Texts for sight/consecutive translation

 

 

Text 1. RUSSIA’S RED-ERA DEBT PUT TO REST: $24 BILLION IN FOREIGN DEBT PAID OFF

 

RUSSIA has wiped out its Soviet-era debts with a repayment of $US23.7 billion ($31.1 billion) that symbolizes the country's transformation from economic basket case to powerhouse. The dramatic display of Russia's new-found economic clout comes just eight years after it defaulted on more than $US40 billion in debt.

The move knocked about a third off the country's foreign debts, which previously stood at $US70 billion. Russia had been due to pay off the debts by 2020, but the sharp rise in the price of oil has engineered a dramatic improvement in the country's fortunes. That enabled it to bring the repayment forward, at an estimated saving of $US12 billion.

In July, Mr Putin said: "We used to live with our hand held out for many years... but now the Russian economy cannot only repay debts, but do so ahead of time." The Finance Ministry said the repayment would reduce Russia's foreign debts as a share of GDP to just 9 per cent. Christopher Green, senior economist at the Moscow Narodny Bank in London, said the move had political implications, as well as making economic sense. "It reflects the emergence of Russia as an economy on to the global stage," he said.

 

 

Text 2. RUSSIAN FOREIGN DEBT DOWN $10.2 BLN IN 2009

 

MOSCOW, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) - The total external debt of Russia stood at 469.7 billion U.S. dollars as of Jan. 1, 2010, decreasing 10.2 billion dollars as compared with one year ago, said the Russian Central Bank on Wednesday.

The foreign debt of Russia's general government contracted by 500 million dollars to 30 billion dollars on a year-on-year basis, said the bank website.

Net foreign capital outflow from Russia last year was approximately 52.4 billion dollars. Russia's current account totaled 47.5 billion dollars, and the trade surplus 110.6 billion dollars.

Exports of goods and services were estimated at 303.3 billion dollars and 42.3 billion dollars in 2009, while imports of those stood at 192.7 billion dollars and 62.2 billion dollars respectively.

 

 

Text 3. SIZE OF GLOBAL BANKING INDUSTRY

 

Worldwide assets of the largest 1,000 banks grew 15.5% in 2005 to reach a record $60.5 trillion. This follows a 19.3% increase in the previous year. EU banks held the largest share, 50% at the end of 2005, up from 38% a decade earlier. The growth in Europe’s share was mostly at the expense of Japanese banks whose share more than halved during this period from 33% to 13%. The share of US banks also rose, from 10% to 14%. Most of the remainder was from other Asian and European countries.

The US had by far the most banks (7,540 at end-2005) and branches (75,000) in the world. The large number of banks in the US is an indicator of its geographical dispersity and regulatory structure resulting in a large number of small to medium sized institutions in its banking system. Japan had 129 banks and 12,000 branches. In 2004, Germany, France, and Italy had more than 30,000 branches each—more than double the 15,000 branches in the UK.

(Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank ")

Text 4. BANK CRISIS

 

Banks are susceptible to many forms of risk which have triggered occasional systemic crises. Risks include liquidity risk (the risk that many depositors will request withdrawals beyond available funds), credit risk (the risk that those that owe money to the bank will not repay), and interest rate risk (the risk that the bank will become unprofitable if rising interest rates force it to pay relatively more on its deposits than it receives on its loans), among others.

Banking crises have developed many times throughout history when one or more risks materialize for a banking sector as a whole. Prominent examples include the U.S. Savings and Loan crisis in 1980s and early 1990s, the Japanese banking crisis during the 1990s, the bank run that occurred during the Great Depression, and the recent liquidation by the central Bank of Nigeria, where about 25 banks were liquidated.

(Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank ")