France has gathered support to challenge US regulators imposing heavy penalties on foreign banks at a G20 meeting of world leaders later this year after the record $8.9bn fine levied on BNP Paribas last month.

法国政府打算在今年晚些时候召开的20国集团(G20)会议上，向对外国银行施以重罚的美国监管机构提出质疑。目前，法国这一主张已得到多国支持。在此之前，法国巴黎银行(BNP Paribas)曾在上个月被美方课以89亿美元的创纪录罚单。

Berlin, London and Rome have backed Paris in its push to have its concerns about so-called US extraterritoriality discussed when leaders of the world’s top 20 economies meet in Brisbane in Australia in November, according to French and other European officials.

根据法国及其他欧洲官员的说法，出于法国对所谓美国治外法权的关注，法国政府力推在今年的20国集团峰会上讨论这一问题，这一努力已得到了德国政府、英国政府和意大利政府的支持。20国集团由全球20个最大经济体组成，该集团各国领导人将于今年11月份在澳大利亚的布里斯班召开最新一次会议。

President François Hollande’s socialist government lobbied US authorities hard to limit the sanctions on BNP, which was also given a one-year ban on clearing some dollar transactions when it pleaded guilty to processing billions of dollars of transactions for groups in Sudan, Iran and Cuba in violation of US sanctions.

法国总统弗朗索瓦•奥朗德(François Hollande)领导的社会党政府曾努力游说美国当局，限制对巴黎银行的制裁。此前，巴黎银行承认曾违反美国的制裁规定，为苏丹、伊朗和古巴等国处理过数十亿美元的交易，并为此认罪。结果，美国当局不但向该行征收了巨额罚款，还禁止该行在一年内从事部分美元交易的结算业务。

French officials did not dispute BNP’s wrongdoing but have questioned the scale of the punishment and the principle of the US extending its legal reach over all foreign banks that deal in dollars. BNP had broken no French or European law.

法国官员并未为巴黎银行的过失辩解，不过他们对于处罚力度表示质疑。此外，他们还质疑美国是否有权将其法律扩展到所有以美元交易的外国银行。毕竟，巴黎银行未曾违反任何法国或欧洲法律。

“There should be co-ordination between regulators, as there should not be multiple jeopardy,” agreed one senior European official, who confirmed that there had been “informal discussions” about putting the issue of bank fines on the G20 agenda.

一位欧洲高级官员对此表示赞同：“各国监管机构应协调一致，以避免出现一罪多审的现象。”这位官员还证实，确实曾有过“多次非正式磋商”，讨论将银行罚款问题提交20国集团峰会议程。

“It is an issue, but we have to be careful not to go into an area of saying ‘it is too much and we have got to lay off these guys’,” said the official, who added that the G20 could discuss how to bring more “proportionality” to bank fines.

这位官员表示：“这确实是个问题，不过我们要小心不要走入那种说‘问题太过严重，我们得炒掉这些人’的误区。”他补充说，20国集团可以讨论一下，如何令银行罚款“（与相应不良行为）更相称”。

French finance minister Michel Sapin sought support for France’s stance in recent meetings with Wolfgang Schäuble and Pier Carlo Padoan, his German and Italian counterparts, according to French officials. There was a “positive reception”, one said.

根据法国官员的说法，在最近与德国财长沃尔夫冈•朔伊布勒(Wolfgang Schäuble)和意大利经济部长皮耶•卡洛•帕多安(Pier Carlo Padoan)会晤时，法国财政部长米歇尔•萨潘(Michel Sapin)曾寻求过他们的支持。一位法国官员表示，萨潘的提议得到了“积极的回应”。

Among European banks also facing US action for sanctions busting are Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, although neither is expected to be hit as hard as BNP. France’s Société Générale and Italy’s UniCredit are also under scrutiny.

同样面临美国制裁举措打击的欧洲银行还包括德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)和德国商业银行(Commerzbank)，不过它们受到的处罚预计不会像巴黎银行那么严重。此外，法国兴业银行(Société Générale)和意大利裕信银行(UniCredit)也在接受相关审查。

In Berlin, officials said Germany had agreed to back Paris, saying it supported a common EU approach to the US over extraterritorial jurisdiction. Berlin sees that a union-wide approach to Washington is more likely to bear fruit than case-by-case discussions.

在柏林，有官员表示德国已同意支持法国政府，他们表示德国赞同欧盟(EU)应采取统一的方法处理美国的治外法权问题。德国政府认为，比起一个接一个案例单独讨论，整个欧盟在对待美国政府时采取统一的应对办法更有可能取得丰硕成果。

The US Treasury declined to comment on specific enforcement actions but repeated the government’s stance that financial institutions are not above the law.

美国财政部(Treasury)拒绝置评具体执法行为，不过它重申了美国政府认为金融机构不能凌驾于法律之上的立场。

“The US government enforces its laws with respect to all financial institutions operating in the United States or transacting with US banks, whether they are US-based or foreign,” a Treasury spokesperson said. “If foreign banks operate here, they need to abide by US law, just as US banks operating overseas must abide by the laws where they operate.”

一位财政部发言人表示：“美国政府的执法对象是所有在美运营或与美国的银行开展交易的金融机构——不论他们总部是在美国还是外国。在美国运营的外国银行也应遵守美国法律，正如在美国境外运营的美国银行也必须遵守所在国的法律。”

Top regulators have been raising concerns about the impact of the long procession of fines on their efforts to strengthen banks’ finances. Andrew Bailey, the head of the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority, warned in July that the large fines coming from the US and other big jurisdictions were making a “considerable dent” in banks’ efforts to rebuild capital.

多国最高监管机构一直以来都十分担心，绵延不绝的罚单对于它们巩固银行财务状况的努力会造成巨大影响。英国审慎监管局(Prudential Regulation Authority)局长安德鲁•贝利(Andrew Bailey)7月份曾警告说，来自美国及其他大国的高额罚单正“极大程度地伤害”银行重建资本的努力。

BNP reported a record €4.32bn loss in the second quarter as a result of the US fine, although it said strong underlying performance allowed it to maintain its core tier-one capital ratio – a key measure of a bank’s financial strength – above the 10 per cent level demanded by the markets.

由于美国的罚款，今年第二季度巴黎银行报出创纪录的43.2亿欧元亏损。不过该行表示，该行实际的强劲业绩令该行得以将核心一级资本比率维持在资本市场必须的10%的水平以上——核心一级资本比率是银行财务实力的重要衡量指标。