提起冰島，人們也許首先想到的是那個千里冰封、童話般的美麗國度。經(jīng)濟好，環(huán)境美，福利高，這個彈丸小國曾令世界羨慕不已。

然而最近，冰島卻因瀕臨“國家破產(chǎn)”而成為世界輿論的焦點。上世紀九十年代憑借信貸和銀行業(yè)的瘋狂擴張而迅速致富的冰島現(xiàn)在 “一夜致貧”。冰島究竟怎么了？

破產(chǎn)，簡單一句話就是資不抵債。過去十幾年，金融業(yè)在冰島超常發(fā)展，其產(chǎn)業(yè)在國民經(jīng)濟中的比重遠遠超過其他產(chǎn)業(yè)。冰島國內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值僅為194億美元，而外債卻超過1383億美元。冰島四大銀行所欠的外債超過1000億歐元，但冰島中央銀行能動用的流動外幣僅為40億歐元。冰島克朗最近大幅貶值，冰島人必須歸還在短期內(nèi)就變得極其昂貴的歐元或者美元貸款，這無疑加劇了危情。

陷入水深火熱的冰島向盟友尋求幫助，但幾乎招到一致拒絕。冰島第二大銀行Landsbanki宣布破產(chǎn)后，英國馬上凍結(jié)該銀行在英國的資產(chǎn)，以確保英國儲戶在該行存款的安全。冰島從俄羅斯獲得的40億歐元援助彌足珍貴，但這無疑只是杯水車薪。

冰島自身可利用的資金極其有限，分析人士認為，即便國際貨幣基金組織同意伸出援手，冰島在短期內(nèi)依然難以從金融海嘯的重創(chuàng)中恢復元氣。

The days grow ever darker in 2)Reykjavik. Gone is the almost eternal daylight， which washes across Iceland’s capital 3)in the height of summer. A darkening gloom arrives earlier each day now. An icy wind blows in from the east. Darkness will be a constant presence here soon as winter sets in.

If ever a nation’s changing climate reflected the mood of its people， it is here. Every morning， it seems， the residents awake to news of fresh problems in their country’s banking system. Last week， the country’s third largest bank was nationalised. This week， the government 4)dismissed the board of directors of Landsbanki， its second-largest bank， and put it into 5)receivership. Later， the Prime Minister warned its citizens the country faces bankruptcy.

Iceland is rated by the UN as the most developed society on earth. But it now faces less welcome

6)distinction as the country worst 7)exposed to the credit 8)crunch.

Laugavegur， the capital’s 9)chic main stretch， is quiet. At one of the main branches of Landsbanki， executives could be seen yesterday pacing the upper floors， mobile phones held to their ears， hands on foreheads. Galleries， antiques stores and jewellery 10)boutiques， which 11)sprang up in the boom days of the past decade， were empty. Some are closed altogether. It is not a day to be in business in Iceland.

The few Icelanders who are 12)out and about gather in tight groups， 13)shielding themselves from the wind and discuss the latest disasters to strike its banks. The credit crunch is the only topic in town. Many head to their banks， where a steady stream of concerned savers enters to inquire just how safe their money is. This 14)bleak picture of shattered consumer confidence does not seem 15)out of place in a nation famed for its 16)Viking 17)sagas. It now has a new epic tale to tell: how its banks have brought a whole nation to the brink of bankruptcy.

But it is not just the banking sector that is suffering. Huge borrowing has fuelled inflation， now running at 14 per cent. To make things worse， Iceland’s once-strong currency， the 18)krona， has

19)plummeted in value. Some stores are refusing to restock imported items before they have cleared their last stocks， fearful of making losses.

The collapse of the currency has created opportunities elsewhere. Holiday deals to Iceland， traditionally seen as too expensive for many travellers， are now more attractive. Bar owners in Reykjavik’s central plaza， home to the main hotels， have begun to notice visitors drinking more alcohol—notoriously expensive before the krona plummeted. Bars that have become accustomed to hosting 20)raucous foreign 21)stag parties and 22)bacchanalian pub crawls are bracing themselves for even more visitors this winter. They 23)look set to benefit from the extra spending money tourists have been handed with the fall of the krona. A beer cost up to pound;8 when the krona was at its peak， but can be bought for half that price now.

While shoppers seem to have fled the high streets， worried locals have not abandoned Reykjavik’s

24)hedonistic nightlife. Far from it. “Last week a lot of people realised how serious things were—I’ve never seen it so busy，” said Insi Thor Einarsson， manager of the Café Paris， a daytime 25)haunt that fills with 26)revellers at night and stays open until 4 am. “People have been coming downtown since then to drown their sorrows.”

Eva Maria， a manager at Elding， a company offering whale-watching tours， says it may even stay open through the winter to take advantage of the interest. “We usually had to carry out all our business over six or seven of the warmer months as there wasn’t enough interest to operate in the winter，” she says. “It’s hard to see the positives at the moment—I 27)bank with Glitnir， lost a lot of money after recently buying an apartment， and this business has loans in foreign currency. But we need to make the most of the current conditions. I’m in the right industry to do that.”

There may also be a resurgence of a trade that Iceland has traditionally been famed for—fish. “We are always considered a nation of fisherman， but with the boom of our financial sector and the huge money it generated were forgotten about a little bit，” says Asbjorn Jonsson， the managing director of Fisk Kaup. “We are affected too of course—we hold loans with Icelandic banks and our loans are expensive. But the fishing industry will always be around， and the cheaper krona is helping us to export.” Many Icelanders feel that the dramatic collapse of the financial sector was inevitable. But they are 28)resigned to seeing through the hard times.

