经济学人下载:印度金融炼金术(2)

Muthoot has grown steadily since the early 1950s. It has more than 5,000 branches serving 250,000 customers a day,
Muthoot自20世纪50年代初以来一直在稳步增长。其有五千多家分公司，每天为25万客户提供服务，

ranging from construction workers to IT professionals. Total loans exceeded $6bn in the year to March.
客户群包括建筑工人和IT专业人士。截至今年3月的一年中，贷款总额超过60亿美元。

Muthoot is the largest of the formal gold-backed lenders: collectively, their assets come to $40bn.
Muthoot是正规黄金担保贷款机构中规模最大的一家：其资产总额达到400亿美元。

Smaller lenders, which make loans worth twice that, charge annual interest rates as high as 50%.
规模较小的放贷机构的贷款价值是它的两倍，年利率高达50%。

Muthoot charges 12 to 24%, as do its direct rivals. Banks, which are tiptoeing into the business, charge a bit less.
Muthoot收取12到24%的费用，其直接对手也是如此。悄步涉及该行业的银行，收取的费用稍微低一些。

When the price of gold rises, as has happened for much of the past few months, so does a client's ability to borrow.
当黄金价格上涨，就像过去几个月所发生的那样，顾客的借款能力也会随之提升。

But lenders' greatest risk is that the gold price falls, undermining collateral values.
但出借方最大的风险是，黄金价格下跌，破坏抵押品价值。

To provide a buffer, regulators had required that loans be less than 75% of the value of collateral.
为了提供缓冲，监管方要求贷款低于抵押品价值的75%。

On August 6th the limit for banks was raised to 90%.
8月6日，对银行的限制被提高到90%。

But the gold price fell by 5% on August 11th—a reminder of why the buffer exists. Muthoot follows the old rule.
但8月11日，黄金价格下跌5%——提醒了大家这个缓冲存在的原因。Muthoot遵守着旧规则。

The greatest virtue of gold-backed finance, though, is how neatly it fits with India's long-standing love for the yellow metal.
然而，以黄金为后盾的金融，其最大的优点在于，它与印度长期以来对黄金的喜爱非常吻合。

In the past decade, despite high tariffs, India has imported 8,400 tonnes of it,
在过去十年中，尽管关税高，但印度进口了8400公吨黄金，

more than the holdings of America's Federal Reserve, the world's largest repository. Windfalls are often channelled into gold.
超过了世界最大储备银行美联储的持有量。意外之财往往会变成黄金。

Jewellery bought in times of plenty becomes collateral when things go wrong— "the poor person's insurance", says Mr Muthoot.
在经济繁荣时期购买的珠宝，一旦出了形式出现问题，就成了抵押品——“穷人的保险”，Muthoot说到。

What makes his business especially lucrative is that borrowers work so hard to redeem their collateral,
让他的生意特别赚钱的是，借款人会非常努力地赎回他们的抵押品，

not just to help guard against future troubles, but to adorn the good times to come.
不仅仅是为了防范未来的麻烦，也是为了装饰未来美好的日子。