US Government Takes Over Two Major Financial Firms
保尔森：接管两公司以防金融动荡

　 
Amid a continuing housing crisis in the United States, the Bush administration is taking over two failing mortgage firms in an effort to limit further turmoil in the sector.

就在美国房地产市场继续在危机中挣扎时，布什政府将接管两个陷入困境的住房抵押贷款融资公司，以防止金融市场出现进一步的动荡。

The last year has seen a spike in foreclosures among U.S. homeowners, falling housing values in most parts of the country, and tighter credit that has made it more difficult for Americans to acquire loans.

在过去一年中，美国房主因无法偿还贷款而被金融机构收回房屋的情况大幅增加，美国大部分地区的房价下跌，而且市场信贷紧缩使美国人更难获得贷款。

In recent months, the picture has grown worse with news that two mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were on the verge of insolvency. Combined, the two firms own or guarantee close to half of all home loans in the United States.

在最近几个月中，情况变得更糟。美国两大住房抵押贷款融资机构房利美和房地美已经频临破产边缘。这两个公司持有或担保的住房抵押贷款几乎占全美住房抵押贷款总量的一半。

In a news conference Sunday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced that the federal government is taking control of the firms - a move he described as necessary to avoid further financial upheaval.

美国财政部长保尔森星期天在新闻发布会上宣布，联邦政府将接管这两个公司，他说，这是为了避免金融市场进一步动荡而采取的必要措施。

"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are so large and so interwoven in our financial system, that a failure of either of them would cause great turmoil in the financial markets here at home and around the globe. This turmoil would directly and negatively impact household wealth, from family budgets to home values, to savings for college and retirement," he said. "And a failure would be harmful to economic growth and job creation."

他说：“房利美和房地美的规模太大，而且它们和美国的财政系统有着千丝万缕的联系。让它们中的任何一个倒闭都会强烈动荡美国及全球的金融市场。而这种动荡将直接给家庭财产带来负面影响，从家庭预算、房产价值到人们为大学教育和退休而储蓄的存款。这两家机构的倒闭会伤害美国的经济发展和就业市场。”

The Bush administration says Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are being placed in a government conservatorship with new executive leadership. They will be operated by a government agency until their financial pictures improve and they are no longer at risk of failing.

布什政府说，房利美和房地美目前处于政府接管状态中，政府还任命了这两个机构的新领导人。这两家机构将由一个政府部门来管理，直到它们的财政状况出现好转，不再面临倒闭风险时为止。

Paulson says every effort will be made to spare taxpayers from having to assume massive financial burdens stemming from the takeover.

保尔森说，政府会尽全力避免让纳税人承担这次接管所带来的巨大经济负担。

Most Americans secure home mortgages through private banks. For decades, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have made it more attractive to banks to make mortgage loans by purchasing the loans from the banks, and then selling them to private investors.

大部分美国人通过私人银行来获得住房抵押贷款。几十年来，房利美和房地美从银行手中购买贷款项目，再把它们转卖给私人投资者，以吸引银行发放更多的抵押贷款。

But recent years have seen mortgage loans made to millions of individuals with poor, risky, or insufficient credit - many of whom have either defaulted on the loans or are at risk of doing so. Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's exposure to massive financial losses stemming from the housing crisis has put them on the verge of insolvency.

但是在最近几年里，数百万贫穷、有欠款危险或者信用值不够的个人得到了抵押贷款，现在，他们中的许多人已经或即将无法偿还贷款。房屋市场的危机给房利美和房地美带来了巨额亏损，把它们推到了破产的边缘。

News of the government takeover prompted swift reaction from both presidential candidates. Speaking on CBS' Face the Nation program, Republican presidential nominee John McCain said the move "has to be done."

"I think that we have got to keep people in their homes. There has got to be restructuring, there has got to be reorganization, and there has got to be some confidence that we have stopped this downward spiral. It is hard, it is tough," said McCain.

McCain added that the woes of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are symptomatic of an overall failure of Washington to tackle important issues. He said the federal government has become less effective due to what he termed cronyism and the influence of special interests and lobbyists.

His Democratic challenger, Barack Obama, also expressed support for the government takeover. But an Obama ally, Virginia Democratic Governor Tim Kaine, said blame for the financial upheaval lies with President Bush.

"It is an important step that they [the Bush administration] have taken, but they are way too late. During the Bush administration there has been a complete abdication of responsibility for regulating the nation's financial markets, and so it has come to this," said Kaine.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have seen their stocks plummet in value in recent months. The federal takeover includes some government purchasing of the firms' stock and an infusion of funds to assure the firms' continued operation.

房利美和房地美的股票价格在最近几个月里大幅度下跌。这次联邦政府的接管计划包括政府购买这两家公司的股票以及向它们注入资金，以保证这它们能继续经营下去。

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government-sponsored enterprises, which are among several financial service corporations created by the United States Congress.

房利美和房地美是受到政府支持的企业，是由美国国会创立的几个金融服务公司之中的两个。