????對于銀行而言，錢越來越難賺了。

????美國聯邦存款保險公司（Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., 簡稱FDIC）周二發布的報告稱，今年第二季度，美國銀行業利潤環比下降了8億美元。而且，這次利潤下降的背景是，同期貸款躍增了1,020億美元，創下自金融危機以來第二大的季度增幅。

????但美國聯邦儲備委員會（Federal Reserve，簡稱Fed）推行的旨在刺激美國經濟增長的低利率政策意味著新發貸款的利潤正在變得越來越薄，侵蝕了銀行的盈利能力。而且，這種狀況短期之內可能還不會結束。美聯儲預計到2014年底前短期利率都將維持“異常低”的水平。但很多經濟學家預計，可能很快美聯儲就會將低利率承諾期限延至2015年底。

????已經有一些銀行感到難以維持生計。哈德森城市銀行（Hudson City Bancorp）是此次金融危機期間少數實現盈利的銀行之一，但迫于低利率環境，8月份它已經被賣給了競爭對手M&T Bank銀行。

????不過，銀行業總體仍然在逐漸從金融危機的沖擊中恢復元氣。美國聯邦存款保險公司稱，有倒閉危險的銀行數量已經下降到了732家。該數字一度曾逼近1,000。另外，第二季度倒閉的銀行數量下降到了15家，是3年半以來的最低值。年初以來，總計有40家銀行倒閉，低于上年同期的68家。

????總體而言，第二季度銀行業利潤仍達345億美元，高于去年同期的285億美元。而且，該季的數據還包括了主要由摩根大通（JPMorgan Chase）倫敦鯨事件帶來的交易收入大幅下降，倫敦鯨事件令摩根大通當季計入信用衍生品交易損失了44億美元。假若沒有這一影響，銀行業整體的利潤原本應該更好，雖然到底能好多少并不清楚。

????不過，美國聯邦存款保險公司的官員們表示，利潤同比增長的一大原因是銀行減少了應對未來貸款損失的撥備計提，并非來自實際業務的改善。貸款和其他銀行業務的收入增長依然停滯。

????美國聯邦存款保險公司代理主席馬丁?格魯伯格說：“最多也就是這樣了。利率環境正在制約銀行收入增長。”

????問題是銀行將如何應對。美聯儲主席本? 伯南克表示，他推低利率的一項主要考慮是促進放貸。但不清楚伯南克的最新計劃到底能不能讓銀行愿意增加放貸。

????事實上，低利率造成的貸款利潤下滑可能促使銀行減少放貸，特別是考慮到目前銀行正在努力補充金融危機中損失的資本金。另一方面，有些銀行可能認為，單筆貸款賺的錢越來越少，必須大幅增加放貸以保持利潤的增長。

????顯然，伯南克所做的事情就如同為一個針眼極細的繡花針穿線。祝愿他能成功！

????譯者：早稻米

????For banks, it's getting harder and harder to earn a buck.

????In the second quarter, U.S. bank profits fell $800 million from the first three months of the year, according a report released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Tuesday. The drop in profits came despite a significant increase in lending, which jumped $102 billion in the second three months of the year, the second largest jump in any quarter since the start of the financial crisis.

????But low-interest rates, driven by the Federal Reserve's efforts to stimulate the economy, mean that new loans are increasingly less profitable, crimping bank profits. And that's not likely to end any time soon. The Fed says it expects to keep short-term interest rates "exceptionally low" through 2014. But many economists predict the Fed will soon extend its low-interest-rate pledge through the end of 2015.

????Already some banks are finding it tough to survive. In August, low-interest rates forced Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK), one of the few banks able to turn a profit during the financial crisis, to sell out to rival M&T Bank (MTB).

????Still, the banking sector continued to heal from the financial crisis. The number of banks that the FDIC says are in jeopardy of failing dropped to 732. That list had once neared 1,000. What's more, the number of banks that failed in the quarter dropped to 15. That was the lowest failure rate in three and a half years. In all, 40 banks have failed since the beginning of 2012, down from 68 at this time a year ago.

????Overall, bank earnings were still a hefty $34.5 billion in the second quarter. That was up from $28.5 billion in the same quarter a year ago. What's more, the quarter included a huge drop in trading revenues, driven in large part by missteps by JPMorgan Chase's (JPM) so-called London Whale, which resulted in the bank taking $4.4 billion loss on credit derivatives bets in the quarter. Without that, bank profits would have been better overall, though it's not clear how much.

????Still, FDIC officials said much of the profit boost from a year ago came from banks putting less money aside for future loan losses, and not from an improvement in their actual business. Revenue growth from lending and other bank activities continues to be stalled.

????"There's only so far that can take you," says FDIC Acting Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg. "The rate environment is putting a constraint on the bank revenue growth."

????The question is how banks will respond. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says one of his main reasons for his policy to push down interest rates is to boost lending. But it's not clearBernanke's latest plan will make banks want to lend more.

????Instead, falling profits, driven by low-interest rates, could cause banks to lend less, particularly at a time when they are still trying to build back the capital they lost during the financial crisis. On the other hand, some banks may decide they have to dramatically boost lending in order to keep up profit growth at a time when they are making less and less on each individual loan.

????What's clear is that Bernanke is trying to thread an incredible small needle head. Let's hope he gets it right.