原文标题：Great DanesTo fix broken mortgage markets, look to DenmarkRising interest rates have exposed the problems with many home loans伟大的丹麦人要修复崩溃的抵押贷款市场，请向丹麦看齐利率上升暴露了许多住房贷款的问题
[Paragraph 1]IT MATTERS WHEN mortgages malfunction. 抵押贷款问题事关重大。Home loans underpin tens of trillions of dollars of financial assets, not to mention some of life’s most important transactions. 抵押贷款是支撑数万亿美元金融资产的基石，更不用说这是许多人一生中最重要的交易。And though the rich world is mercifully free of the tearaway lending that caused the global financial crisis of 2007-09, mortgage markets remain riddled with problems. 虽然发达国家幸运地避免了导致2007-2009年全球金融危机中的恣意放贷行为，但抵押贷款市场仍然充满了问题。The sharp rise in interest rates over the past year and a half has exposed them.在过去的一年半里，利率的急剧上升暴露了抵押贷款市场的问题。
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In America buyers have long enjoyed 30-year fixed-rate prepayable mortgages courtesy of the federal government.
在美国，购房者长期以来一直享受联邦政府提供的30年期固定利率且可提前还款的抵押贷款。
It implicitly guarantees mortgage-backed securities that are sold to investors through agencies such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
联邦政府为房利美和房地美等机构出售给投资者的抵押贷款证券提供隐性担保。
The average 30-year rate stands at over 7.2%, the highest since 2001.
30年期平均利率超过7.2%，为2001年以来的最高水平。
It is now clear that anyone who borrowed in, say, early 2021, when the rate was 2.7%, secured the deal of a lifetime—especially as house prices have gone on to rise by nearly a third.现在可以明确地说，任何在2021年初以2.7%的利率贷款的人，都获得了终生难忘的最佳交易机会--尤其是房价上涨了近三分之一的情况下。
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The trouble is that the system has gummed up the housing market.
问题在于这个系统阻碍了住房市场的交易。
Moving home means borrowing afresh at much higher rates. So homeowners who might usually up sticks are instead staying put.
换房意味着以更高的利率重新贷款。因此，通常可能会搬家的业主们反而选择继续住在原地。
In an otherwise hot economy, sales of existing homes are almost as rare as they were during pandemic lockdowns in 2020.
尽管目前整体经济状况良好，但二手房成交量几乎与2020年疫情封锁时期一样少得可怜。
Buyers have been left competing for the much smaller stock of new homes, sales of which are nearly a third higher than a year ago.
购房者只能竞相争购新房的存量，新房成交量比一年前增长近1/3。
And house prices, having dipped briefly after rates first rose, are once again reaching all-time highs. 房价在利率首次上升后短暂下跌，如今又再次创下历史新高。
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If America offers a case study in how government intervention can distort the market, other systems show how severely higher rates threaten some households.
如果说美国制度表明政府干预扭曲了市场，那么其他国家的制度则表明利率上升会对一些家庭造成严重威胁。
In Britain borrowers typically fix their interest rate for only a few years. As a result the screw is steadily turning on borrowers as they refinance cheap loans.
在英国，贷款人的利率通常只固定几年。因此，当他们重新借廉价贷款时，压力也逐渐加大。
By the end of 2026, 2m of them will have faced a rise in annual mortgage payments of more than £3,600 ($4,570)—over 10% of median household income.
到2026年底，有200万人将面临每年多缴3600英镑（4570美元）的房贷款，占据了中位数家庭收入的10%以上。
The situation is similar in Sweden, where almost 90% of loans have a fixed-rate period of two years or less. In New Zealand interest costs alone could soon exceed a fifth of borrowing households’ disposable income. 瑞典的情况也类似，近90%的贷款利率固定期为2年或更短。在新西兰，仅利息成本很快就会超过借款家庭可支配收入的1/5。
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Nobody forced homeowners to borrow, and they tend to be well-off.
没有人强迫房主们贷款，而且他们通常相对富裕。
But it is not ideal that, in countries where homeownership is prized, households take enormous, perhaps unwitting, bets on interest rates almost as a rite of passage.
但在那些崇尚拥有房产的国家，家庭买房几乎成为了一种仪式感，这很不明智，因为他们在进行一场对利率毫不知情的豪赌。
Many would take out interest-rate fixes if they could—as many Americans do. 如果可以的话，很多人都会选择选择固定利率 —— 就像很多美国人一样。
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Fortunately there is a proven middle ground between the distorted American system and a floating-rate free-for-all.
幸运的是，在扭曲的美国制度和浮动利率的自由市场之间，有一个行之有效的折中方案。
In Denmark homebuyers can borrow at 30-year fixed rates, and mortgages are prepayable. About half of borrowers fix for three decades.
在丹麦，购房者可以选择30年期固定利率贷款，而且可以提前还清。大约有一半的借款人选择了30年期的固定利率。
Yet there is no problem of “locked in” homeowners because a seller can end a mortgage by buying it back at its market value, which falls when rates rise, thereby cashing out the value of their interest-rate fix.
然而，这不存在“锁定”房主的问题，因为卖家可以通过按市值回购来终止抵押贷款，当利率上升时，市场价值会下降，从而可以兑现其固定利率的价值。
Alternatively they can transfer their mortgage to the home’s new owners.