It is summed up by Gunnar Gunnarsson， a retiree， whose shares in the newly nationalised bank Glitnir have just plummeted. And he banks with Landsbanki， now in administration. “Things are hard but they will get better in the end. Don’t worry—be happy，” he says with a smile.

雷克雅未克的暮色更加深沉了。盛夏時節(jié)籠罩著冰島首都的極晝已經(jīng)消失了，現(xiàn)在，灰暗陰沉的氣氛每天都來得更早一點。刺骨的寒風從東面襲來。很快就是冬天，這里將日復一日昏天黑地。

如果說一個國家的氣候變化可以折射出國民的情緒，冰島就是其中一個例子。似乎每天一早起來，冰島人總會聽到新消息，他們的銀行系統(tǒng)又出現(xiàn)什么新問題了。上周，冰島第三大銀行宣布由國家接管。本周，政府解散了冰島第二大銀行Landsbanki的董事會，并接管該銀行。隨后，冰島總理警告國民，冰島面臨破產(chǎn)。

冰島曾被聯(lián)合國列為全球最發(fā)達的國家。然而現(xiàn)在，冰島有了另一個令其尷尬的世界之最——全球遭受信貸危機打擊最嚴重的國家。

首都雷克雅未克的時尚主街——洛加維格大街門可羅雀。在Landsbanki銀行的其中一家主要分行，昨天有人看見那些高層們在樓上來回踱步，移動電話不離耳朵，手捂額頭。畫廊、古董店及珠寶店在過去十年繁榮經(jīng)濟的帶動下如雨后春筍般涌現(xiàn)，然而現(xiàn)在這些店內(nèi)空無一客，有的干脆關(guān)門大吉。冰島的經(jīng)濟已陷于停滯。

外出活動的冰島人已經(jīng)屈指可數(shù)，他們親密地聚在一起，躲著刺骨的冷風，討論著其銀行系統(tǒng)遭受的最新打擊。信貸危機是時下冰島人的唯一話題。許多人蜂擁至銀行，他們關(guān)切地詢問自己存在銀行里的錢究竟有多安全。在這個以海盜傳奇著稱的國度，這一幕幕消費者信心盡喪的無望情景似乎并不出人意料。此刻的冰島有了新的宏大傳奇——該國的銀行究竟如何將整個國家?guī)У搅似飘a(chǎn)邊緣。

然而處于水深火熱的不僅是銀行系統(tǒng)，巨額貸款引發(fā)了如今高達14%的通貨膨脹率。更糟糕的是，曾經(jīng)強勢的冰島克朗已經(jīng)大幅貶值。由于擔心帶來損失，部分商店在清空庫存之前不愿重新從國外進貨。

貨幣貶值給某些行業(yè)帶來了商機。長久以來，對許多外國游客來說，到冰島旅游花費非常昂貴，現(xiàn)在到該國旅游卻相當吸引人。各大酒店的集中地是雷克雅未克中心廣場，那里的酒吧老板們已經(jīng)留意到客人的酒類消費量比以往更大。冰島克朗貶值以前，這里的酒類是出名的貴。那些通常有成群外國男性游客瘋狂飲酒作樂的酒吧已經(jīng)準備好，今年冬天會迎來更多的游客。隨著克朗貶值，外國游客們會額外多花一些錢，酒吧老板們寄望從中獲利。往日冰島克朗最堅挺的時候，一杯啤酒的價格可高達8英鎊（約合120元人民幣），但現(xiàn)在只需要一半的價錢。

大街上人頭涌涌的情景已經(jīng)不復存在，但憂心忡忡的當?shù)厝瞬]有拋棄冰島人及時行樂的作風，他們的夜生活反而更甚?！吧现茉S多人意識到金融危機的嚴重——我的店從未如此熱鬧，”巴黎咖啡廳的經(jīng)理尹西·托爾·艾納森說道。這家咖啡廳本是人們白天的一個常去地，如今卻晚晚都充斥著飲酒狂歡者，直至凌晨四點?！白詮哪且院?，人們都紛紛到這里來，借酒消愁?！?/p>

艾丁是一家組織賞鯨旅游團的公司，其經(jīng)理伊娃·瑪麗亞稱他們今年的生意甚至可以整個冬季都保持營業(yè)，以迎合市場的需求?！耙酝覀兊臓I業(yè)季節(jié)只限于天氣較暖的六七個月份，因為冬天賞鯨沒有足夠的吸引力，”她說道，“目前的金融形勢讓我虧本不少——我在Glitnir銀行有存款，不久前剛買了房子，虧了錢，為此我還欠下了外匯貸款。但我們得抓緊目前的時機，盡量多賺點錢。我現(xiàn)在干這行正好能賺錢?！?/p>

冰島舉世聞名的傳統(tǒng)產(chǎn)業(yè)——捕魚業(yè)——也許能得以復蘇?！拔覀儽灰暈闈O夫的國度，前些年金融業(yè)迅速崛起，財源滾滾來，‘冰島漁夫’的形象給淡忘了一點點，”菲斯克·科普公司的常務(wù)董事阿斯比約恩·瓊森說道，“當然，我們也受到影響——我們在冰島各銀行都有貸款，而且利息還相當高昂。但無論如何，捕魚業(yè)的根基始終還在，克朗貶值也有利于我們出口?！痹S多冰島人都認為該國金融業(yè)急轉(zhuǎn)直下在所難免，但他們也只能聽天由命，渡過目前的難關(guān)。

退休老人貢納·古納爾森持有剛被收歸國有的Glitnir銀行的股份，其股價一路下跌；他在另一家已被政府接管的Landsbanki銀行中也有存款。老人微笑著一語道破天機：“現(xiàn)在我們處境艱難，但終究會好起來的。別擔心，要開心?！?/p>