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US bank branches closed來自翻吧00:0004:46WINDSOR, a community of 6,200 people two hours outside Albany in New York state, offers many of the amenities commonly found in a small town, including a bakery, a car-repair outfit and several restaurants. There is just one thing missing: a bank. The town』s only financial institution, First Niagara Bank, shut its doors in October.溫莎（Windsor）是一個擁有6200位居民的社區，距離美國紐約州首府奧爾巴尼（Albany）約兩小時車程。通常在普通小鎮里有的設施，在溫莎里都有，包括麵包店，汽修廠和幾家餐廳。鎮上唯一缺少的是銀行。該鎮唯一的金融機構第一尼亞加拉銀行（First Niagara Bank）分行在2016年10月關門。Towns like Windsor are becoming ever more common in America. Since the financial crisis, banks have closed over 10,000 branches, an average of three a day. In the first half of 2017 alone, a net 869 brick-and-mortar entities shut their doors, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, a research firm. Some fret that branch closures risk turning poorer neighbourhoods into 「banking deserts」, cut off from current accounts, loans and other basic services.像溫莎這樣的小城鎮出現的情況在美國越來越普遍。自2008年金融危機以來，各大銀行關閉了10000多家分支機構，平均一天三家。標準普爾全球市場情報(S&P Global Market Intelligence)稱，僅2017年上半年， 就有869個銀行網點關門。一些人擔心關閉分支機構會使較貧困的社區變成「金融沙漠」，切斷了社區居民獲得活期存款賬戶、貸款和其他基本服務的渠道。Not long ago, the notion that Americans might lack sufficient access to bank tellers would have seemed absurd. In the years leading up to the crisis, bricks-and-mortar branches grew by about 200 each month. By 2009, according to the World Bank, America had 35 branches for every 100,000 adults, twice as many as Germany. Since then, however, ultra-low interest rates and thickets of new regulations have squeezed bank profits. They have responded by trimming branches from a peak of about 100,000 to roughly 90,000.不久之前，還有人認為美國人缺少獲得銀行服務的渠道的看法是荒唐可笑的。在金融危機爆發前的幾年中，銀行網點每月增加約200個。根據世界銀行的報告，截止2009年，美國每10萬名成年人有35家銀行分行，是德國的兩倍。然而，此後，超低利率和複雜繁多的新規定壓縮了銀行的收益。對此，各大銀行採取了關閉分支機構的措施，目前總數從鼎盛時期的10萬家減少到9萬家左右。Bank bosses maintain that they are 「optimising」 their branch networks to fit changing customer habits. But the cuts have not been made evenly. Data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) show that the top fifth of all postal codes by household income lost around 3% of their branches between 2009 and 2016. During this period, the bottom fifth saw their branch numbers decline by 10%.各家銀行的總裁認為，他們正在「優化」他們的網點分佈，以適應不斷變化的客戶習慣。不過，各地區削減的分支機構數量並不是平衡。聯邦存款保險公司（Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation）的數據顯示，按家庭收入將居民所住社區的郵政編碼分類，自2009年至2016年，所有郵政編碼前五分之一的地方減少了近3%銀行網點。在此期間，而最底部五分之一的郵編地區的分支機構數量卻減少了10％。Community organisations worry that if branches continue to close in poor areas, many neighbourhoods could become reliant on payday lenders and cheque-cashing stores. In June the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis estimated that there are now more than 1,100 banking deserts—defined as census areas at least ten miles from a bank—in America. That figure could easily double if small community banks continue to close. In May the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a non-profit group, published a report showing that the number of banking deserts in rural areas has increased by 86 since the crisis.一些社區組織擔心，如果貧困地區的銀行分支機構還會持續減少，許多社區可能會依賴發薪日貸款機構和支票兌現店。 6月，聖路易斯聯邦儲備銀行（Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis）估計，目前美國共有1100多個「銀行業沙漠」，卻距離銀行至少十英里的人口普查區。如果小型社區銀行持續關閉，那麼，這個數字極有可能會翻倍。 5月，非營利組織美國社區再投資聯盟(National Community Reinvestment Coalition)發布了一份報告顯示，自金融危機以來，農村地區的「銀行業沙漠」增加了86個。The situation may be less dire than it seems. An analysis of FDIC data by The Economist shows that banking deserts, using the Fed』s definition, are home to just 1.7% of the population. For most of the country, banks are still within easy reach—typically just two miles away. Nine out of ten Americans live within five miles of a bank; half live within one mile.不過，也許真實情況並沒有看來的那麼可怕。 《經濟學人》對聯邦存款保險公司數據的分析表明，根據美聯儲定義，生活在的銀行業沙漠的人口只佔全美總人口的1.7％。對於美國人而言，銀行離家依舊很近—通常只有兩英里遠。90%的美國人的住在離銀行五英里內的社區；50%的人住在距離銀行一英里內。Even if banks remain accessible to most, branch closures can take a heavy toll. 「The loss of a bank has a significant impact on communities,」 says James Chessen of the American Bankers Association. The cost is greatest for small businesses, which often lack audited financial statements and other information that can be analysed remotely. 「At the local community level, so much of that business is driven by relationships,」 says Chris Vanderpool of S&P Global Market Intelligence. 「The farther out you are, the harder it is to manage those relationships.」 A study in 2014 by Hoai-Luu Nguyen, now at the University of California, Berkeley, estimates that when branches close, new small-business lending falls by 13% in the surrounding area. In low-income neighbourhoods, such lending contracts by nearly 40%.即使對大多數美國人來說，去銀行依舊很方便，可是 ，銀行網點的關閉情況仍可能會造成重大損失。美國銀行家協會（American Bankers Association）的詹姆士•切森(James Chessen)說：「銀行的損失對社區影響重大。」小型企業的代價最高，因為這些企業經常缺乏經過審計的財務報表和其他可遠程分析的信息。「在當地社區層面，這些業務在很大程度上是由關係驅動的，「標準普爾全球市場情報公司的克里斯•范德爾普（Chris Vanderpool）說。「你們之間距離越遠，管理這些關係就越困難。」加州大學伯克利分校的Hoai-Luu Nguyen於2014年進行的一項研究估計，銀行網點關閉后，其周邊地區新的小企業貸款下降了13 ％。在低收入社區，這類貸款下降了近40％。Even if financial regulation loosens and interest rates rise, branches are likely to thin further. JLL, a property firm, reckons that by 2027 the number of bricks-and-mortar branches could have declined by another 20%. The risk of widespread banking deserts may be a mirage. But small-business lending could still suffer.即使金融監管放寬，利率上升，銀行網點的數量也可能進一步減少。物業公司仲量聯行（Jones Lang LaSalle）認為，到2027年，銀行實體網點的數量可能會再下降20％。雖然」銀行業沙漠「普遍化的風險可能並不存在，小企業的貸款活動仍然可能受到打擊。編譯：於清蕙編輯：翻吧君來源 ：經濟學人翻吧