Ceilings and floors are not always structurally sound. In China’s banking system, for example, interest rates on deposits are subject to a ceiling, which limits the income of savers. Lending rates, meanwhile, are subject to a floor, which leads to inefficient investment and excess capacity. Both need to change, urgently.

　　上下限的結構并不總是合理的。例如中國的銀行系統對存款利率設置了上限，從而限制了儲戶的收入；對貸款利率設置了下限，從而導致了投資效率的低下與產能的過剩。兩者都需要改革，而且迫在眉睫。

　　Under its reform minded governor Zhou Xiaochuan, the People’s Bank of China has consistently stressed the need to embrace more market-oriented rates of interest. Between 2004 and 2008, the PBoC made some progress, scrapping ceilings on lending and floors on deposits, while encouraging new entrants and new instruments in less highly-regulated money markets. Yet the pace of liberalisation has stalled since the global financial crisis – perhaps as a result of clashes with less market-friendly factions at the National Development and Reform Commission. Sunday’s response to March’s higher-than-expected inflation number – another increase in banks’ reserve requirement ratio – confirmed that China would rather adjust the quantity of money in the system, rather than the price of it. Since January 2010, when the current tightening cycle began, adjustments to the RRR have outnumbered deposit rate and lending rate increases by two to one.

　　在銳意改革的行長周小川的領導下，中國央行(PBoC)一貫強調需要推進利率的市場化改革。2004年至2008年間，中國央行取得了一些進展，取消了貸款利率上限與存款利率下限，同時鼓勵向監管不那么嚴格的貨幣市場引進新的機構，推出新的工具。不過，全球金融危機爆發后，自由化的腳步停了下來——也許是與國家發改委(NDRC)對市場不那么友好的派系發生沖突的結果。面對3月份高出預期的通脹數字，中國央行再次上調銀行存款準備金率的應對措施證實，中國更愿意調整銀行系統中貨幣的數量，而不是價格。自本輪緊縮周期于2010年1月啟動以來，存款準備金率的調整次數，已經是存貸款利率上調次數的兩倍還多。

　　Allowing deposit rates to float upwards could temper inflation by absorbing excess cash, and might also gradually enable the market to price in expectations of interest-rate rises. Liberalising lending rates, meanwhile, would allow banks to compete on their ability to price risk, rather than on their ability to skirt a benchmark. China’s banking sector has grown very rapidly: the ten biggest lenders expanded their total loan books by an average of 63 percent between December 2008 and December 2010. Now it needs to grow intelligently. Fixed loan-deposit spreads have given banks an “iron rice bowl.” It is time to take it away.

　　允許存款利率上浮可以吸收過剩的資金，從而緩和通脹；此外，它還可以讓市場逐漸能夠將加息預期體現到價格中來。與此同時，放開貸款利率將讓銀行能夠就風險定價能力、而不是圍繞基準浮動的能力展開競爭。中國的銀行業發展得非常迅速：從2008年12月至2010年12月，中國最大的10家銀行貸款總額平均增長了63%。現在它需要的是有智慧的成長。固定的存貸利差給了銀行一個“鐵飯碗”。現在該給它拿走了。