UBS chair warns of ‘looming systemic risk’ from private credit ratings
UBS chair warns of ‘looming systemic risk’ from private credit ratings瑞银董事长警告私人信用评级带来“迫在眉睫的系统性风险”
Colm Kelleher says insurers are shopping for ratings as banks did before 2008 financial crisis
科尔姆·凯勒赫表示，保险公司在为评级进行“套利”，类似于银行在 2008 年金融危机前的做法
UBS chair Colm Kelleher told a Hong Kong conference on Tuesday that the insurance industry, especially in the US, was engaging in ‘ratings arbitrage’ © Lam Yik/Bloomberg 瑞银董事长科尔姆·凯勒赫周二在香港的一场会议上表示，保险业，尤其是美国的保险业，正在进行“评级套利” © Lam Yik/Bloomberg
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Insurers shopping for better ratings on their private credit assets are creating a “looming systemic risk” to global finance, the chair of UBS has warned.
瑞银（UBS）董事长警告说，寻求为其私募信贷资产获得更高评级的保险公司，正在对全球金融体系构成“迫在眉睫的系统性风险”。
Speaking at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit on Tuesday, Colm Kelleher said the insurance industry, especially in the US, was engaging in “ratings arbitrage” akin to what banks and other institutions did with subprime loans before the 2008 financial crisis.
Colm Kelleher 在周二香港金融管理局全球金融领袖投资峰会上表示，保险业，尤其是美国的保险业，正在进行类似“评级套利”的操作，这类似于银行和其他机构在 2008 年金融危机前对次级贷款所做的行为。
Kelleher joins a growing chorus of voices pointing to risks in the multitrillion dollar insurance industry, including its holdings of illiquid private credit loans and opaque disclosures.
凯莱赫加入了越来越多发声的人群，指出数万亿美元规模的保险行业存在风险，包括其持有的不易变现的私募债权贷款和不透明的信息披露。
“What you’re seeing now is a massive growth in small rating agencies ticking the box for compliance of investment,” said Kelleher, who stressed that regulators were failing to get a handle on the industry even as they were pushing for faster economic growth.
“你现在看到的是大量小型评级机构为了满足投资合规而打勾，”凯莱赫说，他强调监管者未能掌控这一行业，即便他们在推动更快的经济增长。
“If you look at the insurance business there is a looming systemic risk coming through because of lack of effective regulation,” he said.
“如果你看保险业务，由于缺乏有效监管，正在出现一股即将到来的系统性风险，”他说。
The Bank for International Settlements last month said ratings on private credit assets held by US insurers might have been inflated and warned of the risk of fire sales during periods of financial stress.
国际结算银行上个月表示，美国保险公司持有的私募信贷资产的评级可能被高估，并警告在金融压力时期可能发生抛售性清算的风险。
Smaller rating agencies have captured market share in private credit by providing so-called private letter ratings, which are typically only visible to an issuer and select investors.
规模较小的评级机构通过提供所谓的私人信函评级（通常仅对发行人和特定投资者可见），在私人信贷市场上夺得了市场份额。
US life insurers, which must hold a certain amount of capital in investment-grade assets, have been among the biggest buyers of private credit and private letter rating services.
美国人寿保险公司必须在投资级资产中持有一定数量的资本，这些公司一直是私人信贷和私人信函评级服务的最大买家之一。
The ratings have come under additional scrutiny following the high-profile bankruptcies of subprime automotive lender Tricolor and car parts company First Brands, which led to broader concerns about the opacity of the fast-growing industry.
在次级汽车贷款机构 Tricolor 和汽车零部件公司 First Brands 的高调破产之后，这些评级受到了更多审查，这引发了对这个快速增长行业不透明性的更广泛担忧。
“In 2007 subprime [lending] was all about rating agency arbitrage,” Kelleher said.
“在 2007 年，次级（放贷）完全是关于评级机构套利的，”Kelleher 说。
The UBS chair also launched a broadside against Switzerland, saying the country was “losing its lustre” because of competition in wealth management from Hong Kong and Singapore and the damage that its pharmaceutical industry had sustained from Donald Trump’s trade war and higher US tariffs.
瑞银董事长还对瑞士发起了抨击，称该国“光彩正在褪去”，原因是香港和新加坡在财富管理方面的竞争，以及唐纳德·特朗普的贸易战和美国更高关税对其制药业造成的损害。
“Switzerland is facing a crossroads here because it’s facing some major challenges,” he said.
“瑞士正面临一个十字路口，因为它正面临一些重大挑战，”他说。
The Trump administration slapped Switzerland with an unexpectedly high tariff of 39 per cent in August, one of the highest levels for a western country, dealing a blow to watchmakers, pharmaceutical producers and other exporters.
特朗普政府在八月份对瑞士征收了出人意料的高达 39%的关税，这是对西方国家而言的最高水平之一，给钟表制造商、制药厂商和其他出口商带来了冲击。
Kelleher also criticised the Swiss government for its banking regulation, in the latest volley as UBS looks to resist regulatory attempts to impose stricter capital requirements following its absorption of rival Credit Suisse.
Kelleher 还批评了瑞士政府的银行监管，这是他在 UBS 吸收竞争对手瑞士信贷后，试图抵制监管当局在其并购后强加更严格资本要求的一系列最新言论之一。
“Switzerland is having an identity crisis about its role in the world of banking,” he said.
“瑞士正对其在全球银行业中的角色产生身份危机，”他说。