美国财政部一位官员说，美国政府没有提供担保以保护那些最大的金融公司，他是在国会一监督委员会指责政府不应向花旗集团(Citigroup Inc.)提供450亿美元救助款时说这番话的。
　　There is no U.S. government guarantee to protect the largest financial firms, a Treasury Department official said, as a congressional watchdog criticized the $45 billion in government aid provided to Citigroup Inc.
　　在财政部负责监督其7,000亿美元金融业救助计划实施情况的艾利森(Herbert Allison)不同意国会一监督委员会的观点，该委员会的成员认为，一些金融公司从那种政府会出手防止它们破产的假设中获得了好处。
　　Herbert Allison, who oversees the Treasury's $700 billion financial-rescue plan, disagreed with members of a congressional oversight panel that some financial firms benefit from the assumption that the government would step in to prevent their failure.
　　艾利森说，美国政府不会担保金融企业因规模太大而不会破产。
　　'There is no 'too-big-to-fail' guarantee on the part of the U.S. government,' Mr. Allison said.
　　这一国会五人监督委员会的负责人沃伦(Elizabeth Warren)说，金融市场显然确实假设政府的这种担保是存在的，她指出最近有一份评级公司的报告明确提及了美国政府在支持花旗集团方面所扮演的角色。
　　Elizabeth Warren, who heads the five-member Congressional Oversight Panel, said it was clear that financial markets do assume the guarantee exists, pointing to a recent ratings-company report that specifically noted the government's role in backing Citigroup.
　　沃伦说，市场显然觉得，存在这种企业因规模太大而不能破产的政府担保。她说，这使得花旗在筹集资金方面获得了优势......这对花旗非常重要。
　　'The market clearly perceives that there is a too-big-to-fail guarantee,' Ms. Warren said. 'That gives Citi an advantage in raising capital. ... That is very valuable to Citi.'
　　该国会委员会的成员与艾利森发生了争执，因为他不愿回答一些问题，特别是有关花旗集团在2008年末政府向该公司注资时它的财务状况问题。
　　Panel members locked horns with Mr. Allison over his reluctance to answer some questions, primarily regarding the health of Citigroup when the government injected capital into the bank in late 2008.
　　委员会成员西尔弗斯(Damon Silvers)敦促艾利森回答，在金融危机达到高潮时花旗集团是否面临破产的危险。西尔弗斯说，不能进行开诚布公的对话是不正常的。
　　Panel member Damon Silvers, pressing Mr. Allison on whether the New York company was at risk of failure at the height of the financial crisis, said it was 'extraordinary that it is not possible to have a straightforward conversation.'
　　他说，我不明白为什么美国政府不能承认一件世人皆知的事，即在金融危机达到高潮的那一周花旗正处在破产的边缘。
　　'I do not understand why it is that the United States government cannot admit what everyone in the world knows, which is that in that week that Citigroup was a failing institution,' Mr. Silvers said.
　　艾利森承认，如果美国政府当时未出手支持金融体系，包括花旗在内的许多银行确实会处于破产的边缘。
　　Mr. Allison did acknowledge that many banks, including Citigroup, 'were on the brink of failure had the system not been underpinned' by government actions.
　　在花旗去年偿还了一部分政府救助款后，美国政府在该公司目前还有250亿美元的投资。艾利森说，财政部打算在未来一年内尽可能快地处理掉它目前在花旗的投资。他在国会这一委员会的敦促下还表示，美国政府不打算再向花旗投资。
　　The U.S. government currently holds a $25 billion stake in Citigroup after the bank partially repaid the taxpayer assistance last year. Mr. Allison said the Treasury intends to dispose of its current investment in the bank 'as rapidly' as possible over the next year. Pressed by the panel, he also said the U.S. government has no plans to invest any more money in the bank.