able to make the higher payments after reset.
同样的,加州州长施瓦辛格在上周和4家主要的贷款商包括本国最大的抵押贷款提供商Countrywide
Financial Corp达成协议,冻结部分特定的正在调整的ARM的利率, 但这个冻结是临时的,并非在整个贷款
周期上. 这个计划是针对那些住在他们的房子里并且还款准时,在调整利率后认为不能承受更高支付的贷
款者.
The mortgage industry opposes a blanket move to modify loans that are resetting, says Doug
Duncan, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association. While modification may make
sense in some cases, he says, it may also simply postpone the inevitable or reward
borrowers who didn't manage their finances wisely. Mr. Duncan says the industry is working
with government officials and consumer groups to develop principles that could be used to
determine quickly who qualifies for a modified loan.
业界反对以地毯式推进贷款调整, the Mortgage Bankers Association的首席经济学家Doug Duncan 先
生说, 当某些情况下更改有意义时, 也可以简单地推迟其必然性,或者给不能精明地管理他们的资金的借
贷者予回报. Duncan 先生说业界正与政府官员和消费者群体一起建立能用于迅速界定谁能有资格拥有调
整贷款的原则.
The political efforts are aimed at keeping the U.S. economy out of a housing-triggered
recession. The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates that 1.35 million homes will enter
the foreclosure process this year and another 1.44 million in 2008, up from 705,000 in
2005.
行政努力的目的是使美国经济免于因住房危机触发的经济衰退. The Mortgage Bankers Association估
计今年将有135万套房子进入抵押赎回权丧失程序, 2008年将达到144万套, 而2005年仅有705,000套.
The projected supply of foreclosed homes is equal to about 45% of existing home sales and
could add four months to the supply of existing homes, says Dale Westhoff, a senior
managing director at Bear Stearns. This is a "fundamental shift" in the housing supply,
says Mr. Westhoff, who believes that home prices will drop further as lenders "mark to
market" repossessed homes.
计划供应的取消抵押赎回权的房子将占现存房子销售量的大约45%, 将增加4个月的现房供应量. Bear
Stearns 的高级主管Dale Westhoff先生说, 这将是一个房子供应量的”基本变化”. 他相信房价的下跌
将远远低于出贷方推向市场的二手房价格.
Foreclosed homes typically sell at a discount of 20% to 25% compared to the sale of an
owner-occupied home, analysts say. Lenders are eager to unload the properties, and the
homes tend to be in poorer condition.
与有产权的房子售价相比, 取消抵押赎回权的房子售价将折价20%~25%.分析师说. 出贷方渴望摆脱拥有
资产的负担,而房子则趋向于更糟糕的状况.
"People didn't leave the house happily," says Jason Bosch, a broker with Home Center Realty
in Norco, Calif. "There are often signs of that. There's used, dirty carpet. The grass is
dead." Mr. Bosch says he now has about 120 bank-owned properties for sale or in escrow
compared with none a year ago.
“人们不会开心地离开他们的房子”, 加州NOCOR的Home Center Realty公司经纪人Jason Bosch先生说,
” 常有很多那样的迹象, 被使用过,脏脏的地毯,草坪也死了.” Jason Bosch先生说,相比不到一年前,
他手头上就有大约120套银行拥有产权或第三方保管的房子可供销售.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress earlier this month, "A sharp increase
in foreclosed properties for sale could...weaken the already struggling housing market and
thus, potentially, the broader economy."
联邦储备委员会主席伯克南先生本月早些时候告诉国会,” 剧增的取消抵押赎回权的房子销售将….削弱
已经困难重重的房地产市场, 潜在地将波及更广泛的经济范围.”
The big concern is a vicious cycle in which foreclosures push down home prices, making it
more difficult for borrowers to refinance and causing more defaults and foreclosures.
更大的关注是这种局面将陷入恶性循环, 丧失抵押赎回权的房子将拉低房价, 使更多的借贷者难于重新
融资而引起更多的房贷无法偿还和丧失抵押赎回权
Real-estate agents, who look at prices for comparable homes, or comps, say the sale of
bank-owned properties can have a big impact. "One month the comps are showing one price and
then a bank comes in and sells a property for $30,000 less," says Randal Gibson, a real-
estate agent in Henderson, Nev. "All of the sudden, that's the new comp. It hurts everyone
in the neighborhood."
房地产公司观察可比房屋的价格或者两者, 说银行拥有产权的房屋销售有更大的影响,” 一个月里两者
比较都在同一个价位上,然而银行拥有产权的房屋以少30000USD的价格销售,’ Henderson, Nev 的房地
产代理Randal Gibson先生说.” 所有的都很突然, 然后进入新的两者对比,这样都损害到所有的邻居.”

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