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What's Behind the US Financial Meltdown?
The financial crisis grows out of problems with mortgages, which are loans from a bank that helps a borrower to buy a home.
The borrower must repay the loan, as well as additional charges called "interest." Interest is rent paid to the lender for the privilege of using the money for a specific period of time.
Traditionally, U.S. lenders required prospective borrowers to prove that they earn enough money to repay the loan.
The borrower either pays back the money with interest or the lender "forecloses" - taking back the house.
University of Maryland finance Professor Elinda Kiss says that meant borrowers were unlikely to "default" or stop making payments.
"That is the people would keep up and make every sacrifice possible to stay in their homes."
But the risk of default grew when low interest rates cut bank revenue and prompted lenders to scramble for new customers.
Lenders boosted revenue by offering "subprime" loans that charged higher interest rates and required less verification of the borrower with ability to repay the loan, things like whether or not he or she has a job, but they pay the bills on time.
But lower lending standards meant some subprime borrowers got mortgages they could not afford.
As long as home prices were rising, this caused few problems because borrowers who had difficulty repaying their loans could sell their houses at a profit and pay off the loan.
But when home prices fell, homeowners with financial problems were stuck and the number of foreclosures soared in the subprime market. This hurt borrowers who lost their homes and meant banks lost revenue they were expecting from loan repayments.
The impact of foreclosures was magnified by
"mortgage-backed securities." These are created by investment firms
that buy up a group of mortgages from lenders. The firm "bundles"
these debts and revenues together in a package and sells them to
investors.
借贷者必须还贷款，另外还要支付额外费用，即利息。利息是指在一段特定时间内因为享有使用资金的特权而向出借方支付的租金。
按照惯例，美国出借方都要求贷款对象提供证明以表明他们有能力挣到足够的钱来还贷款。
不是借款人连利息一起还贷款，就是出借方取消抵押品赎回权，即收回房屋。
马里兰大学金融学教授Elinda Kiss指出，这也就意味着借款人不可能会拖欠贷款或是停止支付贷款。
“这也就是说，人们会继续并可能作出牺牲继续呆在他们自己的家中。”
但利率降低，银行收益减少并且怂恿出借方争夺新顾客时，贷款拖欠的风险就加大了。
出借方通过提供次级抵押贷款来刺激收益的增长，这种贷款所要支付的利息更高，但对借款人还贷能力的核查少了，比如，他或她是否有工作，他们是否会准时还贷。
但是降低借贷标准意味着有些次级房贷户（或缩写为次贷户）取得本来无法承担的房贷。
原来只要房价在涨，次贷产生的问题就不大，因为还款有困难的房贷户还可以卖掉房子获取利润，然后偿还贷款。
但是，一旦房价下跌，有经济困难的房主被套牢，次级贷款市场上，丧失抵押品赎回权的数量骤增。这伤害了失去了自己房子的借贷者，而且意味着银行失去了他们指望从还款者获取的利润。
丧失抵押品赎回权的影响被按揭证券扩大了。按揭证券由投资公司从借贷者手中买断抵押贷款而形成的。投资公司把债务和税收捆绑起来卖给投资者。
GLOSSARY
turmoil
engulfed
cosy
financialcrisis
plummeted
stocks
downturn
interventions 干预
bail-out
triggered
stake
precariously
bankruptcy
emergencylegislation
effectively
ripples
consumerconfidence
the high street
escalation
recession
顶