華爾街抱怨審計美聯儲運動

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.

美國共和黨推動加強國會對美聯儲(Fed)監督的做法，令華爾街銀行業感到難以接受，因爲銀行家們對政治人士——其中包括他們自己的盟友——干涉貨幣政策的後果感到擔憂。

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

“審計美聯儲”(audit the Fed)運動的主要推動者是蘭德•保羅(Rand Paul)。這名自由意志派參議員週二啓動了競選美國總統的征程。

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.

雖然銀行業高管害怕與共和黨高層產生隔閡而不願公開表達自己的擔憂，但一些人還是私下發出警告稱，這個曾被視作不切實際的運動正在贏得更加廣泛的支持。

“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.

華爾街的一名高管稱：“我們希望美聯儲在貨幣政策和（銀行業）監管政策上保持獨立，在這兩方面都不要受制於政治壓力。”

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.

今年掌控了國會兩院的共和黨人希望在美聯儲利率設定和量化寬鬆政策方面賦予議員更多控制權，並將這些政策納入正式審計。

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

“我們認爲這是個蠢主意，”另一名華爾街高管表示。

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.

美聯儲已被甚囂塵上的審計傳言搞得焦躁不安，而此時它正在權衡今年何時開始加息。美聯儲主席珍妮特•耶倫(Janet Yellen)拒絕了讓美聯儲服從於機械的利率設定規則的呼聲。

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.

商業遊說組織美國商會(US Chamber of Commerce)首席經濟學家馬蒂•雷加利亞(Marty Regalia)說，很難看出這項議案有什麼價值。他還表示，不喜歡美聯儲的貨幣政策，並不意味着就要授權對它展開審計。他說：“他們目前享有的自主度對美國起到了很好的作用。”

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.

銀行不願公開批評共和黨的這一努力，這一事實反映出兩者之間偶爾尷尬的關係。美國的大銀行是兩黨許多議員競選經費的重要來源，但這些議員大多不願被視爲華爾街的傀儡。

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

銀行業擔心，批評“審計美聯儲”運動，可能會導致它們與一些盟友產生隔閡。銀行業需要這些盟友來推動實現它們的目標，例如修訂“多德-弗蘭克”(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.

白宮方面已表示，巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)總統將否決任何賦予美國國會更多貨幣政策控制權的法案。

“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.

一名華爾街遊說者表示：“所以，它變成法律的可能性小之又小。”然而，這項立法挑起的辯論可能會促成旨在增加美聯儲透明度的更溫和改革。

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.

長期以來，美聯儲一直是反政府保守派人士的出氣筒，這些人不喜歡美聯儲的權力和他們眼中的不透明。保羅的議案將廢除一項現有法律，該法使得美聯儲的貨幣政策豁免於美國政府問責局(Government Accountability Office)的審計。

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.”

美國衆議院貨幣政策小組委員會副主席、共和黨人比爾•胡伊贊加(Bill Huizenga)正致力於一項更廣泛的美聯儲改革議案。“華爾街的看法不會影響我們的美聯儲改革議案內容，”一名發言人表示，“我們的目標是將美聯儲帶入21世紀，讓其在納稅人面前變得更透明。”

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

“審計美聯儲”曾是前共和黨總統候選人、蘭德•保羅(Rand Paul)之父羅恩•保羅(Ron Paul)的一項關鍵議題。