The Federal Reserve is sitting on billions of dollars in paper profits from its controversial effort to unwind credit insurance contracts that AIG provided to banks such as Goldman Sachs, people familiar with the matter said.
知情人士表示,美联储(Fed)从一项备受争议的努力中斩获数十亿美元账面利润,该努力旨在解除美国国际集团(AIG)提供给高盛(Goldman Sachs)等银行的信贷保险合约。
The Fed rescue has generated criticism because the banks received 100 cents on the dollar for credit insurance they bought from AIG on collateralised debt obligations – financial instruments that promise the buyer cash flows from pools of bonds or loans. This had led to claims that AIG's rescue was a “backdoor bail-out” of big banks.
美联储的这项纾困引发了外界的批评,因为如此一来,银行从AIG购买的、为债务抵押债券(CDO)投保的信贷保险就得到了全额退赔。CDO是承诺买方可从债券池或贷款池中获得现金流的金融工具。某些人由此声称,纾困AIG是对大银行的“后门纾困”。
However, the central bank is in a position to reap profits from this part of the rescue, which involved the purchase of the underlying CDOs by a New York Fed-financed vehicle, called Maiden Lane III, so that the insurance contracts written on them could be terminated.
但美联储如今可从这部分的纾困中斩获利润。这项纾困涉及用一种由纽约联储(New York Fed)资助的工具(称为“Maiden Lane III”)来购买作为标的资产的CDO,使承保这些CDO的保险合约能被终止。
At the time of their purchase, the CDOs had a face value of $62.1bn and an estimated market value of $29.6bn. Now, the estimated market value of the CDOs is at least $45bn, according to several people with direct knowledge of the portfolio.
在美联储当初买入时,这些CDO的面值为621亿美元,市场价值估计有296亿美元。据了解该资产组合第一手资料的几位人士称,如今,这些CDO的市场价值估计至少有450亿美元。
“With the rally in the credit markets and tightening spreads, the Fed has made a killing – on paper,” said one person familiar with the portfolio.
熟悉该组合的一位人士称:“随着信贷市场复苏和息差收窄,美联储在账面上大赚了一笔。”
The people familiar with the portfolio said that it would be difficult to sell all the CDOs because they are generally illiquid. A rapid sale of CDOs could also depress their prices.
熟悉该组合的人士表示,全盘出售这些CDO会很困难,因为它们普遍流动性不佳。快速出售可能也会压低它们的价格。
At the time of the Fed intervention, the value of the CDOs insured by AIG was falling dramatically and AIG was facing a credit downgrade.
美联储当初进行干预时,这些由AIG承保的CDO正在急剧贬值,AIG也正面临着信用降级。
AIG declined to comment.
AIG拒绝置评。