华尔街抱怨审计美联储运动

Wall Street banks are recoiling at a Republican push to subject the Federal Reserve to greater congressional oversight as bankers fear the consequences of politicians — including their own allies — meddling in monetary policy.

美国共和党推动加强国会对美联储(Fed)监督的做法，令华尔街银行业感到难以接受，因为银行家们对政治人士——其中包括他们自己的盟友——干涉货币政策的后果感到担忧。

A campaign to “audit the Fed” has been championed by Rand Paul, the libertarian senator who launched his bid for the White House yesterday.

“审计美联储”(audit the Fed)运动的主要推动者是兰德•保罗(Rand Paul)。这名自由意志派参议员周二启动了竞选美国总统的征程。

While bank executives are reluctant to go public with their concerns for fear of alienating top Republicans, some privately are expressing alarm that the once-quixotic issue is gathering more widespread support.

虽然银行业高管害怕与共和党高层产生隔阂而不愿公开表达自己的担忧，但一些人还是私下发出警告称，这个曾被视作不切实际的运动正在赢得更加广泛的支持。

“We want the Fed to be independent on monetary and [banking] oversight policy and not subject to political pressure either way,” said one senior Wall Street official.

华尔街的一名高管称：“我们希望美联储在货币政策和（银行业）监管政策上保持独立，在这两方面都不要受制于政治压力。”

Republicans who took control of both houses of Congress this year want to give lawmakers more control over the Fed’s rate-setting and quantitative easing policies and subject them to formal review.

今年掌控了国会两院的共和党人希望在美联储利率设定和量化宽松政策方面赋予议员更多控制权，并将这些政策纳入正式审计。

“We think it’s kind of a silly idea,” said another Wall Street executive.

“我们认为这是个蠢主意，”另一名华尔街高管表示。

The Fed has been unnerved by the rise in audit talk as it weighs a decision on when to begin lifting interest rates this year. Janet Yellen, its chairwoman, has rejected calls for the institution to be subject to mechanical rate-setting rules.

美联储已被甚嚣尘上的审计传言搞得焦躁不安，而此时它正在权衡今年何时开始加息。美联储主席珍妮特•耶伦(Janet Yellen)拒绝了让美联储服从于机械的利率设定规则的呼声。

Marty Regalia, chief economist for the US Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby, said it was hard to see the value of the proposal and added that a dislike of the Fed’s monetary policy was not sufficient to warrant an audit. “The degree of autonomy that they currently enjoy works well for the country,” he said.

商业游说组织美国商会(US Chamber of Commerce)首席经济学家马蒂•雷加利亚(Marty Regalia)说，很难看出这项议案有什么价值。他还表示，不喜欢美联储的货币政策，并不意味着就要授权对它展开审计。他说：“他们目前享有的自主度对美国起到了很好的作用。”

Banks’ reluctance to criticise the Republican push publicly reflects their at times awkward relations with it. The US’s biggest banks are an essential source of campaign funding for many lawmakers from both parties, but most of them are reluctant to be perceived as Wall Street stooges.

银行不愿公开批评共和党的这一努力，这一事实反映出两者之间偶尔尴尬的关系。美国的大银行是两党许多议员竞选经费的重要来源，但这些议员大多不愿被视为华尔街的傀儡。

Banks fear that criticising the audit idea could alienate allies they need to advance their goals, such as revising the Dodd-Frank financial reforms.

银行业担心，批评“审计美联储”运动，可能会导致它们与一些盟友产生隔阂。银行业需要这些盟友来推动实现它们的目标，例如修订“多德-弗兰克”(Dodd-Frank)金融改革。

The Obama administration has indicated that President Barack Obama would veto any bill that gave Congress more control over monetary policy.

白宫方面已表示，巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)总统将否决任何赋予美国国会更多货币政策控制权的法案。

“So the likelihood of it becoming law is zilch,” said a Wall Street lobbyist. It is, however, possible that the debate stirred by legislation could lead to more modest changes to Fed transparency.

一名华尔街游说者表示：“所以，它变成法律的可能性小之又小。”然而，这项立法挑起的辩论可能会促成旨在增加美联储透明度的更温和改革。

The central bank has long been a whipping boy for anti-government conservatives, who dislike its power and perceived opacity. Mr Paul’s bill would repeal an existing law that exempts the Fed’s monetary policy from audits by the Government Accountability Office.

长期以来，美联储一直是反政府保守派人士的出气筒，这些人不喜欢美联储的权力和他们眼中的不透明。保罗的议案将废除一项现有法律，该法使得美联储的货币政策豁免于美国政府问责局(Government Accountability Office)的审计。

Bill Huizenga, the Republican vice-chairman of a House subcommittee on monetary policy, is working on a broader bill to reform the Fed. “Wall Street’s opinion is not going to impact what our Fed reform bill looks like,” said a spokesman. “Our goal is to bring the Fed into the 21st century and make it more transparent to taxpayers.”

美国众议院货币政策小组委员会副主席、共和党人比尔•胡伊赞加(Bill Huizenga)正致力于一项更广泛的美联储改革议案。“华尔街的看法不会影响我们的美联储改革议案内容，”一名发言人表示，“我们的目标是将美联储带入21世纪，让其在纳税人面前变得更透明。”

Fed auditing was a key issue for Ron Paul, the former Republican presidential candidate and Rand Paul’s father.

“审计美联储”曾是前共和党总统候选人、兰德•保罗(Rand Paul)之父罗恩•保罗(Ron Paul)的一项关键议题。