绝望的股东
对于暂时上市无望的农商行来说，除了在各地产交所挂牌转让股份之外，银行还通过淘宝抛售股份，这个迹象表明资金紧缺的投资者正采取日益绝望的举措。淘宝网平时更出名的是韩国化妆品，而不是金融机构股份。
测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：
cash-strapped缺乏现金的
dwindle减小['dwɪnd(ə)l]
clearance sale清货贱卖
loosely宽松地['lu:slɪ]
swarm挤满[swɔːm]
divest剥夺[daɪ'vest; dɪ-]
deteriorate恶化[dɪ'tɪərɪəreɪt]
Investors rush online to ditch stakes in China rural lenders （528words）
By Don Weinland in Hong Kong
Shareholders in China's rural commercial banks have been offloading their stakes on Taobao, the biggest online Chinese auction site, in a sign of the increasingly desperate steps being taken by cash-strapped investors.
The stake sales in the lenders at the bottom of China's financial system, which are also appearing on the China Beijing Equity Exchange and an over-the-counter market, require minimal regulatory approval, if any at all. Until this month, an official freeze on initial public offerings in Shanghai and Shenzhen has trapped shareholders from divesting as valuations fall.
The backdoor methods for cashing out of the banks reflects a new urgency among shareholders to leave the sector amid dwindling returns and mounting bad debt. State-backed Securities Daily called the marketing of bank shares on the Beijing Equity Exchange a “clearance sale” of the deposit-taking institutions once carefully regulated by the state.
Investors snatched up about Rmb42m in shares in four small lenders from public auctions on Alibaba's Taobao site in December and January. Since April, investors in more than 11 banks have cashed out via such auctions on the shopping platform better known for Korean cosmetics than financial holdings.
Rural Commercial Bank of Zhangjiagang, which sold shares on Taobao this month, had about Rmb70bn in total assets in 2013. Assets at China's rural commercial banks made up 13.4 per cent of total banking system assets in November, according to the central bank.
While the asset quality of the banks are thought to be weak, the financial positions of the shareholders in these banks, mainly midsized manufacturers and local government-backed companies, are likely to be weaker as China's economy slows to a 25-year low.
“You can expect that the cash flow of many of these companies is not good,” said Liao Qiang, director of financial institutions ratings at Standard & Poor's in Beijing. “They need some fresh cash.”
The sales are not restricted to Taobao. Shareholders are also going to several of China's loosely regulated markets to sell the bank shares.
Shanghai Xupu Fasteners, a midsized bolt and screw maker put its 10 per cent stake in Anhui Taihu Rural Commercial Bank up for sale on the Beijing Equity Exchange in late November. The bank had net profits of about Rmb40m in 2014 and has asked Rmb100m for the stake, a high valuation in an industry swimming in bad debt.
Rural and city commercial banks have also swarmed the National Equities Exchange and Quotations, the OTC market known as the “New Third Board”. Jilin Jiutai Rural Commercial Bank said on its website that at least 22 banks had applied for listings on the exchange.
During the past two weeks, three rural commercial lenders have won China Securities Regulatory Committee approval to list in Shanghai or Shenzhen. The public listing will also help shareholders divest from the banks, Mr Liao said. The banks, all based in Jiangsu province, are at the front of a queue of at least 15 peers waiting to replenish their capital, which has suffered as asset quality deteriorates.
“The banks are quite clear that this asset quality pressure may translate into capital pressure,” Mr Liao said, hence the dire need for the IPOs.
请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：
1.How many banks' investors have cashed out via Taobao Since April?
A.more than 42
B.less than 11
C.more than 11
D.less than 42
答案(1)
2.Which one is much rarer on Taobao?
A.Korean cosmetics
B.Chinese clothes
C.snacks
D.financial holding
答案(2)
3.What do local government-backed companies need as Standard & Poor's director said?
A.fresh cash
B.lenders
C.optimization of asset quality
D.talented managers
答案(3)
4.How many rural commercial lenders have won CSRC approval to list in Shanghai or Shenzhen?
A.15
B.3
C.22
D.1
答案(4)
* * *
(1)答案：C.more than 11
解释：自去年4月以来，至少11家银行的股东已在这个购物平台举行的拍卖中抛售股份。
(2)答案：D.financial holding
解释：金融机构股份的售卖在淘宝上并不常见。
(3)答案：A.fresh cash
解释：“可以预计，其中很多公司现金流不好，”标准普尔(Standard & Poor's)常驻北京的金融机构评级主管廖强表示。“他们需要一些新资金。”
(4)答案：B.3
解释：过去两周里，有三家农村商业银行获得中国证券监督管理委员会(CSRC)批准在上海或深圳上市。
