欧洲央行降息美联储考虑非常手段
Fed Weighs Its Options As Europe Cuts Rates2008年12月5日
Federal Reserve officials are looking for new ways to revive the U.S. economy, while European and other central banks are cutting interest rates to counter a deepening global recession.
With the Fed's target rate already very low, Fed officials are mulling unconventional steps as they prepare for an important mid-December meeting. These could include new efforts to bring down rates the Fed doesn't usually target, such as those on mortgages, other consumer borrowing or Treasury bonds.
Around the world, central banks that have been slower to cut rates than the Fed are rapidly catching up. The European Central Bank cut its key rate by a greater-than-expect three-quarters of a percentage point Thursday, to 2.5%. It has now cut by 1.75 points in less than two months. President Jean-Claude Trichet suggested unconventional moves were possible this month by the ECB, which sets a target for short-term rates for the 15-nation euro zone.
The Bank of England, meanwhile, reduced its key rate by a full point, to 2% -- a rate last seen in 1939. Bank of England policy makers indicated they are considering 'further measures' to ease the logjam in credit markets.
Sweden's central bank cut by 1.75 points in a single move, to 2%, that bank's biggest cut since 1992. New Zealand took an unprecedented point and a half off its rate, bringing it to a five-year low of 5%.
After the Fed meets on Dec. 15 and Dec. 16, it is widely expected to further trim its 1% target federal funds rate, which applies to overnight loans between banks. On most days, the actual federal funds rate has already been drifting well below the target.
'The scope for using conventional interest rate policies to support the economy is obviously limited,' Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said this week.
Fed officials are focused on the gap between benchmark rates like Treasury bond yields and rates on many other kinds of debt. The gap, called a spread, has widened as risk-averse investors have shunned mortgage bonds, corporate debt and other kinds of debt. The result is upward pressure on the cost of borrowing for homeowners, businesses and others even as the central bank is bringing down its short-term target rate.
The Fed has already launched programs aimed in part at narrowing the spreads. Officials have been heartened by market reaction to last week's announcement that the Fed would buy debt issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan banks and Ginnie Mae.
The difference in yields on Treasury debt and mortgage bonds guaranteed by Fannie has narrowed roughly 0.7 percentage points. Mortgage rates have come down along the way. The rate on a 30-year loan that conforms to Fannie and Freddie standards was 5.54% Thursday, compared with 6.75% in mid-October, according to HSH Associates, a firm that tracks rates.
Mr. Bernanke called the drop encouraging and suggested the Fed was looking to build on the array of new lending programs it has introduced. 'Such programs are promising because they sidestep banks and primary dealers to provide liquidity directly to borrowers or investors in key credit markets,' he said this week.
Other ideas are on the table, such as buying Treasury bonds to drive down their yields -- although they are already low, and pushing them down further wouldn't necessarily narrow the spreads that some officials are focused on.
In another sign of its focus beyond conventional policy, Mr. Bernanke on Thursday called for aggressive new actions by the government to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. One approach, he said, could involve having the U.S. buy delinquent mortgages and refinance them.
He called for revisions to a federal program called Hope for Homeowners that might encourage more participation. It is designed to help borrowers refinance with the help of the Federal Housing Administration.
Joellen Perry / Jon Hilsenrath
欧洲央行降息 美联储考虑非常手段
在欧洲和其他央行以减息应对不断加剧的全球衰退之时，美国联邦储备委员会正在探寻重振美国经济的新手段。
由于美联储目标利率已经降至非常低的水平，央行官员在为12月中旬的一次重要会议进行准备之际，正在考虑采取非常规手段。这些手段可能包括采取新措施降低抵押贷款、其他消费贷款或美国国债的利率水平，美联储通常不对这些利率设定目标。
全球来看，此前减息步伐慢于美联储的央行如今正在迅速跟进。欧洲央行周四将基准利率下调了75个基点至2.5%，减息幅度大于预期。不到两个月的时间里，欧洲央行已经累计减息了175个基点。欧洲央行行长特里谢暗示，央行本月可能会采取非常规举措。央行为拥有15个成员国的欧元区设定短期利率目标。
与此同时，英国央行将基准利率下调了一个百分点至2%，为1939年以来的最低水平。英国央行决策者们表示，他们正考虑采取进一步措施缓解信贷市场的紧张状况。
瑞典央行则一次减息了175个基点至2%，这是该央行1992年以来的最大幅度减息。新西兰央行也史无前例地将基准利率下调了150个基点，降至5%的5年低点。
市场普遍预计，美联储会在12月15-16日的会议后进一步下调目前1%的联邦基金目标利率（适用于银行隔夜拆息）。多数时间，联邦基金实际利率已经明显低于目标水平。
美联储主席贝南克本周表示，使用常规利率政策支撑经济的余地显然有限。
美联储官员目前主要关注美国国债收益率等基准利率和许多其他债券利率之间的利差。由于意欲避险的投资者纷纷抛售抵押贷款债券、企业债券和其他类型债券，这一利差不断扩大。受此影响，即便央行不断下调短期目标利率，但购房者、企业和其他贷款者的借贷成本仍承受着上行压力。
美联储已经推出了诸多项目，目标之一就是缩小上述利差。上周美联储宣布打算收购房利美、房地美、美国联邦住房贷款银行和政府国民抵押贷款协会发行或担保的债券，市场对此的反应令官员们大受鼓舞。
美国国债收益率和房利美担保的抵押贷款债券收益率之间的利率已经缩小了大约0.7个百分点。抵押贷款利率也随之下滑。根据利率追踪机构HSH Associates的数据，符合两房标准的30年期贷款利率周四报5.54%，低于10月中旬的6.75%。
贝南克表示这一回落令人鼓舞，并暗示美联储计划倚重其推出的一系列新贷款项目。他本周说，此类项目很有希望，因为它们避开了银行和一级交易商，直接向关键信贷市场的贷款者或投资者提供了流动性。
美联储可能还会考虑购入美国国债压低收益率，尽管国债收益率已经处于低位，进一步压低国债收益率并不一定就能缩小部分官员关注的上述利差。
贝南克周四呼吁政府采取积极的新举措帮助购房者避免陷入止赎，这是其关注常规政策以外手段的又一个迹象。他表示，措施之一是让政府购买拖欠抵押贷款，并进行再融资。
贝南克还呼吁修改联邦政府的业主希望计划，鼓励更多人参与其中。这一计划旨在通过联邦住房管理局，帮助贷款者进行再融资。
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