我的《信報》文章(2022年7月8日A19頁頂)
刊登後的改良加長版
《勸戒厚酬銀行家 與 翻譯《論語》的詩人龐德》
https://www1.hkej.com/dailynews/article/id/3183305
佔GDP比重 |
香港特區 |
中國大陸 |
以色列 |
阿聯酋 |
私營部門貸款 |
258.9% |
182.9% |
68.6% |
88.4% |
家庭債務 |
72.2% |
54.2% |
41.9% |
22.2% |
研發R&D支出 |
0.99% |
2.40% |
5.44% |
1.45% |
上市股票市值 |
1777.5% |
83.2% |
64.4% |
82.2% |
股市平均交易額 |
885.6% |
125.3% |
9.1% |
1.2% |
[Note 1]
6月13日《信報》新聞,多家外資金融機構被中國監管部門「警告 …不要對高層過於大方,這不符合『共同富裕』的時代背景。」(詳見《信報》)
[Note 2]
對銀行家薪酬和獎金(俗稱「花紅」)過高的批評,不是什麼新鮮事。 「次貸」風暴(2007-8)發生後,對銀行家的譴責雷響轟天,唯大多限於關注貪婪之弊。
隨着隨着事件平息、近兩年金融資產價值大幅上揚,銀行家的薪酬水漲船高,老問題重現眼前。
本文借鑑以詩史文體,撰寫美國經濟發展歷程的龐德(Ezra Pound 1885-1972)的洞見,闡釋北京在滬深港有差異地發展銀行金融業的必要。
被譽為現代「意象派詩歌」先驅的龐德,對銀行家的憎惡可說無人出其右。他對華爾街的反感輾轉導致自己被指控叛國罪,於好友們力勸後裝瘋佯癲,避免受審及死刑;且最終再獲好友們(包括兩位「諾貝爾文學獎」得主艾略特(T.S. Eliot) 及海明威(E. Hemingway) 協助而被釋放。
在精神病院的12年裏,龐德繼續其詩歌創作,並完成《中庸》、《大學》、《論語》的翻譯 (被列入上海市「十五」規劃專項課題)。他在《掘石機詩章》中,倡議孔子的治世思想,認為其哲學具有普遍適用性。
[Note 3]
龐德對貨幣和借貸的論述,本文以現時用語演繹其中兩項。
首先,其主張已具當前「量化寬鬆」的雛型。
在嚴重衰退或蕭條期間,地方政府可以印製類似郵票的票據(Stamp Scrip),借給農工業中小企,用於換取材料或工具作生產、換取食物予員工;借用者在農穫、銷售產品或服務後,免息償還票據予政府。但這樣的放貸不適用於消費,更絕不可用作投機炒賣。
1930年代,類似的實驗分別在德國小鎮Schwanenkirchen、奧地利小鎮Wörgl、美國艾奧瓦州小鎮Hawarden取得成功) 。
[Note 4]
龐德認定「貨幣」(money,此中譯較符合其用意)的目的是用作交換媒介,讓貨品及服務的生產、流通變得順暢,從而促進創新、發展、升級(他最喜歡的座右銘之一是《大學》的「茍日新,日日新,又日新。」其英譯是renovate, day by day renew);因此強烈反對當時常見的高利貸。
[Note 5]
第二,放貸完全由那些以賺取利息為收入的商業銀行家掌控是危害文明的。理由有二。
一是銀行家傾向於貸款給富人或大企業,而非窮人或中小企。另一是鑑於可供貸款的資金有限,用作消費或投機炒賣的貸款,必然減少可用於農工業生產的貸款,結果是推高了實業者負擔的利率。
龐德深信,銀行家為了賺取不合理的高息及個人收益,
放貸給休閒者消費,已導致物質享樂主義氾濫成災;
放貸給投機者炒賣,已引發一場又一場的金融危機,
受害的是基層農民、工人。
基於第三任總統傑弗遜的重農思想(Jeffersonian Economics),龐德倡議政府控制,甚至收回,銀行的放貸權,免息優先或只向農工業生產者借款;但當時不得要領(倒是近年美聯儲局實現了他的零利息夢想)。
[Note 5b]
被片面及不當地指稱過去數百年活躍於從事高利貸的猶太人,在以色列立國後,所呈現的經濟現實是,本地銀行不僅沒有高息放貸,反而積極扶持中小企創科、創新,再配合民族傳統的「無畏」精神(希伯來語chutzpah) ,成績斐然。
[Note 6]
另一方面,伊斯蘭教義禁止收取利息收入,乃眾所週知。在20世紀下半葉,伊斯蘭銀行逐漸研究出一些現代方法替代利息,例如與借款人既分享利潤亦分擔虧損、徵收合理定額手續費或交易費等。也正因為如此,貸款多用於守業、擴業,另有少量用於購房,而非消費、投機、炒賣。
[Note 7]
從附表中,可見以色列和阿聯酋的私營部門貸款、家庭債務,佔GDP比重較內地和香港明顯地低,在證券交易所的平均炒賣交易額也遠較我們少,但研發支出卻相當理想。
貧富差距是人世間自然現象,
貧富懸殊是經濟制度稍欠理想,但不是大問題,以其可以激發勤奮、創新。
龐德認定,「為富不仁」才是問題的核心(子曰:「富與貴是人之所欲也,不以其道得之,不處也…」《里仁》五) 。
在過去的40年,這類「為富不仁」者在某些「為富不仁」的銀行家運用金融借貸槓桿援助下,到處興風作浪。例如 1997年索羅斯(G. Soros 1930- )製造亞洲金融風暴,一些在香港的外資銀行也參與其中。
[Note 8]
