This is not surprising. A year ago, British policymakers were still arguing about whether or not to nationalise Northern Rock, the failed mortgage lender. Twelve months on, Britain has a controlling stake in Royal Bank of Scotland while Citigroup, once the world's largest bank, is operating with the support of the US government. Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, two of Wall Street's oldest names, have disappeared while Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have become commercial banks.
這并不令人驚訝。一年前,英國的政策制定者們還在爭論是否要對北巖(Northern Rock)這家破產的抵押貸款機構實行國有化。12個月后,英國就已持有蘇格蘭皇家銀行(Royal Bank of Scotland)的控股權,同時,曾經的全球最大銀行——花旗集團(Citigroup)正靠著美國政府的支持繼續運營。華爾街的兩家老字號——貝爾斯登(Bear Stearns)和雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)——已經不復存在,而高盛(Goldman Sachs)和摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)則變身為商業銀行。