The eurozone faces a triple problem: stretched states, fragile banks and shrinking economies. If addressed properly, we can make a virtuous cycle that will help with all three. If managed poorly, however, they could descend into a vicious cycle. 欧元区面临着三重难题：政府压力大、银行体系脆弱以及经济规模萎缩。如果应对得当，这三大问题有望缓解，进而实现良性循环。但如果应对不当，这三大难题则可能演变成为恶性循环。

Governments and banks are now linked. States that had to recapitalise impaired domestic banks have taken on extra debt. Conversely, sound banks have been affected by the weakness of their home governments. The effect has been to lower the credit ratings of both banks and sovereigns. Combined with the need to deleverage and the freezing of money markets, there is now less international lending through financial markets and the flow of credit is hampered. 如今，政府和银行息息相关。为向受到冲击的本国银行重新注入资本金，政府背上了额外的债务负担。反过来，经营状况良好的银行也会因为本国政府的软弱无力而受到影响。由此导致的后果是，银行和国家的主权债务评级被双双下调。在去杠杆化需求以及货币市场流动性趋紧的进一步影响下，以金融市场为中介的跨国贷款规模出现下降，信贷流动受到阻碍。

This weighs heavily on the real economy of the eurozone where in particular small and medium-sized enterprises depend on access to bank loans. 这对欧元区的实体经济构成了很大压力，因为当地的中小型企业尤其依赖银行贷款。

To prevent a credit squeeze and combat the economic slowdown, the European Central Bank has slashed interest rates, flooded the banking sector with liquidity and lent widely. It took conventional measures to prevent deflation. Its unconventional measures prevented a meltdown of the financial system and aimed to restore the clogged transmission of monetary policy. But credit flows remain weak and growth is anaemic. 为防止信贷紧缩以及经济增长放缓，欧洲央行(ECB)先后调低了利率水平、向银行体系注入了大规模流动性并广泛发放贷款。该行为防范通货紧缩采取了传统的政策措施。其采取的非传统操作则避免了金融系统遭到侵蚀，并致力于疏通堵塞的货币政策传导机制。但信贷流动依然疲软，经济增长动力不足。

Against this background, calls are becoming louder for the ECB to introduce new tools, swallow ever more risk and start economic fine-tuning. But this would be a diversion. The successful measures taken by the ECB are there to buy time for the political authorities to fix the governance framework and implement reforms. They cannot be a substitute for the repair work. 在这一背景下，外界愈发强烈地要求欧洲央行引入新的政策工具，吸收比以往更多的风险，并启动经济结构微调。但这么做将偏离正确的政策方向。欧洲央行采取的成功举措是为了给各国政府留出调整治理结构以及实施改革的时间。但这些措施本身代替不了政府对经济的修补工作。

Action is under way. To break the doom-loop between sovereign and banks, European leaders have decided to establish a European banking union. The ECB will be assigned to create the single supervisory mechanism. This is a necessary element, but not a sufficient one. We also need a single resolution mechanism. 目前各方正在采取行动。为了打破主权评级与银行系统之间的恶性循环，欧洲各国领导人决定成立欧洲银行业联盟。欧洲央行将担负起建立这一单头监督机制的使命。不过该机制仅仅是个必要条件，而非充分条件。欧洲还需建立起统一的破产清算机制。

These two reforms are the two sides of the same coin. Supervisors cannot give objective verdicts on the viability of banks if banks can only be closed in an disorderly way that could trigger contagion and put financial stability at risk. If banks cannot be shut down cleanly, necessary liquidity provision could drift into supervisory forbearance, evergreening and zombification. 这两项改革是同一枚硬币的正反面。如果银行只能以一种混乱无序的方式破产清算——由此可能产生传导效应并将威胁到整个金融体系的稳定——那么监督当局将无法客观地判断银行的生存能力。如果无法干净利落地关闭银行，必要的流动性供给可能演变为监管尺度放宽、债务长期得不到不清偿以及银行僵尸化。

This raises a question about funding this process. A viable bank that lacks capital ought to seek it first in the market. If it cannot, funding should be warranted from a pot that is funded in advance from private sources. A fund should also help with resolution, for instance to capitalise a bridge bank that is later sold. Only as a last resort, funds could be temporarily drawn from a European fiscal backstop. To ensure fiscal neutrality, a loan to the European resolution fund should be repaid ex post via levies on banks. 这引发了一个问题：如何为清算机制提供资金？一个具有生存能力但缺乏资本金的银行首先应当在市场上募资。如果未获成功，则可以向私人部门先行注资的资金池寻求融资帮助。私人基金也应为清算流程提供帮助，例如可以向随后将被出售的过渡性银行(bridge bank)注入资本。只有在万不得已的情况下，银行才能借助欧洲的财政支持机制获得短期融资。为确保财政中立，借给欧洲清算基金的贷款应当在事后通过向银行征税偿还。

This institutional framework is a prerequisite for the repair of financial markets. The capacity of the banking sector to absorb risk would be increased – currently the Achilles heel of loan provision to the real economy. All this would also help to restore the proper transmission of monetary policy. The current very accommodative monetary policy stance could reach its destinations unhampered. The need for unconventional measures would diminish rather than increase. 这一制度框架是修补金融市场的先决条件。此举将有助于增强银行业吸收风险的能力，目前这是银行向实体经济提供贷款过程中的致命弱点。此举还有助于恢复正常的货币政策传导机制。当前极其宽松的货币政策将可以畅通无阻地发挥效力。对非传统政策操作的需求则会下降而非上升。

To kick-start the flow of credit, a new European asset class of securitised loans to small businesses could be created. European asset-backed securities have been unfairly stigmatised, since they are superficially associated with pools of US subprime mortgages. This is despite the fact that the performance of European ABSs has been solid. Funding aid for sound pools of small business loans could be provided by development banks on the national and European level, possibly supported by liquidity from the ECB within its mandate. 为激活信贷流动，欧洲可以设立一个新的资产类别：将发放给小企业的贷款打包成证券化产品。欧洲的资产支持证券(ABS)一直背负不该有的恶名，只因它们看起来似乎与美国的次级抵押贷款支持类证券存在关联。这种联想完全无视欧洲资产支持证券一直以来的稳健表现。欧洲或者各国的开发银行可以为优质小企业贷款组成的资产池提供资金帮助，欧洲央行也可在自身职权范围以内为其提供流动性支持。

These measures should address the shortcomings of credit supply, the grease of the economic engine. They do not release governments and enterprises from doing the repair work on the machinery. Structural reforms, in particular the liberalisation of labour markets, and greater competitiveness are the indispensable ingredients for investment and innovation, and hence for sustainable growth. 这些措施应当能够解决信贷供给不足的问题，而资金流动正是经济引擎的润滑剂。不过这并不意味着政府和企业可以免于参加经济引擎的修理工作。要想促进投资、创新以及经济的可持续增长，结构性改革，特别是劳动力市场自由化以及经济竞争力的提升都是不可或缺的。