但究底根由是自 18 世紀以來,歐美一些貪婪的銀行家,操縱借貸對象、利率波幅,賺取暴利,然後厚酬自己的口袋。
現在,多達58 % 的美國人近乎沒有儲蓄,依靠每次所收到的工資支票維持生計,年收入在25萬美元或以上的也有30% 如此(見6月27日CNBC新聞報導)。
[Note 9]
索羅斯夥同支持他的銀行家1992年沽空英鎊後,部分知識分子重讀龐德的著作。1999年出版的《劍橋伴讀指南:龐德》,引起那些認真思考如何重置銀行功能,以達到穩定經濟增長的學者和政策制定者的注意。
[Note 10]
中央政府通過政策性銀行向實業生產者提供信貸,肯定是在正確的軌道上前進。這次以「共同富裕」為根據,限制外資金融機構「不要對高層過於大方」是明智之舉,但這不適用於一國兩制下運行資本主義的香港特區。
中國內地銀行放貸政策與以色列、阿聯酋的相類似,用合理的借貸條款,積極扶持中小企創科、創新、守業、擴業,也引導大企業持續增加投放資源於研究、開發。
同時,中國為進行龐大的國際貿易量,要處理巨額資金流動,不可避免的須與「為富不仁」的大鱷、少數「為富不仁」的銀行家交手;經已高度國際化的香港是讓亞洲人學習、實踐「知己知彼」的合適地方。
要注意的是,不少基層居民為此損失向上社會流動的機會,特區政府應優化扶持中小企、教育、購房等政策(詳見多篇以往拙文),結束跨代貧困的惡性循環。
Notes for reference
[Note 1]
Last look up of data on 2022 July 2
私營部門貸款
World
Bank data Domestic Credit to private
sector
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/FS.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS
家庭債務
wiki
data
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_household_debt
IMF
data
https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/HH_LS@GDD/CAN/GBR/USA/DEU/ITA/FRA/JPN
研發支出
World Bank data
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS?locations=IN
上市股票市值
World
Bank data
Market
capitalization of listed domestic companies (% of GDP)
股市交易額
Global Economy.com : Stock market value traded
https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/value_traded/
[Note 2]
2022
0613
www2.hkej.com/instantnews/china/article/3159545/內地據報警告外資行高層薪酬不能過高
外電引述知情人士稱,多家全球金融機構被中國有關部門召見,討論內容涉及到薪酬問題,要求瑞信、高盛和瑞銀詳細滙報高層的薪酬待遇方式。知情人士表示,中國監管部門今年在上海和北京召開的會議上警告這些銀行,不要對高層過於大方,這不符合共同富裕的時代背景。
[Note 3]
2006 上海市「十五」規劃中青班專項課題
《庞德与中国文化:兼论外国文学在中国文化现代化中的作用》
上海外語教育出版社
247 頁
[Note 4]
Reference for Stamp Scrip:
2019 Aug 27
NPR, “Planet Money”. https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/08/27/754323652/the-strange-unduly-neglected-prophet
2008 0401
Federal Reserve Bank of
Cleveland, “Stamp Scrip”.
[Note 5a]
Pound: “renovate, day by day renew”
See p.101 in
Alec Marsh (1998), “Money and
Modernity: Pound, Williams, and the Spirit of Jefferson”, Tuscaloosa and
London: The University of Alabama Press.
[Note 5b]
See p.11-67 in
Alec Marsh (1998), “Money and
Modernity: Pound, Williams, and the Spirit of Jefferson”, Tuscaloosa and London:
The University of Alabama Press.
