May 18

　　Borrowing and lending has become a fairly well-understood line of business, and a fairly well-managed one most of the time in most of the world. It is the banks themselves that are volatile, shifting shapes and strategies as furiously as their regulators will allow them in their efforts to win markets and market share.

　　In America the ten biggest commercial banks control 49% of the country's banking assets, up from 29% a decade ago. They are pausing for breath now, after a long merger binge encouraged by the deregulation of interstate banking and the removal of barriers between banks, insurance companies and securities firms. Non-financial companies are not meant to own banks, but even that is now being tested by America's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart, which wants a restricted banking licence.

　　想做大

　　借和贷已成为一种被广为理解的且在世界上大多数地方的大多数时间里运行良好的商业行为。但只要管理者允许，银行就可以变得变幻莫测以期赢得市场和更多的市场份额。

　　在美国，最大的10家商业银行控制这个国家49%的银行资产，而10年前它们只控制29%。由州际银行放宽条例和银行、保险公司和证券公司之间的障碍被取消而引发一阵长时间的合并浪潮过后，银行界现在要暂停一下，喘口气了。非金融性公司是不允许拥有银行的，而这一点正在经受美国最大的零售商沃尔玛的考验。沃尔玛想获得经营有限的银行业务的许可。