BEC中级阅读：英国将暂时把北岩收归国有

英国政府昨晚宣布，把陷入困境的抵押贷款发放机构北岩(Northern Rock)收归国有。此前英国政府做出结论，认为私营部门提出的收购该行的方案未能给英国纳税人提供足够的价值。

The UK government last night announced it was nationalising Northern Rock, the troubled mortgage lender, after concluding that private sector proposals to take over the bank failed to offer sufficient value for British taxpayers.

自去年9月份以来，北岩一直依赖英国政府的支持。该银行当时透露，英国央行(Bank of England)已对其施以援手，此举引发了一个多世纪以来英国银行的首次挤兑事件。

Northern Rock has been dependent on government backing since last September when it revealed the Bank of England had stepped in to provide support, triggering the first run on a UK bank in more than a century.

过去5个月，英国政府一直主张将北岩出售给私营部门竞购人。如获成功，将使英国央行收回其所提供的250亿英镑(合490亿美元)贷款。

London has been pushing for a private sector sale to a bidder for the past five months that would allow a ￡25bn ($49bn) loan from the central bank to be repaid.

但英国财政大臣阿里斯代尔?达林(Alistair Darling)表示，两份私营部门收购报价——一份来自理查?布莱信爵士(Sir Richard Branson)的维珍集团(Virgin Group)，另一份来自该银行的管理层——提出的“收购金额未能达到适当的水平”，因此有关方面决定，将该行收归国有一段时间是一种更好的做法。

But Alistair Darling, finance minister, said “the numbers did not stack up” in either of two private sector proposals offered – one from Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and another from the bank’s management – so it had been decided it was better to put the bank into a period of public ownership.

“这样做是对的，”他表示，“我希望看到一个私营部门解决方案，但条件一定要合适，因为我对英国纳税人负有责任，必须确保我代表他们采取正确的做法，我也是一直是这样做的。”

“It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “I wanted to see a private sector solution but it has to be on the right terms because I have a duty to the taxpayers of this country to make sure that I do the right thing by them and that is what I have done.”

英国政府表示，保险业资深人士罗恩?桑德勒(Ron Sandler)将出任北岩董事长，并负责该行的扭亏行动。达林表示，新一届北岩董事会将独立于英国政府运作。

The government said insurance industry veteran Ron Sandler would chair Northern Rock and oversee its turnround. Mr Darling said the new Northern Rock board would operate at arm’s length from the government.

他补充称，他计划施行“暂时”国有化，并“尽快在最为审慎的时机”将该公司转为私有。

He added he was aiming for a “temporary period” of nationalisation and that the company could be moved into the private sector “at the earliest and most prudent opportunity”.

该银行股票将停牌处理。英国政府将按照一家独立评估机构确定的水平，向投资者支付赔偿。

Shares in the bank will be suspended before trading. The government will pay compensation to investors at a level determined by an independent valuer.