Congress passed a banking act in nineteen thirty-three known as the Glass-Steagall Act. It banned commercial banks from buying and selling securities; their job was to pay interest on savings and lend to borrowers.

This ban remained until nineteen ninety-nine. That year the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act permitted commercial banks to deal in securities and sell insurance. They can again own investment companies that underwrite securities.

Many banks now regret that they got involved with high-risk mortgage securities. The collapse last month of the nation's fifth largest investment bank, Bear Stearns, showed the risks. The International Monetary Fund says total losses related to American subprime mortgages could reach almost one trillion dollars.

On March seventeenth, the Federal Reserve started offering loans to investment banks, as it does for other banks. The program will continue for at least six months. The central bank used a power described in section thirteen of the Federal Reserve Act. But this power has not been used since the law was updated in nineteen thirty-two.


WORDS:

ban[bæn]:n. 禁令  vt. 禁止,取缔
commercial[kə'mə:ʃəl]:a. 商业的,商用的,商品化的  n. 广告节目
regret[ri'gret]:n. 遗憾,后悔,悔恨,抱歉,歉意  vt. 为…感到遗憾,后悔,惋惜,懊悔,抱歉
collapse[kə'læps]:v. 折叠  n. 崩溃,倒塌,虚脱  vi. 倒塌,崩溃,瓦解  vt. 使倒塌
Monetary['mʌnitəri]:a. 货币的,金钱的
Fund[fʌnd]:n. 基金,资金,存款,财源,贮藏  vt. 提供资金,积累
trillion['triljən]:n. 百万的平方,一兆,百万的立方,大量
describe[dis'kraib]:vt. 描绘,描写,描述,刻划
section['sekʃən]:n. 部分,章节,地段;断面,剖面;部门,科;阶层,界  vt. 把…分成段


TIPS:

subprime:Subprime lending（或者Subprime loan），中文可译作“次级贷款”。次级贷款是银行或贷款机构提供给那些不具备资格享受Prime rate（优惠利率）贷款的客户的一种贷款.
Bear Stearns:华尔街五大银行之一 ，国内惯译为贝尔斯登 美林证券(Merrill Lynch Co.) 高盛(Goldman SachspuorgInc.) 雷曼兄弟公司(Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.) 贝尔斯登公司(Bear Stearns Cos.) 摩根斯坦利(Morgan Stanley)