舉債擴(kuò)張????

??? 過去十年很多時候,，歐洲銀行都在進(jìn)行資產(chǎn)收購，希望成為規(guī)模龐大的全業(yè)務(wù)國際銀行,。有些銀行并購的是其他歐洲銀行,，另一些銀行則是收購了遠(yuǎn)離歐元區(qū)的一些海外銀行,。此外，歐洲銀行還發(fā)行和購買了幾十億美元的證券化投資產(chǎn)品【如住宅按揭支持證券（RMBS）】,，2008年這些產(chǎn)品很多都變成了有毒資產(chǎn),，再也無法收回。

????現(xiàn)在看來,，歐洲銀行通過提高杠桿比率,、收購全球資產(chǎn)的做法有些過頭了。歐元區(qū)銀行體系目前持有約30萬億歐元的資產(chǎn),，是整個美國銀行體系資產(chǎn)規(guī)模（約16萬億美元,，合12萬億歐元）的2.5倍。如果歐元區(qū)的經(jīng)濟(jì)規(guī)模也比美國大出這么多,，這樣的資產(chǎn)規(guī)模差異才說得通,，但實(shí)際情況并非如此。事實(shí)上,，歐元區(qū)的GDP總量約為9.5萬億歐元,，小于美國約11萬億歐元（145億美元）的GDP規(guī)模。

????要救助一個資產(chǎn)規(guī)模是地區(qū)經(jīng)濟(jì)總產(chǎn)值三倍的銀行體系,，絕非易事,。歐元區(qū)銀行業(yè)監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)——?dú)W洲銀行管理局（European Banking Authority，簡稱EBA）一直在敦促銀行建立資本金緩沖機(jī)制,，以應(yīng)對歐洲各國揮霍支出可能帶來的未來資產(chǎn)減值損失,。上周四，EBA宣布,，要想符合新的,、更嚴(yán)格的資本金規(guī)定，銀行體系須籌集1,147億歐元——比10月份時他們估計的數(shù)額高出80億歐元,。隨著當(dāng)前歐元區(qū)危機(jī)導(dǎo)致銀行業(yè)資產(chǎn)減值,，這一數(shù)值不斷攀升。

????大銀行們終于意識到銀行規(guī)模不一定越大越好,，特別是如果是通過舉債擴(kuò)張的話,。歐洲央行（European Central Bank）已積極行動起來，加固銀行體系,，避免出現(xiàn)像雷曼兄弟（Lehman）破產(chǎn)那樣的流動性事件。雖然歐元的結(jié)構(gòu)性問題依然存在,，歐洲央行的舉動已穩(wěn)住了歐洲銀行業(yè)的陣腳,，或者至少給了它足夠的時間完成瘦身。

????表面上看歐洲央行可以無休止地為歐洲銀行業(yè)提供資金支持,，但它似乎并不愿意這樣做,。這讓歐洲銀行業(yè)感到有收縮資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表的壓力,。為了達(dá)到EBA和巴塞爾委員會（Basel committee）提出的、更嚴(yán)格的新資本金要求,，歐洲銀行業(yè)已承諾未來幾年合計出售約5萬億歐元的資產(chǎn),。

Large with leverage

????European banks spent much of the last decade acquiring assets in an attempt to become massive, full-service global banks. Some got bigger by merging with other European banks, while others plumped up by snapping up banks in foreign countries, far from the eurozone. The banks also issued and bought billions of dollars worth of securitized investment products, like residential mortgage-backed securities, RMBS, many of which turned toxic in 2008 and never recovered.

????It now looks like they went a bit overboard as they levered up to buy assets all over the world. The eurozone banking system currently holds about 30 trillion euros worth of assets. That's roughly two-and-a-half times larger than the entire U.S. banking system, which stands at around $16 trillion (12 trillion euro). Such a large gap may make sense if the eurozone's economy was much larger than that of the U.S., but it isn't. The eurozone's GDP is actually smaller, at around 9.5 trillion euros, where the U.S. GDP is around 11 trillion euros ($14.5 billion).

????It won't be an easy task to bail out a banking system with assets three times the size of the currency region's entire economic output. The European Banking Authority, the eurozone's banking regulator, has been pushing the banks to build their capital buffer so that they could absorb future losses derived from their spending spree. Yesterday, the EBA announced that the system had to raise 114.7 billion euros to quickly comply with new stringent capital rules -- 8 billion euros more than they had estimated back in October. The number grew as the value of the banks' assets deteriorated due to the current eurozone crisis.

????The big banks have finally realized that being bigger isn't necessarily better, especially when that largesse came by levering up. The European Central Bank has aggressively moved to shore up its banking system to prevent any liquidity event such as a Lehman-like collapse. While the structural issues with the euro remain, the ECB's actions have stabilized the continent's banking sector -- or at least bought it enough time to slim down.

????The ECB could ostensibly fund the European banks indefinitely, but it doesn't seem willing to do so. This has put pressure on the banks to reduce their balance sheets. The banks have in total pledged to shed around 5 trillion euros worth of assets in the coming years to comply with new, more stringent capital standards as demanded by the EBA and the Basel committee.