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Controled bleeding or cauterisation? That was the unappealing choice facing UBS, a Swiss bank which has been badly hurt by the carnage in America’s mortgage market. The bank opted for the latter. First it opened the wound, by announcing a hefty $10 billion write-down on its exposure to subprime-infected debt. UBS now expects a loss for the fourth quarter, which ends this month. Then came the hot iron: news of a series of measures to shore up the bank’s capital base, among them investments from sovereign-wealth funds in Singapore and the Middle East.
Bad news had been expected. UBS’s third-quarter write-down of over SFr4 billionin October looked overly optimistic compared with more aggressive markdowns at other banks such as Citigroup and Merrill Lynch. Steep falls in the market value of subprime debt since the end of the third quarter made it certain that UBS would take more pain, given its sizeable exposure to toxic collateralised-debt obligations (CDOs). Analysts at Citigroup were predicting in November that write-downs of up to SFr14 billion were possible.
Why then did this new batch of red ink still come as a shock? The answer lies not in the scale of the overall loss, more in UBS’s decision to take the hit in one go. The bank’s mark-to-model approach to valuing its subprime-related holdings had been based on payments data from the underlying mortgage loans. Although these data show a worsening in credit quality, the deterioration is slower than mark-to-market valuations, which have the effect of instantly crystallising all expected future losses.
Thanks to this gradualist approach, UBS had been expected to take write-downs in managed increments of SFr2 billion-3 billion over a period of several quarters. It now appears that the bank has incorporated market values into its model, sending its fourth-quarter write-downs into orbit. The change of approach may be on the advice of auditors and regulators but it is more likely to reflect a desire by UBS’s bosses to avoid months of speculation about the bank’s exposure, something that Marcel Rohner, the chief executive, described as "distracting".
In a particular indignity for a bank long associated with conservatism, concerns about the level of UBS’s capital ratio had even started to surface. Hence the moves to strengthen its tier-one capital, an important measure of bank solidity, by SFr19.4 billion, a great deal more than the write-down. The majority of that money will come from sovereign-wealth funds, the white knights of choice for today’s bank in distress. Singapore’s GIC, which manages the city-state’s foreign reserves, has pledged to buy SFr11 billion-worth of convertible bonds in UBS; an unnamed Middle Eastern investor will put in a further SFr2 billion. UBS will also raise money by selling treasury shares, and save cash by issuing its 2007 dividend in the form of shares. Its capital ratio is expected to end up above 12% in the fourth quarter, a strong position.The majority of that money will come from sovereign-wealth funds, the white knights of choice for today’s bank in distress.
Hopeful talk of lines being drawn under the subprime crisis has been a feature of banks’ quarterly reporting since September. Marrying bigger-than-expected write-downs with bigger-than-expected boosts to capital looks like the right treatment in this environment. But UBS still cannot be sure that its problems are over. Further deterioration in its subprime asset values is possible; the broader economic impact of the credit crunch is unclear; and the damage to the bank’s reputation cannot yet be quantified. The patient still needs watching.
1. The author uses the metaphor "hot iron" to imply that_____.
[A] those measures will do more harm to UBS.
[B] those measures will cauterize UBS.
[C] those measures will forcefully stop UBS from furthur loss.
[D] those measures will control bleeding of UBS.
2. Compared with the mark-to-market valuations, the mark-to-model approach could _____.
[A] slow down the worsening in credit qualtiy.
[B] instantly crystallise all expected future loss.
[C] worsen the credit quality.
[D] accelerate the deterioration in credit quality.
3. The reason that Marcel Rohner thought the chang of approach was "distracting" is _____.
[A] this change was unexpected to take place in such a situation.
[B] this change was result of the advice of auditors and regulators.
[C] this change was unfavorite to UBS.
[D] this change was taken to make people dispel their guess.
4. The phrase "the white knights"(Line 5, Paragraph 5) most probably means____.
[A] rich people.
[B] saviors.
[C] generous people.
[D] brave people.
5. The author’s attitude towards UBS’s future is______.
[A] optimistic
[B] pessimistic
[C] uncertain
[D] none of the above
篇章分析：
本篇文章介绍了UBS银行目前面临的困境以及其解决困境的一系列措施。第一段讲述UBS银行面对困境时作了强行止血的选择；第二段讲述UBS目前面临的不好的因素；第三段第四段分析了其估值的方式；第五段讲述UBS解决资金困难的一系列措施；第六段分析UBS面临的一些问题。
词汇注释：
Carnage n. 大屠杀, 残杀
hefty n. 异常大的或相当多的
write-down n.[会计]帐面价值的故意降低
shore up v.支持
markdowns n. 削价
increment n.增加, 增量
distract v.转移
indignity n.轻蔑, 侮辱, 侮辱的行为
solidity n.可靠性
pledge vt.保证, 使发誓, 抵押, 典当
boost n.增加；提高
crunch n. 危急情况，危急时刻或紧急状态
难句突破：
Then came the hot iron: news of a series of measures to shore up the bank’s capital base, among them investments from sovereign-wealth funds in Singapore and the Middle East.
[主体句式] Then came the hot iron.
[结构分析] 这是一个有复杂同位语的一个简单句。news of ...是前面the hot iron的同位语，to shore up the bank’s capital base是不定式短语作定语修饰前面的measures, 而后面among them ...也是用来修饰measures，具体介绍其中的一些措施。
[句子译文]紧接着就来了hot iron ：报道有一系列的措施来支持银行的资本基础，其中就有新加坡和中东的君主财富基金。
The change of approach may be on the advice of auditors and regulators but it is more likely to reflect a desire by UBS’s bosses to avoid months of speculation about the bank’s exposure, something that Marcel Rohner, the chief executive, described as "distracting".
[主体句式] The change of approach may be... but ...
[结构分析] 这是一个并列句，but 引导的分句比较复杂，to avoide ...不定式短语作前面a desire的定语，而something that...是a desire的同位语，该同位语有一个定语从句。
[句子译文] 方法改变可能是审计员或调节员建议的，但更反映了UBS高层的不愿数月都预计银行曝光的意愿，这个被首席执行官马赛尔Rohner形容为"发狂的"。
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