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Citic, the large Chinese investment conglomerate, is considering giving up its bank branches in the US at the same time as it undergoes a large restructuring, according to several senior Citic executives.
据中国大型投资集团中信(Citic)多名高管透露，中信正考虑在实施大规模重组的同时，舍弃其在美国的银行分行。
The main change involves injecting $37bn of assets from China into Citic’s Hong Kong listed unit, Citic Pacific.
主要的变化涉及中信在香港上市的子公司中信泰富(Citic Pacific)接受母公司370亿美元的资产注入。
But Citic is also looking at revamping its US presence because it is among a group of Chinese entities, along with China Investment Corp, that US regulators consider bank holding companies.
但中信还在考虑重组美国业务，因为它和中投公司(China Investment Corp)等多家中国公司一样，被美国监管机构视为持有银行的公司。
Under the Volcker rule, companies that control retail banks in the US will be subject to stringent requirements on what they can do once the rule is brought in next summer.
根据“沃尔克规则”(Volcker rule)，到明年夏天，在美国控股零售银行的公司，在行为方面将受到严格限制。
Among other things, banks face restrictions on investing directly with their own money and engaging in proprietary trading.
除了其它约束外，银行用自有资金直接投资和从事自营交易将面临限制。
To avoid those limits, Citic is considering closing its two branches in the US. They are in Los Angeles and New York, with total assets of under $500m as of last September, according to Federal Reserve data.
为避免上述限制，中信正考虑关闭在美国的两家分行。根据美联储(Fed)数据，这两家分行分别位于洛杉矶和纽约，截至去年9月的总资产不到5亿美元。
Citic is not the only foreign bank concerned about the Volcker rule, and tough US stances on money-laundering, financial sanctions and tax evasion for companies that operate as banks within the US.
对于沃尔克规则，以及美国在洗钱、金融制裁和逃税问题上对以银行身份在美国经营的公司的强硬态度，中信不是唯一感到担忧的外资银行。
If others follow Citic and re-evaluate their US presence, it could affect the competitiveness of US fin-ancial markets and the dollar’s status as a reserve currency, some analysts say.
一些分析师表示，如果其他银行效仿中信，重新评估它们在美国的存在，那就可能影响美国金融市场的竞争力和美元的储备货币地位。
“Bank holding company rules are having a meaningful impact on the way foreign institutions think about having US subsidiaries, and in some cases are reconsidering and reducing their presence,” says Joo-Yung Lee, a managing director at Fitch and head of North American Financial Institutions coverage.
惠誉(Fitch)董事总经理兼北美金融机构业务主管Joo-Yung Lee表示：“针对持有银行的公司的规定，对外资金融机构如何看待拥有美国子公司有重大影响，某些外资金融机构在重新考虑要不要在美国开展业务，或考虑缩减在美业务。”
CIC, the Chinese sovereign wealth fund, has a good chance of getting a waiver from the Volcker restrictions, lawyers say, since it is simply part of central Huijin, the holding company for Chinese government stakes in the state-owned banks.
律师们表示，作为中国的主权财富基金，中投公司很有可能得到豁免，不必受沃尔克规则的限制，因为中投公司只不过是中央汇金(Central Huijin)的一部分，后者代表中国政府持股国有银行。
But if it does not, it may be forced to unload the US hedge funds in which it invests.
但如果中投公司未能得到豁免，它或许将被迫撤出以前投资的一些美国对冲基金。
After the $37bn restructuring, Citic Pacific will hold a variety of the financial units that come from its parent, including Citic Securities, which is listed in Shanghai, and Citic Bank, with over $600bn in assets as of the end of last year.
经过价值370亿美元的重组，中信泰富将持有来自母公司的一系列金融业务，包括在上海上市的中信证券(Citic Securities)，以及资产规模截至去年底超过6000亿美元的中信银行(Citic Bank)。
Meanwhile, Citic Capital, another arm of the company, is trying to change its shareholding structure to reduce the presence of Citic and CIC to avoid being considered part of a bank holding company and thus subject to constraints on raising money from US investors, the executives said.
与此同时，高管们表示，中信旗下另一家子公司中信资本(Citic Capital)正试图变更持股结构，减少中信和中投的持股比例，以免被视为属于一家持有银行的公司，以至于在美筹资面临限制。
“I don’t know why everyone doesn’t give up their bank licenses,” says one prominent New York-based lawyer who specialises in banking issues.
专注于银行业事务的纽约一位知名律师表示：“我不明白大家为什么不干脆放弃自己的银行牌照。”
“The Volcker rule is a gigantic added burden. We are telling all our clients that we can’t understand how they justify branches here now.”
“沃尔克规则是个巨大的额外负担。我们在对所有客户说，我们不理解他们为何还在这里维持分行。”
