FT社评 国际组织须关注非洲金融业

Eighteen months after resigning in the aftermath of the Libor rate-rigging scandal, Bob Diamond is plotting his comeback. This week, the former Barclays chief executive raised $325m from investors. He is now looking for an African financial services acquisition on which to spend the cash.

在因伦敦银行间同业拆借利率(Libor)操纵丑闻辞职18个月后，巴克莱银行(Barclays)前首席执行官鲍勃•戴蒙德(Bob Diamond)正准备重出江湖。本周，他从投资者那里筹资3.25亿美元，准备在非洲金融服务业寻求收购机会。

Yet if this fallen titan has not after all been condemned to the underworld, he appears at first sight to be heading for a relative backwater. Banking services are poorly developed in Africa. About 60 per cent of Kenyan adults are without a bank account, for example, compared to just 3 per cent in the UK.

然而，如果这个倒下的巨人没有被判下地狱，那么乍一看，他似乎正走向一个相对落后的领域。非洲银行服务业极不发达。例如，肯尼亚约60%的成年人没有银行账户，而英国仅为3%。

Banks concentrate on serving parts of Africa that are home to most of its wealth but few of its people. Much of the continent is too poor to sustain costly branches and infrastructure. Dysfunctional institutions can also be a hindrance, although these have been improving lately. Property registration costs are falling, and 70 per cent of African countries now have a national system of credit records. But enforcing contracts remains difficult; legal fees amount to roughly half of the average claim.

在非洲，银行主要为那些聚集着大部分财富但人口占比很低的部分地区服务。非洲大陆很多国家非常贫穷，承担不起昂贵的银行分支机构和基础设施。制度运转不畅也可能是一种阻碍，但最近情况有所好转。财产登记成本正在下降，70%的非洲国家现在建立了全国信用记录体系。但合同的执行仍很困难；法律诉讼费约占平均索赔金额的一半。

The result is that millions must rely on cash alone, or fall back on informal arrangements for making payments and raising credit. This stunts economic activity and adds to the precariousness of many people’s livelihoods.

结果是，数百万人必须只依赖现金，或者求助于非正式资金安排来付款和筹款。这会阻碍经济活动，并会使很多人生活更不稳定。

The pent-up demand for financial services is evident in the ingenious improvisations that Africans are devising to meet it. In many places, mobile phone airtime balances have assumed the status of unofficial currency, after customers realised they could settle personal debts by transferring credit from one phone to another. Safaricom, the Kenyan network operator, has formalised the service, in effect turning its army of phone card hawkers into a network of roving bank tellers. It now collaborates with Commercial Bank of Africa to offer interest-bearing accounts and small loans.

非洲人对金融服务的需求被压抑已久，他们为满足需求而即兴设计出的新颖产品，明显体现了这一点。在很多地区，手机话费余额承担起了非官方货币的角色，此前客户发现，他们可以通过将话费余额从一部手机转移到另一部手机来清偿个人债务。肯尼亚网络运营商Safaricom将这一服务合法化，实际上把兜售电话卡的人群变成了一个流动的银行柜员机网络。该公司现在正与非洲商业银行(Commercial Bank of Africa)合作，提供计息账户和小额贷款。

New technology is bringing down costs just as an era of economic growth seems finally to be dawning on Africa. Mr Diamond is not the only banker to spy opportunity in what is now the second-fastest growing region in the world. Hedge funds and private equity companies, too, have been racing to do deals.

新技术正在降低成本，非洲似乎终于迎来了经济增长时期。戴蒙德并非唯一一位在经济增速全球第二的地区发现机会的银行家。对冲基金和私人股本公司也在竞相达成交易。

This is an occasion on which bankers’ commercial ambitions coincide with the broader social good. But policy makers should nonetheless be alert to possible dangers. Recent history shows that a booming financial services industry can garner undue influence, even in advanced countries with robust institutions. It would be a tragedy if Africa’s rise were cut short by similar mistakes. While governments bear primary responsibility for regulating financial conduct, international organisations such as the World Bank should issue vocal warnings if they have grounds for concern.

这是一个把银行家的商业抱负与社会公益结合起来的机会。但政策制定者应警惕可能的危险。近期历史表明，蓬勃发展的金融服务业可能会获得过大的影响力，甚至在制度健全的发达国家也是如此。如果非洲的崛起因为类似的错误而被打断，那么这将是一场悲剧。政府在监管金融行为方面负有主要责任，但世界银行(World Bank)等国际组织应在有理由担心时发出有力警告。

Banking is a maligned industry but an indispensable one. It will be a mark of progress if foreign investment means that fewer Africans live beyond its reach.

银行业正背负骂名，但这个行业不可或缺。如果更多非洲人可以利用到外资的话，那么这将是一个进步的标志。