匯豐董事長 員工避險情緒過重

HSBC’s chairman has warned of a “growing danger” that its employees are becoming too risk-averse because they fear punishment for mistakes, the latest sign that big banks are making a fresh push against regulation.

匯豐銀行(HSBC)董事長範智廉(Douglas Flint)對一種“日益加大的危險”發出警告，他表示，該銀行員工正變得過於厭惡風險，因爲他們擔心自己會因爲錯誤而受到懲罰。這一最新跡象表明，大銀行正對監管規定展開新的抵制。

Douglas Flint said there was “an observable and growing danger of disproportionate risk aversion creeping into decision-making in our businesses as individuals, facing uncertainty as to what may be criticised with hindsight and perceiving a zero tolerance of error, seek to protect themselves and the firm from future censure”.

範智廉表示，“一種可以察覺且日益加大的過度厭惡風險的危險，正慢慢瀰漫於本行業務部門的決策過程。相關個人不確定哪些行爲可能在事後受到批評，並認爲有關方面對於錯誤採取零容忍態度，於是尋求保護自己和公司不受未來譴責。”

His comments, while reflecting a widespread concern in the industry over the effect of regulation on business performance, are a rare public airing by a senior banker of this highly-charged issue.

他的言論反映出銀行業對於監管規定對業務表現的影響普遍感到擔憂，也是一位資深銀行家罕見地在這一極具爭議性的問題上公開發表言論。

Bankers have publicly critiqued the regulatory environment before, often with limited success. In 2011, Bob Diamond told a UK parliamentary committee that the time for “remorse and apology” was over, less than a year before he was ousted as Barclays chief executive over the Libor manipulation scandal.

銀行家以往也曾公開批評監管環境，但往往收效有限。2011年，鮑勃•戴蒙德(Bob Diamond)曾告訴英國議會的一個委員會，“悔恨和道歉”的時期已經過去，不到一年後，他就因倫敦銀行間同業拆借利率(Libor)操縱醜聞被罷免巴克萊(Barclays)首席執行官一職。

Most bankers avoid speaking out for fear of upsetting regulators, who are taking a harsher attitude to risky business since the financial crisis. Meanwhile, banks worry about ceding profitable trades or loans to rivals in the so-called shadow banking sector that have fewer regulatory constraints.

多數銀行家因爲擔心惹惱監管者而避免公開發表意見，自金融危機以來，監管機構對高風險業務採取更嚴厲的態度。與此同時，銀行擔心將有利可圖的交易或貸款拱手讓給所謂的影子銀行業競爭對手，後者所受的監管限制較少。

Among the banks trying to walk this tightrope, JPMorgan sent an email to staff eight weeks ago, encouraging them to “raise your hand” to ask how to get approval on business opportunities and to “identify ‘creeping’ bureaucracy”.

在試圖走這條鋼絲的銀行中，摩根大通(JPMorgan) 8周前曾向員工發送一封電郵，鼓勵他們就如何讓業務機遇獲得批准，以及“發現‘悄悄滋生’的官僚作風”，“舉手報告”。

Mr Flint, speaking as Europe’s biggest bank by market capitalisation reported a 12 per cent drop in first-half pre-tax profits, said: “We have got to get an understanding that poor outcomes are OK, things just go wrong sometimes and we are in the risk business.”

範智廉表示：“我們應當認識到，糟糕的結果沒問題，事情有時會遭遇不順，我們做的是風險業務。”他是在歐洲市值最高的銀行報告今年上半年稅前利潤下滑12%時說這番話的。

While he said a focus on conduct and financial crime was “clearly the right response to past shortcomings”, he added HSBC faced “growing fatigue within critical functions” due to the demands of regulators.

他表示，關注行爲和金融犯罪“顯然是對過去缺點的正確迴應”，但他補充稱，監管機構的要求正使匯豐的“關鍵職能部門變得越來越疲憊”。