或者，他们可以将抵押贷款转移给房屋的新主人。
The result is greater dynamism: in the first quarter of 2023 housing transactions were down by only 6% on a year earlier, compared with 22% for existing homes in America. 这样做的结果是带来了更大的市场活力：2023年第一季度的住房交易仅比去年同期下降了6%，而美国二手房交易量则下降了 22%。
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The government provides no guarantees.
政府不提供任何保证。
The role that Fannie and Freddie play in America is fulfilled in Denmark by highly capitalised mortgage banks.
房利美和房地美在美国扮演的角色，在丹麦由资本雄厚的抵押贷款银行承担。
Their thick safety buffers meant that, unlike Fannie and Freddie, they did not require a full-scale government rescue in 2007-09.
与房利美和房地美不同的是，丹麦的抵押贷款银行具有很强的安全缓冲能力，这意味着它们在 2007-2009 年不需要政府的全面救助。
And unlike America’s agencies, they originate the loans whose payments to investors they guarantee, which encourages prudent lending.与美国的机构不同的是，他们发放贷款并对投资者的款项进行担保，这鼓励了谨慎贷款（而不是恣意贷款）。
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There are catches: mortgage banks are protected from losses by creditor-friendly rules, including swift foreclosure procedures and barriers to declaring bankruptcy.
然而，也有一些条件：抵押银行受债权人友好规则保护以免受损失，包括快速的强制执行程序和宣布破产的障碍。
But the flexibility and protection the Danish system offers is enviable when many mortgage markets are either distorting economies or causing hardship. Other countries would do well to try it. 但当许多国家的抵押贷款市场影响经济或造成困难时，丹麦体系提供的灵活性和保护令人羡慕。其他国家也不妨试一下这种方式。（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量672左右）原文出自：2023年9月2日《The Economist》Leaders版块
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路
本文翻译整理: Irene
本文编辑校对: Irene仅供个人英语学习交流使用。
【补充资料】（来自于网络）2007-2009全球金融危机，也被称为次贷危机，是自1929年的经济大萧条以来最严重的金融危机之一。这场危机起源于美国房地产市场，主要由次贷违约引发的金融风险蔓延到全球金融市场所导致。这场危机的起因可以追溯到2007年美国次贷市场的泡沫破裂。在过去的几年中，银行和金融机构借贷给信用风险较高的借款人，尤其是购房者，而这些债务往往以房屋抵押为担保。然而，由于房地产市场的价格开始下跌，借款人无法偿还贷款，导致大量次贷违约。这场危机迅速蔓延到全球，许多国家和地区的金融机构也受到了重创。股票市场崩盘，房地产市场衰退，全球贸易和投资活动受到抑制，许多企业面临倒闭和裁员的风险。全球经济停滞不前，多个国家陷入经济衰退。
房利美（Fannie Mae）和房地美（Freddie Mac），是美国两个最大的住房抵押贷款公司。这两家机构成立的目的是为了提供市场流动性，通过购买和保证抵押贷款，以促进住房市场和房地产市场的发展。然而，随着时间的推移，这两家机构逐渐发展壮大，并开始与私人金融机构竞争。作为政府支持的实体，房利美和房地美享有许多特权和优势。
最显著的是，它们享有美国政府的担保，这使得它们能够以相对较低的成本融资，从而提供更便宜的住房贷款。此外，它们也能够通过将抵押贷款打包成证券并出售给投资者来为自己筹集资金，从而进一步增加了其流动性。然而，房利美和房地美也面临着一些风险和挑战。特别是在2007年的全球金融危机中，它们因持有大量次贷资产而遭受重创，导致它们资本不足，需要政府救助。随后，美国政府将这两家机构接管，并提供救助资金以防止它们破产。
existing homes 指的是已经建成、已经有人居住的房屋。这些房屋可能是二手房或者二手房市场上的房屋，可以直接购买或者租赁。这些房屋通常已经有了完善的基础设施和生活用品，并且可能已经进行过一些改造或装修。new homes 指的是新建的房屋，通常是开发商新建的房屋项目，尚未有人居住。这些房屋可以是新的建筑物或者未经使用的建筑单元，可以直接购买或者租赁。新房可能提供更多现代化的设施和技术，因为它们通常符合当今的建筑标准和设计趋势。
【重点句子】（3个）Home loans underpin tens of trillions of dollars of financial assets, not to mention some of life’s most important transactions. 抵押贷款是支撑数万亿美元金融资产的基石，更不用说这是许多人一生中最重要的交易。Moving home means borrowing afresh at much higher rates. So homeowners who might usually up sticks are instead staying put.换房意味着以更高的利率重新贷款。因此，通常可能会搬家的业主们反而选择继续住在原地。And unlike America’s agencies, they originate the loans whose payments to investors they guarantee, which encourages prudent lending.与美国的机构不同的是，他们发放贷款并对投资者的款项进行担保，这鼓励了谨慎贷款（而不是恣意贷款）。
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原文地址"丹麦负利率贷款是怎么回事，丹麦金融公司"：http://www.guoyinggangguan.com/xedk/241341.html。
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