Pressure on Goldman Sachs mounted yesterday as UK prime minister Gordon Brown attacked the “moral bankruptcy” revealed by the Securities and Exchange Commission's fraud charges, while the gulf between the bank and the regulator widened with revelations that the two sides never discussed a settlement.

　　在美國證交會(SEC)對高盛(Goldman Sachs)提出欺詐指控后，英國首相戈登•布朗(Gordon Brown)昨日抨擊這一指控所揭示的情況為“道德淪喪”，此舉讓高盛面臨更大的壓力。與此同時，高盛與美國證交會之間的巨大分歧正在擴大——據(jù)披露，雙方從未討論過就此案達成和解。

　　The lack of settlement talks in the nine months since the SEC formally told Goldman it wanted to press charges is unusual and underlines the hard line taken by both the authorities and the bank in this case.

　　美國證交會是在九個月前正式通知高盛將對其提出指控的。自那時起，雙方從未就和解展開過任何討論。這一不同尋常的事實突顯出，監(jiān)管當局和該投行均在此案上采取了強硬立場。

　　The SEC filed civil charges against Goldman and one of its vice-presidents on Friday, accusing them of failing to disclose that in 2007 Paulson & Co, a hedge fund, had a major role in structuring a mortgage-backed collaterised debt obligation so that it could bet against it.

　　上周五，美國證交會提交了對高盛及其一位副總裁的民事訴訟，指控他們沒有披露對沖基金保爾森公司(Paulson & Co) 2007年曾在構(gòu)建一種抵押貸款支持的債務抵押債券(CDO)中扮演重要角色——保爾森公司由此能夠做空該CDO。

　　Goldman has denied the charges and vowed to defend itself “vigorously”.

　　高盛否認了上述指控，并誓言將“有力”抗辯。

　　Yesterday, as Goldman executives said the position of Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive, was not threatened, London and Berlin said they would consider action. Mr Brown told the BBC he was “shocked at this moral bankruptcy. This is probably one of the worst cases . . . we have seen.”

　　高盛的高管昨日表示，其首席執(zhí)行官勞埃德•布蘭克費恩(Lloyd Blankfein)的地位沒有受到威脅。與此同時，英國和德國政府表示，它們將考慮對高盛采取行動。布朗告訴英國廣播公司(BBC)，他對“這一道德淪喪感到震驚。這可能是我們所見過的最惡劣的案件之一。”

　　The German government said it would consider legal steps against Goldman. IKB, a German bank that was one of the first casualties of the global crisis in 2007, was one of three investors in the CDO and lost about $150m when it collapsed as the US housing bubble burst.

　　德國政府表示，將考慮對高盛采取法律行動。作為2007年全球危機的首批受害者，德國產(chǎn)業(yè)投資銀行(IKB)曾是投資上述CDO的三家投資者之一。隨著美國住房泡沫的破滅，IKB在此項投資上虧損約1.5億美元并陷入破產(chǎn)。

　　Goldman declined to comment on the position of Mr Blankfein – not mentioned in the SEC's complaint – but insiders said it was not in danger. Goldman executives and investors will be closely watching how the shares perform today after they fell more than 12 per cent on Friday. Goldman's first-quarter results, out tomorrow, will also be a focal point.

　　高盛拒絕對布蘭克費恩的地位置評——美國證交會的申訴書中未提及布蘭克費恩——但局內(nèi)人士表示，布蘭克費恩的地位沒有受到威脅。高盛的高管和投資者將密切關(guān)注今日高盛股價的表現(xiàn)。上周五，高盛的股價下跌了逾12%。高盛今年首季度的財報定于明日發(fā)布，這也將成為外界關(guān)注的焦點。

　　The bank's executives said they were “stunned” by the SEC's decision to file charges against the bank and Fabrice Tourre, a 31-year-old vice-president, without prior warning.

　　高盛的高管表示，他們對美國證交會未做事先警告就決定對該行及其現(xiàn)年31歲的副總裁法布里•托雷(Fabrice Tourre)提出指控感到“震驚”。

　　The SEC declined to comment.

　　美國證交會拒絕置評。

　　People close to the situation said Goldman received notification of the SEC's intention to press charges in July. Goldman did not disclose this to investors – allowable if the information is not deemed price-sensitive.

　　知情人士表示，高盛去年7月就收到了美國證交會欲對其提出指控的通知。高盛并未向投資者披露此事——如果這一通知不被視為股價敏感信息，那么這樣做是允許的。

　　The SEC often settles cases to avoid lengthy court battles.

　　為避免曠日持久的訴訟戰(zhàn)，美國證交會往往尋求在此類案件上達成和解。

　　In February, the Financial Times revealed that the SEC last year had sent subpoenas to banks including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman, Morgan Stanley and UBS, seeking information about the marketing of CDOs.

　　英國《金融時報》今年2月透露，為搜集有關(guān)CDO銷售的信息，美國證交會去年曾傳喚過多家銀行，其中包括美國銀行-美林(Bank of America Merrill Lynch)、巴克萊(Barclays)、花旗集團(Citigroup)、瑞士信貸(Credit Suisse)、德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)、高盛、摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)和瑞銀(UBS)。