[Note 6]
Wiki, Chutzpah
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chutzpah
2021 April
THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF ISRAELI FINANCE
How Ongoing Reform Is Transforming Israel’s
Capital Markets, Business Landscape, and Private Wealth
By
Brian J. Friedman, CFA, CBE
President,
Co-Founder, and Portfolio Manager of Israel Investment Advisors, LLC,
https://israelinvestmentadvisors.com/
https://israelinvestmentadvisors.com/monograph-april-2021
為什麼以色列能成為創新強國
Chutzpah:Why Israel is a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship
作者: (以)英巴爾·阿里埃利 Inbal Arieli
出版社: 北京聯合出版公司
出品方: 磨鐵圖書
譯者: 李雨桐
出版年: 2021-1-8
https://book.douban.com/subject/35283418/
★為什麼馬雲說,他在以色列學到了2樣東西。 “創新,和虎刺怕(希伯來語Chutzpah)——敢於挑戰的勇氣"?因為以色列:人均創業密集度全球第一;人均風險投資額全球第一
★為什麼沃倫·巴菲特說:“如果你要尋找智慧,去以色列就對了。這片土地上流淌著智慧和活力”?因為以色列: 人口僅800多萬獲得了12個諾貝爾獎;3000多家跨國公司在此設立研發中心(蘋果、英特爾、臉書、谷歌……)
★你可能不知道馬化騰的創立QQ的靈感來自於以色列的ICQ。以色列不僅發明了世界上首款線上聊天軟件ICQ,還發明了首個手機導航APP、U盤、滴灌技術、VPN技術……
★究竟是什麼讓以色列——一個面積相當於1.5個北京市、籠罩著戰爭陰影、沒有自然資源的國家——產生瞭如此多的創業公司,甚至比英國、德國、中國等大國都多?
[Note 7]
Wiki, Riba
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riba
Riba (Arabic: ربا ,الربا، الربٰوة
ribā or al-ribā, IPA: [ˈrɪbæː]) is an Arabic word that can be roughly
translated as "usury", or unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or
business under Islamic law. Riba is mentioned and condemned in several
different verses in the Qur'an (3:130, 4:161, 30:39 and perhaps most commonly
in 2:275-2:280).[1] It is also mentioned in many hadith (reports describing the
words, actions, or habits of the Islamic prophet Muhammad).
Alternative to interest
Islamic banking replaced
riba/interest with accounts paying[227]
zero return on deposits: "current accounts" offered for safe keeping of depositor funds with no return added to the amount deposited[Note 46] [Note 47] (In practice these deposits often include a Hibah (literally "gift"),[341] in the form of prizes, exemptions, etc.,[342] to compete with interest return of conventional banking current accounts.)
a return varying according to the success of the project(s) the bank financed: for commercial finance the primary mode (in theory) of Islamic finance — called profit and loss sharing — would replace interest with risk sharing between the investor, the banker and the entrepreneur of the project being financed, much like venture capital financing. One form of profit and loss sharing is mudarabah finance, where the bank would act as the capital partner in a back-to-back mudarabah contract with the depositor on one side and the entrepreneur on the other side. As the "loan" was repaid, the financier (rabb-ul-mal) would collects some agreed upon percentage of the profits (or deducts if there are losses) along with the "principal" from the user of capital (mudarib);[23]
fixed return: like interest but differing (in theory) by limiting finance to a specific sale. murabaha (credit sale) was the principal form of this type of "Asset-backed"[244] or "trading-based"[343] mode of financing (also used are Ijara, Istisna, were some others) and they were to supplement the profit and loss sharing models. As Islamic finance grew, it became clear Murabahah was not a supplement to profit and loss sharing,[344][345] but the mode used in about 80% of Islamic lending.[346][Note 48] (Explanation for this include that the structure and results of Murabahah were more familiar to bankers, and that profit and loss sharing turned out to be far more risky and costly than proponents had hoped.
Atton Consulting, “Banking System of the UAE”
https://atton-consulting.com/en/banking-system-of-the-uae-useful-facts-and-benefits
Islamic banks are now
becoming more and more influential. This type of bank implies that business is
to be done in accordance with the religious rules. Here is the list of the main
features of Islamic banking:
There is no borrowing rate as nobody’s straits can be used to somebody’s
benefit;
Economic activity of the
bank cannot be related to the area which is considered immoral or unethical
from the point of view of religion (such as gambling, alcohol and tobacco consumption etc.).
[Note 8]
Wiki, 1997 Asian financial
crisis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Asian_financial_crisis
[Note 9]
2022
June 27
CNBC,
“58% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck after inflation spike —
including 30% of those earning $250,000 or more”.
[Note 10]
Ira B. Nadel (ed.) (1999), “The
Cambridge Companion to Ezra Pound”, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
see also
Meghnad Desai (2006), “The
Route of All Evil: The Political Economy of Ezra Pound”, London: Faber and
Faber Ltd.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Route-All-Evil-Political-Economy/dp/0571217737